As we get into the sunnier months our energy production is ramping up. The days are getting longer and the sun gets higher in the sky. Our 8kW of panels face west, but we can be producing from fairly early each day as the they do not need direct sunlight.
So far this year the yield has been:
We only got a little more than April, but then it seems to level out in the summer months. May was fairly dry until some rain at the end that refilled our water butts.
I still have it set up to charge up the battery overnight so that we can maximise our export. We earn more from that than last year and we have already earned more in 2025 than we did in the whole of 2024. That means that we can build up some credit to cover the whole year. That is even with paying for the gas we use on heating and cooking. We may consider a heat pump at some point, but not just yet as we have other expenses for now.
We spent a little less than in April, but I think the car got charged less at home.
You may notice a couple of days with nothing. We have still had instances of a breaker tripping. An engineer came out again last week and he has replaced the breaker, but I am not convinced that this is the root of the issue. This is all under warranty, but we lose a little income each time. This is why I keep an eye on the system via the mobile app. If I am at home I can reset it.
I have spoken to plenty of people about the joys of solar and some of them say they will look into it. There is talk of making it compulsory to fit panels on new homes in the UK, but the builders resist anything that puts up the 'sticker price' even if it will save the owners money in the long run. I see some new homes with a token install of just a few panels when they should cover any south facing roofs. I saw another example of industry resistance to environmental legislation in the US as those producing dark roofing material do not want compulsory lighter materials that would keep the homes cooler in summer. I would think that air conditioning is the biggest energy cost for a lot of people. We do not have it as there are few days each year where we would really need it. It is best to design buildings for efficiency with passive systems that will cost nothing to run.
Shine on!
