On-grid solar rooftop turns sunlight into electricity for your home — and returns any extra to the KPDCL grid. No batteries. No complexity. This page explains exactly how it all works, in plain language.
Your solar panels generate electricity from sunlight. Your home uses it first. Any surplus goes to the KPDCL grid. Any shortfall is drawn from the grid — automatically, with no switches to flip or settings to touch.
Your home stays permanently connected to the grid as backup supply and export destination. There is never a gap in power.
The grid acts as your virtual storage. Surplus exported during the day is effectively "withdrawn" at night via net metering — no expensive battery bank required.
The inverter and bi-directional meter manage all power routing — to your home, to the grid, from the grid — without any action from you.
Simple and reliable. Three of the four components you never need to touch after installation.
Mounted on your roof. Absorb sunlight and convert it to DC electricity. No moving parts, no fuel. Output rises and falls with sunlight intensity.
The brain of the system. Converts DC from panels into 230V AC for your appliances, and automatically manages power flow between home, panels, and grid.
Installed by KPDCL. Records both electricity you draw from the grid (import) and electricity you send to the grid (export). This enables net metering billing.
Your existing connection stays intact. The grid is your 24×7 backup supply and the destination for surplus solar power. Without it, the system cannot operate.
The flow of electricity changes throughout the day. Select a scenario to see exactly what happens and why.
Panels produce DC electricity from the moment the sun rises. Output climbs through the morning and peaks around solar noon — roughly 12–1 PM in Kashmir.
The inverter instantly converts panel output into 230V AC — the same electricity your fans, lights, geysers, and appliances run on.
All running appliances draw from your panels first. You are using free solar electricity. The grid meter is not running for import during this time.
If panels produce more than your home needs — say 2 kW produced but only 0.8 kW used — the extra 1.2 kW automatically flows out through the bi-directional meter into the grid, recorded as a credit to your account.
Your home automatically uses solar electricity first — no switch to flip.
Any surplus beyond your home's need is exported to KPDCL — not wasted.
The bi-directional meter records every unit exported as a credit to your account.
Peak output around solar noon (12–1 PM). Most surplus generated mid-day.
Solar panels generate only from light. After sunset, output drops to zero. The inverter shuts down automatically — there is no DC to convert.
The KPDCL grid immediately becomes the sole supply. Your home continues receiving electricity exactly as before. No interruption, no manual switching.
The bi-directional meter records every unit you draw from the grid. At month end, this is compared with the units you exported during the day.
You only pay for the difference: units imported minus units exported. If exports exceeded imports in a month, the surplus credit carries forward.
The grid switches on automatically at night — no action needed from you.
The meter counts night imports separately from day exports.
Monthly bill = units imported − units exported. You pay only the net.
If you exported more than you imported, surplus credit rolls to the next month.
Your extra solar goes into the grid.
The meter saves it as credit for you.
Your home draws from the grid.
The meter counts each unit used.
Clouds and fog reduce panel output but don't stop it entirely. On a moderately overcast day, panels can still produce 30–60% of rated capacity.
Beyond cloud cover, Kashmir winters have significantly shorter daylight — roughly 9–10 hours in December versus 14–15 hours in June. Fewer daylight hours directly means fewer generation hours each day. Winter output is genuinely and noticeably lower than summer.
Whatever your panels fall short of producing is automatically drawn from the KPDCL grid. Both sources supply simultaneously — the inverter manages this without any input from you.
Kashmir's long, sunny summer days (April–September) generate substantial surplus that builds up as net metering credits — which offset higher grid imports during the shorter winter months.
Overcast does not mean zero generation — panels still work from diffuse light.
Kashmir winters: only 9–10 daylight hours vs 14–15 in summer. Less time = less output.
Grid fills the shortfall automatically — power to your home never stops.
Summer's long sunny days build credits that reduce your winter bills over the year.
Panels run your home fully. Surplus exported to grid.
Both work together. No action needed from you.
Grid takes over fully. Power never stops.
Net metering ensures you are billed only for your net electricity consumption — not the gross amount you drew from the grid.
Bi-directional meter installed by KPDCL — records import and export independently.
Monthly surplus credits carry forward — they do not lapse at month end.
Annual surplus settled by KPDCL at end of each financial year.
Net metering applies to energy charges only. Fixed charges remain payable.
Without solar: pay for 180 kWh. With solar: only 60 kWh — a 67% reduction.
KPDCL installs this meter at your home. It records power flowing in both directions — unlike a regular meter which only counts import.
Your monthly net metering result will fall into one of these three situations, depending on panel size and consumption.
Larger systems or low-consumption households. You export more than you import. Your energy charge approaches zero and surplus carries forward.
Import and export roughly balance out. You pay very little in energy charges — mostly just the fixed charges, which remain regardless of solar output.
Common in Kashmir winters — overcast skies and shorter days reduce generation. You pay for the net shortfall, but summer credits help balance the annual account.
Clear these up before you decide.
"During a power cut, my solar panels will keep my home running."
On-grid inverters shut down automatically when the grid fails. This is a mandatory safety feature called anti-islanding protection — it prevents live electricity from reaching lines while engineers are working on them. No grid means the inverter stops. This is a safety requirement, not a design flaw.
"My electricity bill will go to zero."
Energy charges can reduce dramatically — close to zero if generation matches consumption. However, fixed charges (meter rent, demand charge) remain payable regardless of solar output. They represent the cost of staying connected to the grid — your 24×7 backup.
"On-grid solar doesn't work in Kashmir's cold or cloudy winters."
Panels generate from light, not heat. Cold clear days can still be productive. However, two factors genuinely reduce winter output: overcast skies lower efficiency, and shorter daylight hours (9–10 hrs in December vs 14–15 hrs in June) mean fewer generation hours per day. The KPDCL grid covers any shortfall, and summer net metering credits offset the difference over the year.
"I need batteries to make use of the solar power I generate."
On-grid solar needs no batteries. The KPDCL grid acts as your storage — surplus is exported and tracked by the bi-directional meter, then effectively "withdrawn" at night through net metering. Batteries are only needed for off-grid or hybrid systems and significantly increase system cost.
Technical questions consumers most often ask about on-grid solar rooftop in Kashmir.