FAQS

Will Solar Work for You?

The benefits of the Sunlight Advantage® are plentiful. Solar energy can help make
the future bright and leave a legacy of clean energy and a healthier environment
for future generations. And solar can also save you money. Many factors may affect
your decision to install a solar system. These questions will help you determine if
The Sunlight Advantage is right for you.

Click on one of the five boxes below to reveal frequently asked questions and
answers. If you don’t see an answer to your question, contact us.

PHONE

1-855-4SUNLIT

EMAIL

sunlightadvantage@njresources.com

Billing >

Solar Production Net Metering >

Account Info >

System Monitoring >

How will NJRCEV bill me?
You will receive a bill each month from The Sunlight Advantage® for the monthly solar lease payment indicated on your signed lease agreement.
I have general questions about my NJRCEV bill. Who can I contact?
You can contact The Sunlight Advantage® Customer Care at 855-478-6548, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also email us.
Will I receive a bill from my electric company?
Yes, you will still receive a monthly bill from your local electric company for a monthly customer charge. You will also be billed for the cost of electricity, resulting from the difference between your home’s electric usage and your solar system’s energy production.
I have questions on my electric bill. Who can I contact?
Any questions regarding your electric bill should first be addressed with your local electric utility company. We do not have access to your electric bills and are not able to explain any of the charges. If your electric utility company believes your questions are related to solar production issues, you can contact The Sunlight Advantage® Customer Care at 855-478-6548, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also email us.
How can I make my payments?

You can mail your payment to us in the envelope included in your monthly bill.

You can make a one-time payment using your credit card or checking or savings account by clicking here. You can also call our Payment Center line at (551) 261-7012, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, if you need assistance making the payment.

You can schedule a one-time payment or automatic payments using your personal bank account’s bill pay option. Check with your bank for instructions on how to set this up. Our company information is as follows:

NJR Clean Energy Ventures
PO Box 1468
Wall, NJ 07719-1468
855-478-6548

Do you offer electronic/paperless billing?
Not at this time. In the event we implement this option in the future, we will notify customers.
I have a third-party supplier. How will this affect my bill?
Please note, having a third-party supplier may impact your estimated savings.

If you currently purchase your electricity from a third-party supplier, we ask that you contact the supplier to let them know about your new solar system. When speaking with them, make sure you will receive all the benefits of your solar system, specifically net metering credits. We also suggest you compare the price your third-party supplier is charging you with the price you would pay directly to your utility company. The price to compare information is located on your electric bill.

How much energy can my solar system produce?
The expected production is based on your system’s size, and the tilt and orientation of the array. For information on the kilowatt hours your system is expected to produce, please review the information provided by your salesperson. Please keep in mind the expected production is an estimate. Your system’s production will vary year to year and is affected by cloudy or inclement weather and any nearby obstructions that cause shade.
How Do I Read My Solar Meter?
The meter for your solar system is similar to the one used by the local electric utility, but the solar meter measures only the total energy produced by your solar panels. The utility meter has two measures – kilowatt hours (kHw) in and kWh out. The solar meter will never match the numbers on the utility meter. This is because you will use the kWh from the solar array inside your home first, and only the excess will reach the utility meter to be measured.

Your solar meter can be found on the side of your home and is labeled “NJR Clean Energy Ventures.”

It periodically cycles through different screens:

This screen is a self-test.


This screen shows the total kWh produced by solar energy.

Occasionally, the screen will display “busy” when the meter is writing data to a memory chip.

If you want to know how much solar energy has been produced for a period of time, record the number on the Solar Meter and then take a read at another time and subtract the two. That will be the amount of solar kWh produced during the time between the two reads. Remember the amount of solar produced will vary based on the time of year, the amount of sunlight available and any shading that may occur from clouds, trees, snow, etc.

What is net metering?
Net metering helps customers maximize their renewable energy investments. It enables you to obtain full retail credits on your utility bill for each kilowatt hour the solar system produced. With net metering, the electric meter read will increase when electricity flows from the utility into your home, and decrease when power flows from the home to the utility.

Click the links below for more information on net metering from your utility company.

JCP&L

Atlantic City Electric

PSE&G

 Other Account Information

What are solar credits?
When your solar system generates more energy than you use in a month, the electric utility will “bank” the excess generation in the form of a solar credit. The electric utility will carry over your solar credits every month until they are all used. If you have solar credits on your anniversary date, the electric utility will pay you a price specified by them. At that point, your energy credits reset to zero.
When is my anniversary date?
Your anniversary date is the date your system received approval to operate from the electric utility. If you have solar credits banked, this is when the utility company will pay you for the excess generation. Because of the seasonality of solar production, with the higher production months being in the spring and summer, the best anniversary month is March. Your solar system will generate more energy during April through October and less between November and March.

If you have excess generation during the summer months, you want to be able to carry those credits into the fall and winter months to help offset your bills when your solar system is producing less energy. Your utility company will allow a one-time change to your anniversary date.

In general, we suggest you set your anniversary date to the end of March. If you have electric heat or non-typical usage, your electric utility may recommend a different month.

