Xcel Energy Solar Meters Explained

What your electric meter does after you go solar

Before solar, your electric meter only counted one thing: the energy your home or business pulled from the grid. After a solar system is installed and approved, your utility swaps in (or reprograms) a bidirectional meter — one that measures electricity flowing in both directions. It tracks the power you draw from the grid when your panels aren’t producing enough, and the surplus power your panels push back to the grid on sunny afternoons.

That two-way measurement is the foundation of net metering, the billing arrangement that makes rooftop solar pay off in Minnesota. When your panels make more than you use, the extra flows out to the grid and your meter credits you for it. When you need more than you make — at night, or in the depths of a Minnesota January — you pull from the grid and draw those credits back down.

How to read your solar meter

Most Xcel Energy customers in our area have a digital smart meter. The display cycles through several readings, each labeled with a short code. The two that matter most for solar owners are:

• Delivered (often shown as “received” or a number with no minus sign): the energy delivered to your home from the grid.
• Received / Returned (sometimes a separate channel or a reading that runs backward): the surplus energy your system sent back to the grid.

The difference between those two numbers over a billing period is your net usage — which is exactly what net metering bills you on. If you ever want to confirm your system is exporting, watch the meter on a bright, low-use afternoon: you should see the “received from grid” figure hold steady while the “returned to grid” figure climbs.

Net metering, Solar*Rewards, and your bill

In Minnesota, residential solar owners on Xcel Energy can benefit from two programs at once. Net metering credits your surplus generation against what you use. Xcel’s residential Solar*Rewards program adds a separate performance-based incentive paid on the energy your system produces, on top of those net-metering credits. (Solar*Rewards enrolls in limited rounds, so timing matters — it’s one of the things we check for you during a free assessment.)

Minnesota also exempts solar equipment from state sales tax, and the added home value from solar is exempt from property tax — so going solar doesn’t raise your property tax bill even though it can raise your home’s value.

What about businesses and farms?

Commercial and agricultural systems are metered the same bidirectional way, but the incentive picture is different. Demand-metered commercial solar over 40 kW can earn Xcel’s Photovoltaic Demand Credit Rider for solar produced during the late-afternoon peak, and business and farm owners can still capture the 30% federal Investment Tax Credit (time-limited) plus accelerated depreciation. We model the exact numbers before you commit.

Reading your meter is reassuring — we make it simple

Once your system is live, watching your meter spin backward on a sunny day is one of the small pleasures of owning solar. If a reading ever looks off, or you just want someone to walk you through your first few bills, that’s what we’re here for. iSolar has handled installs and ongoing maintenance for over 500 Minnesota customers, and we’re a phone call away.

Curious whether solar makes sense for your home or business? Call us at (651) 565-1140 for a free, no-pressure assessment.