My bills haven't changed much

Three things cause electricity bills to increase or stay the same:

1. The system is not working correctly
2. Your premises has increased usage since having the system installed
3. Your power company has raised your electricity rates since having the system installed

Here's an essential checklist to determine the cause of your electricity bills.

1. The system is not working correctly 

For a solar system:

Learn how to tell whether your solar system is producing electricity. You can do this by viewing the app or screen on your inverter (if your inverter has one). Please become familiar with the readings and learn to understand them. For example, if you have a 5KW solar system, on a sunny day, you should see energy production between 3 to 5 kW (or 3000 to 5000 watts)

For a battery system:

Learn to tell whether your battery is storing and releasing energy. Again, you can do this via the app or inverter screen. Assuming your solar system produces excess energy, the battery should charge up and discharge when there is no solar (usually at night). If you notice that your battery is not charging up when there is excess solar or not discharging when required. There may be something that needs fixing within your solar system. Please send photos of the battery not charging/ discharging to [e-mail] (or reply to this email).

Keep an eye out in the graphs for high usage after the sun has set, as these will drain your battery quickly. See what devices you can move to the daytime to increase how long your battery lasts at night.

2. Your premises has increased usage since having the system installed.

Sometimes, people change how they use power over time. This fluctuation is occasionally due to changes in the seasons (heating and cooling habits) or the purchase of new equipment. Sometimes after purchasing a new solar or battery system, a dwelling may increase its usage and, therefore, not see a maximum benefit from the solar system (as it now has to account for increased power use). New water pumps or foot/oil heaters can significantly impact electricity usage. Look if any new equipment like this is in the home or is used more than usual (you'll be able to see the usage spikes in the monitoring app). 

3. Your power company has raised your electricity rates since having the system installed

By now, you've established that the system is working correctly and that the home isn't using more electricity than before. The only explanation is that the power company has increased your rates since installing the system. To compare the rates, you can determine this by looking at an electricity bill from several months before you installed the system and a few months after.

If you are unsure how to read your monitoring graphs, understand whether your system is working or read your electricity rates, please reply with any photos that may help this email.

Have a great day, and chat soon,