I’m selling my home, what do I need to do?
The lease is transferable. In your lease agreement, there is a document titled “Assignment and Assumption of Solar Equipment Lease.”

This document is signed at closing by both the seller and buyer. Once signed by both parties, the original document should be sent to us at:
NJR Clean Energy Ventures
P.O. Box 1468
Wall, NJ 07719

Please note you will continue to be responsible for the solar lease agreement until this document is received in our office.

If you need a copy of your solar lease agreement, please call us at 855-478-6548 or email us.

How is my system monitored?
NJRCEV actively monitors all of our customers’ solar systems. The revenue grade meter installed with your solar system communicates meter reads to us on a daily basis. These meter reads tell us how much electricity your solar system produced each day. We analyze that data against production estimates and may send a technician to your home if we see a potential problem.
What should I do if I’m getting higher bills than I expected from the utility company?
Please review the information in your proposal under the Solar Energy Production Estimate heading to get an idea of how much of your electric usage will be covered by the solar production during a particular month. If you do not have this document, call The Sunlight Advantage® Customer Care at 855-478-6548, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also email us.

Please remember it is over the course of a full 12 months that you will see your savings.

Check your electric bill to make sure your current read is not estimated. If it is estimated, contact your electric company. They will either have someone go out and reread the meter, or they will ask you to provide them with an actual read.

Do you have a third-party supplier? If so, please check the rate they are charging you and compare it to your electric company’s rate. If the above factors are addressed and you still feel your bill is high, please contact The Sunlight Advantage® Customer Care at 855-478-6548, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and we will conduct a review of the system production. You can also email us.

In order to assist us in addressing high bill concerns, we will need copies of your last four to six electric utility bills to review. Please fax them to 732-919-8105.

What is MyEnlighten?
MyEnlighten provides system monitoring from any PC, tablet or smartphone, letting you know your system is performing as expected. This monitoring option is available for solar systems that are equipped with Enphase microinverters. You will need Internet access.

If your solar system is equipped with Enphase microinverters and you were not provided access to the MyEnlighten account during installation time, please contact The Sunlight Advantage® Customer Care at 855-478-6548, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also email us.

There is a device that was installed inside my home to grant me access to the monitoring Web site. What is this and how does it work?
The device is called an Envoy and it acts as a messenger between your microinverters and the Enlighten software. It collects energy production data over your home’s existing electrical wiring and sends the data through your Internet router to Enphase’s data centers.
What do I do if the Envoy is displaying a “-Web” message?
A “-Web” message means your Envoy lost connection to the Internet. This is a fairly common occurrence, especially if you have multiple wireless devices connected to your Internet service. This can also happen if you recently switched to a new Internet Service Provider or installed a new router. To correct the issue, reset your Envoy by unplugging it from the wall. Wait 15 to 20 minutes and plug it back in.

The Envoy will take about 30 minutes to go through the rebooting process. If, at the end of the rebooting process, you still see the “-Web” message, please contact The Sunlight Advantage® Customer Care at 855-478-6548, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also email us.

I logged in to MyEnlighten account and I see a message saying a microinverter is not working.

When this occurs, please contact The Sunlight Advantage® Customer Care at 855-478-6548, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also e-mail us. We will work with the manufacturer to see if the microinverter begins communicating again. If not, we will provide a replacement.

How do I connect or reset my Envoy-S or Envoy-IQ?

At you router location:

Step 1: Locate the WPS reset button on the back of your modem/router. 

Step 2: Press and hold the WPS reset button for about 2-3seconds. 

Step 3: After 10-15 minutes check your MyEnlighten account to verify the Envoy has been reconnected. 

If the Envoy does not connect after these steps, please contact us back for further instructions. 

Note: WPS RESET BUTTON; most likely located on the back of your modem or router

If you recently changed your username and/or password on your modem/router, these reset instructions may not successfully reconnect your Envoy.

How do I connect or reset my Envoy-R?

Step 1: At the Envoy location: (commonly in the garage or basement, near the electric panel).

  1. Unplug the “Bridge A” from the electrical outlet.
  2. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the “Bridge A”.
  3. Bring the “Bridge A” (that you just disconnected) to the router location (near your computer).

 

Step 2: At your router location 

  1. Locate the second “Bridge B”. This bridge should be plugged into an electrical outlet.
  2. Locate the “PAIR” button on the “Bridge B”.  (see note below)
  3. Press and hold down the pair button for one second and then release.
  4. Find a free outlet in the room and plug the “Bridge A” into it.
  5. Press and hold down the “PAIR” button on “bridge A” for one second and release.
  6. Wait one minute, unplug “Bridge A” and bring it back to the Envoy location.

 

Step 3: Return to the Envoy location 

  1. Connect the Ethernet cable to “Bridge A” and plug it into the electrical outlet.
  2. Unplug the Envoy and plug it right back in to reset it. 
  3. After 10 minutes you should have +Web

Note: PAIRING BUTTONS; can be on the face or the bottom of the bridge.