Home Energy Systems', Vice President, Ross Williams spoke about Virtual Net Energy Metering (VNEM) on Tuesday, July 12th at Intersolar North America 2016. This slideshow will teach you about what VNEM is, how it benefits apartment complexes or high-density living area, and the challenges that were presented along the way. Virtual net metering can provide and excellent return on investment for apartment owners. Not too long ago if you wanted to install a solar system for an apartment complex you would need to split it into mini systems for each unit. Now with virtual net metering it is possible to have one large system, electronically divide up all the credits and remotely assign them to the tenants of the complex, saving a significant amount on installation and equipment. Home Energy Systems was the first to install a net metered system and is a leading installer of virtually net metered systems. Ross Williams was able to speak on the advantages and hurdles currently facing the installation of virtual net metered systems. “We have worked hard to become experts in this arena. I am excited to be part of the VNEM panel and to help educate business owners on the huge savings potential and environmental impact,” said Ross Williams. You can also find the full video and audio presentation of this slide show here: https://youtu.be/GK1TaXpwAiA If you or anyone you know is interested in a virtual net metering system for their apartment complex or business contact us at hessolar@gmail.com

1. GETTING CONNECTED
WITH VNEM
Intersolar North America
Tuesday July 12, 2016
Ross Williams, VP, Home Energy Systems

2. EXPERIENCE
 First market rate NEM-V project in California
 Solterra “Eco-Luxury” Apartment Homes in San Diego
 Commissioned in 2014
 114 Units and four house meters
 Four “service delivery points”
 Since then I installed and commissioned an additional 306 units
on three different properties
 Aquatera – 254 units
 Quince Park – 42 units, two house meters
 Marinella – 10 units, one house meter
 Also have experience in NEM Aggregation

3. OPPORTUNITIES
 Over 3.9 million units of multi-family housing in California
 Roughly 35-40% of all housing in California are apartments
 A very small percentage are powered by solar
 Virtually every site can offset house meters (HM) at a minimum
 Can be used for HMs only or for HMs and/or unit meters.
 Marketing - solar is desirable and trendy
 Can nicely complement a rehabilitation project
 Net Metering Aggregation is another opportunity on multi-family
housing but is a little different and has its own set of rules

4. NEM-V VS. NEM AGGREGATION
 NEM-V
 Limited to one property
 Account names do not have to
be the same
 Can offset tenant accounts and
house meters
 Requires net generation output
meter or “NGOM”
 Allocation is defined as a % of
production
 NEM Aggregation
 Can cross property lines but all
properties must be contiguous
and owned by same owner
 Accounts must be in same
name
 Typically only house meter
 Can use existing meter or an
NGOM
 Allocation is dynamic based on
consumption

5. ECONOMICS
 Owners receive 30% investment tax credit and depreciation tax savings
 No additional application fees or costs with exception of NGOM costs
 Provides significant cost savings and efficiency in installation labor and
equipment
 Average $1000 savings per unit vs traditional interconnection
 Electricity is included in rent up to the kWh allowance
 Encourages tenant conservation
 Pressure to stay within the allocation so the bill is minimal
 Ability to realize more revenue without adding square feet
 If property utilization is maxed out it enables increase of revenues

6. ECONOMICS CONT…
 New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) rebate eligible for new construction projec
 House meters only option also qualifies
 NSHP is currently at step 8
 Marketing strategies
 Our property is still at market rate but comes with “free electricity”
 Achieve higher occupancy rates
 Faster occupancy for new construction

7. MARKETING
 Trendy to be “green” and environmentally responsible
 Tenants are more proud to be in a solar powered community
 Ability to brand property as efficient and energy conscience
 Gives a property a competitive advantage over comparable
properties without solar

8. MARKETING CONT…
 Couple with other advanced technologies:
 Nest thermostats – other brands available. Smart thermostats
 Rainforest automation – real time consumption data
 Smart appliances – control when and how certain appliances operate
 Make them feel like they are living in a technologically advanced space.
 Give the tenant the ability to optimize and control their
energy consumption

9. CHALLENGES
 Disconnects on both sides of the “net generation output meter” or
NGOM
 Consumption and power usage study
 Difficult to get the consumption data from tenants
 Proper system sizing – dependent on accurate data that is hard to
come by
 Post install - Is it working? How can the owner or contractor tell?
 I know the solar is working, but how do I know if the tenants are getting the
credits?
 How can I be sure the credits are being applied accurately and correctly?

10. CHALLENGES CONT…
 Future – Time of Use (TOU) implications?
 Site specific space constraints
 Under NEM 1.0 each NEM-V system could only serve a single service delivery
point
 So for every service delivery point they required a separate system
 Under NEM 2.0 the service delivery point restriction is eliminated
 NEM 2.0

11. NEM 2.0
 Hit NEM-V harder than other programs
 NGOM – net generation output meter MUST be used
 100% of the production of the system gets the non by-passable
charges (NBC) haircut
 Average current “haircut” is around 10% or 2 cents/ kWh in CA
 Unlike standard interconnection type where the NBCs are
based on net export

12. ENCOUNTERS
 Utility Issues
 Difficult to set up and it takes a very long time for the NEM-V application to be
“approved”
 Billing issues
 Can take up to 6 months to process before credits start showing up on tenants
accounts
 One lump sum adjustment once the accounts are set up
 Can negatively affect a tenant that moves out before the credit shows up
 Very difficult to understand and manage from tenant, contractor and property
owner point of view
 This needs to be fixed

13. 1. Solar
Breakers
2. NGOM -
There must
be solar
disconnects
on either
side.
3. Flow of
energy
4. Unit,
house, or
apartment
meters.
Solar Breakers
NGOM
Flow of
Energy
Unit
Meters

14. PICTURES

15. PICTURES

16. PICTURES

17. PICTURES

18. QUESTIONS & CONTACT
INFORMATION
Ross Williams
ross@hessolar.com
(619) 417-0098
Home Energy Systems
5980 Fairmount Avenue, Suite #105
San Diego, CA 92120