I am with SCE. I was initially looking at Tesla Energy, but thanks to this forum I did read about the horrible timeline and bad customer service. I did start shopping around with other companies like FreeVolt. Price is definitely higher than Tesla Energy, but panels might be better quality and comes with a 30 year warranty. Anyways the consultant said 20 panels should cover my monthly energy usage plus I will have to pay a 10$ “service fee” to SCE a month. As I mentioned this sounds too good to be true and just needed to hear real life experiences with solar panels. This might be a dumb question but I’m going to ask it anyways. Since solar panels pulls energy from the sun, what happens in the evening when my family uses the most energy as everyone is home from school and work? Will i still be pulling energy from the solar panels or SCE?
The short answer is pulling electricity from SCE with credit that you put in during the day when you were producing solar (see
@bkp_duke 's answer re: net metering). Net metering can get somewhat confusing because the utility will not be paying you the same price for selling them that energy during the day as you may be paying pulling it out.
You will be selling it to them at mostly "off peak" rates, while consuming from them during "peak" rates, which are usally about 3-4 times higher. Thus, the desire for battery storage (powerwalls) to store some / most of your solar energy that your home doesnt use during the day, to use during peak time when you are not generating solar, avoiding peak energy usage.
Also, you really (really really) need to do your own research on "this will cover your usage". dont just take the solar salespersons word for it. Look at a years worth of bills, and add up your yearly consumption. Then, look at their proposal for yearly generation (yearly, not monthly, as generation is different at different times of the year).
Then, understand that when people get solar, they almost always use MORE power than they were previously... they think "I have solar" so they set their thermostat at a lower temp during the summer, etc.
Then, factor in any plans that may change your electrical usage (getting more efficient lighting, getting an EV, putting in a Pool / spa, etc etc).
You typically want 100-110% of your yearly production, but in general, I have seen first proposals that typically come in at 80-90% saying "this will just about cover your usage".