Net Metering Benefits for Residential Buildings: A Case Study in Italy

Contrary to expectations, the development of smart (mini) grids is slow. Due to drastic improvements in innovative technologies, the reasons are not strictly technical but the problem mainly lies in regulatory barriers. The current business models are centric to utilities rather than customers. Net metering is a key enabling factor for smart (mini) grids. This paper addresses the economic benefits of net metering for individual residential customers. Energy demand for the individual apartments and common areas is calculated using the daily energy consumption behavior of occupants for typical days of each month of the year. Photovoltaic generation is estimated via PVGIS for a residential building in Italy. The proposed net metering scheme is applied on the aggregate energy demand of selected building without any modification in the current energy billing and net metering tariffs. Results show the noticeable difference in the savings of individual apartments.