The U.S. Department of Energy's Homeowner's Guide to Solar, retrieved August 14, 2026, explains that net-metering eligibility and compensation depend on the state and utility. A national description does not establish the tariff, customer eligibility, credit value, or bill result for a particular household.
The basic deal
A household may import electricity during some intervals and export during others. The applicable tariff determines how those quantities are measured and credited. A “full retail” label by itself does not prove that imports and exports offset across every billing period, that credits carry forward to a later period, or that the bill reflects only net energy use.
The billing terms that remain separate
Record the eligible customer class and system size, import rate, export-credit formula, measurement interval, billing period, credit bank, expiration or true-up rule, and source-event date. Keep fixed charges, non-bypassable charges, minimum bills, taxes, and other applicable charges in the utility-cost record unless the governing tariff explicitly says otherwise. Export credits do not make those charges disappear.
DSIRE can help locate program information, but it is a directory rather than the final source for household eligibility or current utility billing terms. Verify the result in the responsible utility's tariff and current program documents.
What export compensation changes in the comparison
Electricity not purchased from the utility and electricity exported to the grid are separate cash-flow inputs. A lower export value does not prove that a battery, larger system, or load shift is economical; those outcomes require the household's interval, equipment, tariff, and cost evidence. Leave any unsupported amount missing.
What to do before you sign anything
Ask which net-metering or net-billing tariff and customer class will apply, whether its terms are grandfathered, how long any credit remains available, and when a true-up occurs. Verify each answer in the applicable utility documents. In the Solar Savings Calculator, the with-solar utility cost before export credits must include documented fixed, non-bypassable, and other applicable charges; enter export credits separately with their own source-event date.