Back in 2017 I was wrestling with the question Are Solar Panels A Good Investment In The UK and decided to invest in 20 solar panels and later a Tesla Powerwall II home battery. Since that date I have been monitoring the data I collect on my energy usage each month.
We all know we are in the grips of a recession and energy crisis with huge increases in energy bills and rampant inflation. I thought I would share the steps I have taken to try and reduce my energy usage and of course reduce my bills.
Despite it being cold wet and miserable for some reason January 2023 has seen the highest solar generation since fitting the solar panels in 2017. Its only a small increase but none the less there had been more sunshine than I thought.
The system produced 235 kW of energy which as you can see from the first chart is the highest so far for the darkest month of the year.
Electricity Use
The next chart shows the electricity consumption for January 2023 for my home. The decision to move to a time of use tariff and using the Tesla Powerwall II to its full capability has been a good one. Only 34 kWh of electricity at the higher rate was used with 300 kWh at the very cheap rate has produced some considerable savings.
Despite the energy prices increasing on the 1st January 2023 we have managed to keep our bill down mainly by the changing to the time of use tariff which gives us cheap electricity between 0200 and 0600 daily. During those 4 hours the Tesla Powerwall II recharges and we set the timer for the dishwasher and washing machine to work between those hours as well. Of course the Zappi car charger is also programmed to charge our 2 electric cars in the same window. It is also fair to say the cars have not been used much during January due to the wet and dreary weather not encouraging us to go out much!
What is also good to see is that we have been using 2 kWh a day less than last year which is down to switching everything off everything we can when not in use.
Gas Use.
Gas prices have really increased. In 2017 I was paying 2.54p per kWh and 23.39p a day standing charge. The unit price is nearly 4 times what it was when I changed to BULB as an energy supplier. I have made serious efforts to reduce our gas usage. You will see from the image above I have reduced use by 12 kWh per day. To achieve this I have stopped using the gas fire in the lounge as it produces little heat and most of that goes up the chimney! I have reduced the time the gas boiler is on to heat up our water. We also only use the central heating when needed and its not on a timer now. As well as this we replaced all our old wooden windows with new upvc double glazing which has also helped.
Cost of your energy this month
Electricity – £ 82.51
Gas – £ 141.66
Subtotal – £ 224.17
Now the days are drawing out and we get sunshine for longer periods I will be looking to use the electric immersion heater to heat the hot water on days when we get enough sun hence reducing my gas use even more. By April I will be able to turn the gas boiler off completely until September if all goes well!
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