Professional Solar & Energy Storage Solutions

• Summary:
• We have residential installations from Santa Cruz to Auburn CA, but our main focus is in the Bay Area.
• We are a Tesla Certified Installer. We install Tesla Chargers, Powerwall and Gateways, as well as Solar.
• We are an Enphase Energy Authorized Battery Installer. We install Enphase Combiners, Chargers and Solar.
• We service existing systems.
• We expand existing systems while keeping existing NEM in place with your utility.
• We work with contractors on custom homes and remodels.
• We also work with small businesses to reduce their energy costs and provide backup as required.

PG&E Utility Information for NEM

PG&E NEM 3.0 Battery Export Restrictions

PG&E’s Net Billing Tariff (NBT / NEM 3.0) enforces a strict “mutual exclusivity” restriction regarding battery exports. Homeowners cannot charge a battery from the grid and export power from that same battery back to the grid.

To comply with PG&E, the system must be configured into one of two operational modes, which must be declared during the interconnection process.

1. Export-Only Mode (No Grid Charging)

This is the primary configuration for maximizing NBT savings. It allows the system to dump stored power to the grid during the highly lucrative evening “Power Hours” (which peak significantly in August and September).

• The Restriction: The battery’s Power Control System (PCS) must be configured to charge exclusively from the onsite solar array.
• The Benefit: Because all stored energy is verifiably generated by solar, the battery is permitted to export to the grid and capture peak NBT wholesale credits.

2. Import-Only Mode (No Storage Export)

This mode is typically beneficial if a site has poor solar production or heavy winter loads and needs to fill the battery using cheap, off-peak grid power.

• The Restriction: Because the battery is mixing grid power with solar power, it is strictly prohibited from exporting any energy back to the grid. The solar array can still export excess daytime production directly, but the battery’s discharge is limited strictly to backing up home loads.
• The Benefit: The battery can charge from both the solar array and the grid.
• Hardware Configuration & Compliance
• The utility relies on the hardware’s UL-certified PCS software to physically enforce what is signed on the interconnection agreement.
• Tesla Powerwall: When configuring a system like a Powerwall 3 for a PG&E NBT rate plan (e.g., E-ELEC-NEM3), maximizing savings requires setting the operational mode to “Time-Based Control” and “Energy Exports” to “Everything.” If the approved interconnection agreement does not specify Export-Only, PG&E requires energy exports from the battery to be disabled in the app.
• Enphase Energy Systems: The battery mode must be explicitly declared as “Export Only” on the PG&E interconnection application. Once approved, this mode must be activated within the Enphase Installer Portal or the Installer App. If NBT/NEM 3.0 is not selected as the grid connection type during commissioning, the software will permanently lock out battery export capabilities.

PGE Legacy NEM 1.0/2.0 and adding additional solar and/or batteries to existing systems without impacting your NEM status

The strategy for adding solar with a battery is to keep it isolated from the original solar system for a grandfathered NEM1.0/NEM 2.0 paired-storage setup. Because the legacy solar is unconstrained and gets full 1-to-1 retail credits, you want that power exporting to the grid as much as possible, while the new system focuses on the localized loads.

Here is how the Load Only configuration naturally protects that NEM 2.0 status:

Make sure that Grid Charging for the new batteries is completely disabled. You want to guarantee that the batteries are strictly charging from the new PV circuits during the day. This prevents the system from accidentally utilizing the legacy Solar’s premium NEM 2.0 generation to top off the batteries, keeping every single grandfathered watt flowing out to the grid for maximum financial credit.

You can use grid charging for emergency or unusual situations:

Disabling grid charging under normal conditions doesn’t lock you out of using the grid as a safety net when things go sideways. Both Enphase and Tesla have built-in features precisely for this scenario—handling bad weather or unexpected heavy consumption without forcing you to manually reconfigure the backend settings every time.

Here are the two best ways to handle this, depending on whether the grid-charging need is driven by weather alerts or manual control.

1. Automated Backup for Weather: “Storm Guard”

This is the cleanest, set-it-and-forget-it solution for weather-related events. You can enable Storm Guard directly in your App (Menu > Settings > Profile > Storm Guard toggle).

• How it works: Both Tesla and Enphase constantly monitor the National Weather Service (NWS). If a severe weather alert (like high winds, winter storms, or wildfire red flags) is issued for your zip code, Storm Guard automatically overrides all daily operational profiles.
• The Behavior: The system will immediately begin charging the battery bank from both available solar and the utility grid at full speed until it hits 100%.
• The NEM1.0/NEM 2.0 Protection: Once the severe weather alert passes, the system automatically turns off grid charging and goes right back to its standard Load Only daily routine, keeping their premium legacy solar export strategy intact.

2. Manual Emergency Backup: Temporary “Full Backup” Mode

If you have a string of cloudy days or unexpected heavy household consumption (like running high-draw appliances longer than usual) and you want to force a grid charge manually, you can do so instantly through the app.

• How to do it: Open the App, goes to Menu > Settings > Profile, and switches their daily profile from Savings/Self-Consumption to Full Backup.
• The Behavior: In Full Backup mode, the system treats the battery as a strict emergency reserve. If the battery state of charge is below the 100% mark, the Gateway will immediately pull power from the grid to top the batteries off and hold them there.
• The Protocol: Once the high-consumption event is over or the sun comes back out, you just switch the profile back to your standard mode.

Service Area: SF Bay Area Including Los Gatos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley, Woodside, Palo Alto, Belmont, Brentwood, Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville, Fremont, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Hayward, San Jose, Willow Glen and surrounding areas.