We got solar installed in August 2020 and authorization to operate starting in October. We didn’t produce much electricity in 2020, so I started keeping track of data starting in 2021. In my spreadsheet, look at a couple of different metrics such as: solar estimation, solar production, how much electricity sold back to Alliant Energy, Solar electricity directly used, total electricity usage, net balance (electricity sold back to the electric company and keep in personal piggy bank), grid usage (after solar) and what does that cost look like. I have created some different charts to reflect the data.
Couple of things to note:
- Total production for the year was 5% higher then anticipated.
- AE’s bills are not consistent, some months they are 28 days, others are 32 days and it makes tracking difficult.
- In Jan/Feb 2021 snow covered up the solar for a couple of weeks and we didn’t have a net balance built up yet, so electrical company usage was higher then anticipated.
- June billing had a special Regional Transmission Service Refund (from 2013-2015) from AE for $10.84.
Here is a chart for Electricity bought vs solar produced and sold back to the electric company and the net meter balance each month.
Chart shows overall month cost if we didn’t have solar and how much is covered by solar.
This chart shows overall usage month to month, how much solar we should make, and how much solar is produced. As you can see the summer months are higher then the winter months.
Overall this has been fun and I plan on keeping track of the data in the future. Looking forward to seeing what April to March looks like, because we will have a net balance to help reduce the low production in Jan and Feb. Have you thought about switching to solar? If you have, are you seeing similar results?
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