Finn Peacock’s Quarterly Electricity Bill Report - SolarQuotes

Winter 2019Billing period: July-Oct Final bill: $139.67

Analysis/Notes/Comments

AGL dropped my feed-in tariff from 16c to 14c this quarter. Grrrrr. I would change my retailer – but I’m locked into AGL for another 3 years because I got a very cheap Powerwall 2 from them ($3,800 fully installed compared to $16,000).

Compared to 2018’s winter bill – this bill had a battery for the whole quarter. In 2018 I only had a battery for 1 month of the winter quarter.

But still, this bill is more expensive at $139 compared to last winter’s $110.

So despite the battery my bill went up! Why? Looking at the analytics, I generated the same amount of solar energy (1,600 kWh), so the only explanation is my house used more electricity overall (including self consumed solar + battery). And that’s exactly what happened. In winter 2018 my house used 1,150 kWh of electricity. In winter 2019, 1,470 kWh.

I used the same amount of kWh from the grid, but self consumed more solar, reducing my feed-in credit.

Why did I use 320 kWh more solar electricity to run the house? Because we went on holiday for 4 weeks in 2018!

4 days after this bill came in, on 29th September 2019, I acquired an electric car with a 75kWh battery – the next bill is going to be interesting….

26%More expensive than
Winter 2018

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(+60 kWh)1,600 kWhSolar Produced
(-137 kWh)1,200 kWhSelf-Consumption
(+197 kWh)400 kWhExported
(-$104) $532Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(-$108)$400Savings
from solar
(+$4)$132Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

1,540 kWhSolar Produced
1,337 kWhSelf-Consumption
203 kWhExported
$636Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$508Savings
from solar
$128Savings
from battery

Summer 2019Billing period: January-MarchFinal bill: +$122.84 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Edge Electrons EdgeIQ Voltage Optimiser installed – keeping the battery backed up circuit at 220V. Interestingly this is confusing my Solar Analytics – so I’m taking numbers from the Tesla App instead for the savings calculations.

Previous season comparison:

$94.84cheaper than Summer 2018 bill

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(+149 kWh)2,849 kWhSolar Produced
(+140 kWh)1,426 kWhSelf-Consumption
(+9 kWh)1,423 kWhExported
(-$50)$673Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(-$50)$553Savings
from solar
(+$0)$120Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

2,700 kWhSolar Produced
1,286 kWhSelf-Consumption
1,414 kWhExported
$723Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$603Savings
from solar
$120Savings
from battery

Autumn 2019Billing period: April-July Final bill: $187.51

Analysis/Notes/Comments

$187.51 bill – due to low solar production and high consumption (heating). Happily more than wiped out by the previous quarter’s credit. About $50 cheaper than my Autumn bill in the previous 2 years.

I put that down to a having the battery for the full 3 months this Autumn. In 2017 my battery was installed mid-quarter. In 2018 I was without a battery for part of the quarter as it was replaced with a Powerwall 2.

$47.49 cheaper than Autumn 2018 bill

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(-1,309 kWh)1,540 kWhSolar Produced
(-89 kWh)1,337 kWhSelf-Consumption
(-1,220 kWh)203 kWhExported
(-$37)$636Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(-$45)$508Savings
from solar
(+$8)$128Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

2,849 kWhSolar Produced
1,426 kWhSelf-Consumption
1,423 kWhExported
$673Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$553Savings
from solar
$120Savings
from battery

–>

Autumn Spring

Winter 2018Billing period: July-Oct Final bill: $110

Analysis/Notes/Comments

I survived the quarter without a battery until a Powerwall 2 was installed on August 20.

I used less energy overall, exported more solar energy, and increased Self-Consumption compared to last quarter. The holy trinity of electricity bill reductions halved my bill. Lord be praised! (As ScoMo would say)

$11.41more expensive than Winter 2017

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(+300 kWh)1,700 kWhSolar Produced
(-96 kWh)802 kWhSelf-Consumption
(+396 kWh)898 kWhExported
(+$50)$450Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(+$68)$378Savings
from solar
(-$18)$72Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

1,400 kWhSolar Produced
898 kWhSelf-Consumption
502 kWhExported
$400Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$310Savings
from solar
$90Savings
from battery

Spring 2018Billing period: Oct-DecFinal bill: +$102.69 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

A final bill of -$102.69 (a credit) compared to the previous electricity bill of $110 represents a swing back to the no-bill lifestyle for my household. Thank you to summer solar power production. Note the difference in savings between the solar ($603) and the battery ($120). Note also that I only used 1.5 kWh electricity per day from the grid.

$25.31more expensive than Spring 2017

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(+1,000 kWh)2,700 kWhSolar Produced
(+484 kWh)1,286 kWhSelf-Consumption
(+516 kWh)1,414 kWhExported
(+$273)$723Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(+$225)$603Savings
from solar
(+$48)$120Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

1,700 kWhSolar Produced
802 kWhSelf-Consumption
898 kWhExported
$450Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$378Savings
from solar
$72Savings
from battery

Summer 2018Billing period: Jan-April Final bill: +$28 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

I stayed in credit this quarter, but not by as much as last quarter -higher house consumption (new aircon) balanced out my higher solar production. My savings overall are much better compared to the same time last year, due to my doubled feed in tariff.

