Once your solar panel installation has been completed, it’s worth learning about solar load shifting for savings you could potentially see on your next bill. Here’s the solar power system advice you need to get the most out of solar panels and solar energy monitoring.
Know the best time to use your solar energy
Solar energy is generated when the sun is shining. Between 11am and 3pm is generally the best time for solar panels to generate electricity. Your data can show when your panels generate the most energy – and how this fluctuates seasonally.
Understand your solar power generation
The amount of solar power your solar PV system generates will depend on a number of factors including the size of your system and direction of your panels. Your data can help you understand how much energy your system is generating.
Solar load shifting for savings
Your data can help you choose which appliances you could start using in the daytime so they use solar energy when it's available. This could mean you save on drawing electricity from the energy system.
Maximising solar self-consumption
Now that you’ve invested in solar, the best chance of seeing savings on your bill is to use as much of that solar energy as you can, compared to other times of day. This is known as load shifting. Load shifting means you use up that solar energy as it gets generated by your solar system during the day. If you shift more of your electricity use to use up your solar, you’ll need less from the energy system when the sun goes down.Load shifting also helps to support a stable and reliable energy system for everyone. To learn more about this, read How low load is challenging WA’s energy system and Everything you need to know about the duck curve.
Easy wins: Think about which appliances you might have used at night in the past, which you could now run during the day to use your solar energy. For example, your washing machine, dishwasher or pool pump could have timers you can use.
The power of solar
Everyone’s experience with energy assets such as solar is different. Any changes to your electricity bill will depend on a range of factors, including your particular solar PV system and how you use electricity.
When you speak with other solar panel owners, you might hear about their experiences with their electricity bill, exporting solar and how they’re getting the most from their solar PV system. In most cases, using solar energy your panels generate means you can reduce the demand for other types of electricity generation, as you put the sun’s energy to work.
Once you have solar, you can expect to see a few changes on your future bills:
- If you are on the Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme, you’ll see line items for your credits. This shows you how many units of solar energy your system exported to the energy system during the billing period.
- Remember, you can maximise your solar investment by using as much of the energy your solar system generates as possible.
You’ll also see an updated usage summary which shows how many units your system exported to the energy system, and the number of units you imported from the energy system.
You can see a detailed daily breakdown by logging into My Account.
Installing a new solar system is a great opportunity to review your Energy Plan, especially if you’re now thinking about other energy assets such as a home battery or an EV.
What your bill doesn’t show
Your bill doesn’t show you how many units of energy you consumed from your solar PV system. If your solar system was installed with consumption monitoring, you can view your solar energy consumption there.
Maintaining your solar PV system
Looking after your solar investment for years to come.Keep your panels clean
Keeping your solar panels clean could help your solar panels work more effectively.
Remove dust, dirt and debris
Over time, dust, dirt and debris can build up on your solar panels, meaning less sunlight can get to the panels, lowering the amount of energy that can be generated.
Trim your trees
Your solar panels will not be as effective in the shade, so consider trimming back any tree branches which might be shading your panels during the day.
Follow your manufacturer’s instructions
It important to always follow your manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations related to maintaining your solar panels - take a look at our no-sweat guide to cleaning your solar panels.