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Operating a home battery for the sole purpose of backup protection is simple: charge with solar, discharge during outages. Operating to minimize your electricity bill requires a bit more sophistication. In this post, I’ll examine how customers can use a Tesla Powerwall with ComEd Hourly Pricing to reduce their electricity bills. Specifically, I’ll show how you can do this with minimal effort by using Powerwall’s Self-Consumption mode. We believe operating a Powerwall system like this will save a typical ComEd customer about $200-300 per year, or up to $3,000 during the warranty period of th ..read more

While solar systems do not require batteries, adding an energy storage system to solar reduces your home’s reliability on the grid and keeps the lights on when the power goes out. Also known as a solar battery, battery storage, or energy storage system, a home  battery charges on solar, which means it’s quiet, clean, and could power your home indefinitely. ComEd recently announced a generous energy storage rebate that, combined with the federal tax credit, can reduce your home battery’s net cost  by nearly 70%! What is the ComEd Storage Rebate? The ComEd storage rebate provides cust ..read more

Anyone who goes solar with Certasun can monitor their solar system using the mySunPower desktop portal or app from SunPower. The platform allows customers to easily track their electricity production and usage by day, month, or year. But first-time users are often confused when they see that the numbers on mySunPower do not match the usage and export information listed on their utility bill. Below is an explanation of how to reconcile mySunPower with your utility bill. We use a ComEd bill here as an example, but the following is true for other utilities as well. Your Utility Does Not Registe ..read more

Illinois’s largest electricity utility, ComEd, has two main rate plans for homeowners: Rate BES – Basic Electric Service, which offers a fixed rate 24/7 (with some seasonal adjustments). Most customers are on this plan. Rate BESH – Basic Electric Service Hourly Pricing, where the rate varies hourly based on the price of electricity in the wholesale market where ComEd buys energy. ComEd’s Hourly Pricing option incentivizes you to use energy when it is cheapest. It also helps the environment, because the dirtiest power plants only get used when wholesale electricity pricing is highest. Howev ..read more

ComEd net metering is changing in 2024 or early 2025.  It’s not clear exactly when it is changing because of somewhat ambiguous wording in Section 16-107.5 of the Public Utilities Act (the “Act”), which governs net metering in the state. Net metering determines how much credit (if any) a utility gives customers for energy they generate and send back to the grid. Customers can then use those credits to offset the cost of grid electricity at other times, such as at night. It is clear that the current rules are more advantageous to customers. (See our analysis of the impact for a typical cu ..read more

Illinois law requires large electric utilities, such as ComEd, to offer net metering to residential solar customers. But, it will be changing in 2025 — possibly sooner — and will become less favorable to customers. Net metering determines how much credit (if any) a utility gives customers for energy they generate on their own and send back to the grid. Customers can then use those credits to offset the cost of grid electricity at other times — such as at night. Because of the upcoming changes to net metering, customers thinking about going solar should act now to lock in the best possible re ..read more

Having an EV charger at home is the most convenient and least expensive way to charge an electric vehicle. It’s also a great investment in your home; many homebuyers are coming to expect EV charging capabilities in prospective houses. It’s pretty clear that getting an at-home EV charger installed at some point is a good choice. ComEd just launched a new EV charger rebate that makes installing one right now an obvious choice, especially since it can cover the entire cost. What’s covered under the $2,500 ComEd EV charger rebate? ComEd customers who purchase a Level 2 EV Charger after February 1 ..read more

Winter in the Illinois or Wisconsin elicits thoughts of cold, wind, snow, and very little sun.  Solar panels rely on sunlight to operate, which begs the question: does solar work in the winter? And what about when the solar panels are covered in snow? It’s true that solar systems generate more energy in the summer months, but it’s also true that solar can be productive in the winter, even if it snows. In fact, the impact of snow on solar panels is less than you might think. Here are some frequently asked questions about the impact of winter weather on a solar system: 1. Do solar panels ..read more

In December 2023, after a long-standing prohibition on rooftop solar, the Village of Kildeer in Illinois passed an ordinance allowing solar on residential roofs. This means homeowners in Kildeer can now go solar, get the big Illinois and federal solar incentives, and start saving on their electricity costs. Shortly after the ordinance passed, Certasun submitted the first ever permit application for rooftop solar under the new ordinance and quickly received approval. Today, we’re proud to say Certasun installed the first ever residential rooftop solar system in Kildeer! What’s are Kildeer’s ke ..read more