$172.56cheaper than Summer 2017 bill

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(-100 kWh)2,700 kWhSolar Produced
(+232 kWh)1,335 kWhSelf-Consumption
(-332 kWh)1,365 kWhExported
(+$40)$746Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(-$12)$626Savings
from solar
(-$28)$120Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

2,800 kWhSolar Produced
1,103 kWhSelf-Consumption
1,697 kWhExported
$706Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$614Savings
from solar
$92Savings
from battery

Autumn 2018Billing period: April-July Final bill: $235

Analysis/Notes/Comments

My electricity bill swung from a credit (-$28) to a debit ($235). There are a few explanations for why this happened:

My solar power system produced less in Autumn compared to the Summer quarter (almost half),
I used twice the energy (because the weather was colder)
My Sunverge battery was pulled out by AGL on 15 June (pending replacement with a Tesla Powerwall 2), which reduced my self-consumption.

$2.21cheaper that Autumn 2017 bill

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(-1,300 kWh)1,400 kWhSolar Produced
(-437 kWh)898 kWhSelf-Consumption
(-863 MWh)502 kWhExported
(-$346)$400Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(-$316)$310Savings
from solar
(-$30)$90Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

2,700 kWhSolar Produced
1,335 kWhSelf-Consumption
1,365 kWhExported
$746Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$626Savings
from solar
$120Savings
from battery

Autumn Spring

Winter 2017Billing period: July-Oct Final bill: $98.59

Analysis/Notes/Comments

First full quarter with Sunverge battery and 16 cent feed-in tariff.

AGL increase my usage charge to $0.38 (from $0.31).

Electricity bill goes down to $98.59 from $237.21, a $138.62 decrease.

The low winter electricity bill is a combination of:

Efficiency: my house is very well insulated, and doesn’t require much energy to heat.

Feed-in tariff earnings: This was the first full quarter of the whopping 16c per kWh FiT.

Solar battery increasing Self-Consumption for the full quarter. But note that the savings from each kWh stored is the usage tariff minus the feed-in-tariff: $0.38 – $0.16 = $0.22

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(+577 kWh)1,800 kWhSolar Produced
(+291 kWh)1,100 kWhSelf-Consumption
(+296 kWh)710 kWhExported
(+$257)$542Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(+$218)$424Savings
from solar
(+$39)$118Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

1,223 kWhSolar Produced
809 KWhSelf-Consumption
414 kWhExported
$285Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$206Savings
from solar
$79Savings
from battery

Spring 2017Billing period: Oct-Jan Final bill: +$128 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Woohoo! My first credit for the year.

Low energy needs in my house (hooray for energy efficiency), combined with high Spring solar electricity production and 16.3 cent feed in tariff, means my savings are much larger, pushing me into credit.

It also helped that I was on holiday for 3 weeks of this quarter, which meant we were using almost nothing and exporting almost 100% of the solar energy for those weeks.

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(+1,000 kWh)2,800 kWhSolar Produced
(+3 kWh)1,103 kWhSelf-Consumption
(+987 kWh)1,697 kWhExported
(+$164)$706Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
(+$190)$614Savings
from solar
(-$26)$92Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

1,800 kWhSolar Produced
1,100 kWhSelf-Consumption
710 kWhExported
$542Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$424Savings
from solar
$118Savings
from battery

Summer 2017Billing period: January-April Final bill: $144.56

Analysis/Notes/Comments

This is as far back as AGL will let me access my digital electricity bills -so this is the start of my bill analysis!

My electricity bill for the previous quarter was $71.57. This means my bill has gone up by $72.99 in total. I attribute most of that to the shift from Spring > Summer, meaning school holidays (the kids being home and using more energy!).

I had no air conditioning installed at this point.

I also had no battery for this billing period. A Sunverge battery was installed the following month.

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

2,300 kWhSolar Produced
1600 KWhExported
$358Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
700 KWhSelf-Consumption

Autumn 2017Billing period: April-July Final bill: $237.21

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Battery Installed: Electricity bill goes up!

Heading into Autumn, my bill went up from the previous quarter. My electricity bill was $237.21, and last quarter’s was $144.56 – a $92.65 increase.

This is despite the installation of a $20,000 Sunverge SIS battery on 5 May. (Don’t worry – I only paid $3,800 for it under the heavily subsidised AGL VPP plan).

Evidently the small savings from the battery do not compensate for the reduced solar power output and increased energy consumption in autumn compared to summer.

My feed-in tariff was also kicked up to $0.163 from $0.08 in July – thanks AGL!

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

(-1,077 kWh)1,223 kWhSolar Produced
(+109 kWh)809 KWhSelf-Consumption
(-1,200 kWh)414 kWhExported
(-$73)$285Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
$206Savings
from solar
$79Savings
from battery

Summary of previous quarter

2,300 kWhSolar Produced
1600 KWhExported
$358Total Savings
(Solar + Battery)
700 KWhSelf-Consumption

Finn Peacock’s quarterlyelectricity bill report

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Winter 2019Billing period: July-Oct Final bill: $139.67

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Summer 2019Billing period: January-MarchFinal bill: +$122.84 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Autumn 2019Billing period: April-July Final bill: $187.51

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Winter 2018Billing period: July-Oct Final bill: $110

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Spring 2018Billing period: Oct-DecFinal bill: +$102.69 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Summer 2018Billing period: Jan-April Final bill: +$28 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Autumn 2018Billing period: April-July Final bill: $235

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Winter 2017Billing period: July-Oct Final bill: $98.59

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Spring 2017Billing period: Oct-Jan Final bill: +$128 credit

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

Summer 2017Billing period: January-April Final bill: $144.56

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Autumn 2017Billing period: April-July Final bill: $237.21

Analysis/Notes/Comments

Summary of this quarter, compared to previous quarter

Summary of previous quarter

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year below