Grid-tie solar is simply having a solar power system when you also have BC Hydro.  You can have a solely grid-tied system, or a grid-tied hybrid system.  They are the same but different, ha.  

 

Straight grid-tie is a system that feeds the grid but does not have any battery storage.  So the power from your panels first goes towards powering your home, and any extra feeds back to the grid.  At night you use power from the grid, since the sun doesn’t shine at night. :)  If the grid power goes out, your power goes out, and you are not feeding the grid, regardless of whether or not the sun is shining.  

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So how does this affect your power bill?

 

Basically if you have a grid-tied solar system, the power you generate offsets your power usage.  For example, if you used 3,000 kWh of power in a billing cycle, and fed back 500 kWh, you would be billed for 2,500 kWh.  If you put in more power than you used, that difference is credited towards the next month’s bill.  This is called Net Metering.  Once a year, any excess power that you have put into the grid is converted to dollars and paid back to you as a credit on your bill.  You won’t see cash.  Plus your Hydro usage itself will be lower as your solar panels will also be helping to power your home.  

 

Check out more info on BC Hydro’s Website.