Sell Electricity Back To The Grid & Metering Explained

Net metering and Gross metering – what is the difference?

With on -grid / grid fed systems, there is the question of ; “What if I make more electricity than I may need?”

Well, there are options available, which allow you to feed excess electricity back into the grid.

Net Metering

Net metering is where the consumer will use what they need and excess is sold back into the grid. However a bi-directional meter is required to allow the excess electrical current to flow back into the grid. The biggest set-back to the bi-directional meter is that the user is charged a fixed rate for installation and this amount is currently in the region of R12.36 per day. An additional downside is that the buy back amount for the excess electricity is 72c per unit compared to the R2.30 charged by the power utility per unit to supply. So in order to cover the costs of the installation you need to produce at least 17.2 excess units per day, just to break even on the installation costs before you can start to see “earnings” from the excess electricity you may have produced. Net Metering Explained on Wiki.

Gross Metering

When gross metering, you won’t be able to directly use any of the power generated by your system. The power is directly exported to the grid through a separate circuit, and the power for your home comes from the grid. Since there are two circuits here, there will be two uni-directional meters: one for your consumption of electricity and the other for the production. Your billing for consumption will continue to be the same as it always was and you will get paid for the electricity you produce separately.

Gross Metering Further Explained