Things you should know now that you’ve activated your Vivint Solar system
Now that you’ve activated your Vivint Solar system, we want to share some helpful information with you to help make your solar experience as beneficial and easy for you as possible. In this article, we’ll explain the benefits of monitoring your production online and go over some key points about how solar billing will work.
Register for Account Center and the Vivint Solar App
If you haven’t done so already, Register for Account Center or the Vivint Solar App. Why do both, you may be wondering? Here’s a quick comparison of the two platforms and what they offer:
The main thing to remember is that, while both platforms allow you to monitor your solar production, you can only access the billing portal through Account Center.
Understand how your billing will work with your Vivint Solar agreement
We know there’s a lot of information to absorb when it comes to solar, so we just wanted to share a few reminders with you about the billing process.
Reminder 1: You’ll receive two bills
Because your Vivint Solar system is tied to the utility grid, expect to receive two bills—one from us and one from your utility company.
This gives homeowners like you peace of mind knowing that you will always have enough energy to power your home when your Vivint Solar system is inactive, such as at night.
Reminder 2: Your agreement dictates your Vivint Solar bill
The type of agreement you signed will help you understand your bill.
If you signed a Power Purchase Agreement, you’ll pay for the power generated by your Vivint Solar system.
Note that we said you’ll pay for the power generated by your system—not the amount of energy you use from the system.
This is important because if the system does not produce enough electricity you will need to buy electricity from your utility. Your overall electricity costs are affected by a number of factors, including your consumption of electricity, the price you pay the utility, and the amount of sun the solar energy system receives and may be higher even with solar.
If you signed a Lease Agreement, you’ll pay a fixed monthly amount for power at a rate that’s typically lower than what your utility can offer. Your monthly payment amount is set upfront and won’t increase by more than 2.9% per year.
If you signed a Loan Agreement, you’ll work with a trusted lender to whom you’ll make payments over time. The amount and frequency of your solar loan payments are set with your lender, but any power produced by your solar energy system will help you reduce your dependence on nonrenewable sources that typically come from your utility company.
If you signed a Cash Purchase Agreement, you’ll purchase a Vivint Solar system from us outright, which means you won’t receive a bill from us. Like a Loan Agreement, any power produced by your solar energy system will help you reduce your dependence on nonrenewable sources that typically come from your utility company.
Reminder 3: Time of year matters with solar
Your Vivint Solar system is most efficient in the middle of the day when the sun is out and throughout the summer months.
Because the days are longer in the summer, you may notice that your Vivint Solar bill is higher than it is in the winter when the days are shorter.
We want to make it easy for you to find the help you need, so be sure to visit vivintsolar.com/help to check out some other videos about billing.
Familiarize yourself with your Vivint Solar invoice
With your statement coming up, we’ve recommended checking out our guide to Reading your Vivint Solar bill. It breaks down each component of your Vivint Solar bill so you can read and understand how we determine the total amount on your monthly statement.
For more information about your new solar energy system, check out some of the other articles like what to do if your solar savings is less than you expected. We also encourage you to keep monitoring the Help Center as we continue to update it with answers to commonly asked questions from homeowners like you.