Understanding Your Energy Usage & Goals

Every utility formats their bills differently, but the core information you need is the same. Here’s what to look for:

• Total kilowatt-hours (kWh) consumed. This is the single most important number. It tells you how much energy your home used during the billing period. You’ll need 12 months of this data to account for seasonal variation — air conditioning in summer and heating loads in winter can swing your usage dramatically.
• Billing period dates. Billing cycles aren’t always exactly one month, and they don’t always align with calendar months. Note the start and end dates so you can accurately calculate daily averages.
• Rate structure and cost per kWh. This is what you’re paying for each unit of electricity. Some utilities charge a flat rate; others use tiered pricing (the more you use, the more expensive each kWh gets) or time-of-use (TOU) rates where the price varies by time of day. Your rate structure directly affects how much value solar produces for you.
• Fixed charges and fees. Most bills include a base charge, delivery charge, or customer charge that you pay regardless of how much electricity you use. Solar won’t eliminate these. Understanding them helps you set realistic expectations about what your post-solar bill will look like.
• Demand charges (if applicable). Some utilities, especially for larger homes or commercial-adjacent rates, charge based on your peak demand in kilowatts (kW), not just total consumption in kWh. If you have demand charges, battery storage becomes a more significant part of the conversation.

Most utilities provide a 12-month usage history either on the bill itself or through an online portal. Log into your utility account and download this data if you can — it’s the starting point for everything that follows.

Your utility rate structure determines how much each kWh of solar production is worth to you. Not all kilowatt-hours save you the same amount of money — understanding this is critical for making smart design decisions.

If you’re not sure which rate structure you’re on, your utility bill or online account will list your rate schedule name (something like “Residential Standard” or “TOU-D-Prime”). Search your utility’s website for the rate schedule details — or bring it to your consultation and we’ll walk through it with you.

Your solar system will produce the most energy during the middle of the day, but you probably use the most energy in the morning and evening. Net metering is the mechanism that makes this mismatch work in your favor.

Here’s the basic concept: when your solar system produces more electricity than your home is consuming, the excess flows back to the grid and your meter effectively “runs backward.” You receive a credit for that exported energy. Later, when your home needs more power than your system is producing (nighttime, cloudy days), you draw from the grid and those credits offset the cost.

Net metering policies vary significantly by state and utility, and they’re evolving rapidly. Here are the key variables:

• Full retail net metering — you receive credit at the same rate you pay for electricity. This is the most favorable arrangement for solar owners and has historically been the standard, but it’s becoming less common as more states revise their policies.
• Reduced-rate or net billing — your exports are credited at a lower rate than what you pay to import electricity. California’s NEM 3.0 is a well-known example. Under these structures, self-consumption (using solar energy directly when it’s produced) becomes more valuable, and battery storage becomes more financially attractive.
• Credit rollover — most net metering programs allow credits to roll over month to month. You typically build up a bank of credits in sunny months and draw them down in winter. Some utilities pay out excess credits at the end of an annual cycle (usually at a much lower rate); others simply zero out your balance.
• System size caps — some utilities limit the size of net-metered systems, often to 100% or 110% of your historical annual consumption. Oversizing beyond this cap may mean you’re producing energy you won’t get fair value for.

Your net metering policy has a direct impact on system sizing and whether adding battery storage makes sense. We’ll help you research what applies in your area during a consultation — this is one of the first things we look at.

“I want solar” is a starting point, not a design specification. To size your system correctly, you need to define what you’re trying to accomplish. Here are the most common goals and how they influence system design:

Most homeowners want some combination of these. A common starting point is “offset 100% of my current usage and leave room to add an EV later.” That’s a perfectly reasonable goal — just know that it means sizing the system for more than your current consumption, which affects budget and roof space.

Your solar system will be on your roof for 25–30 years. Your energy usage will almost certainly change during that time. It’s worth thinking about what’s coming:

• Electric vehicles. An EV can add 3,000–5,000+ kWh per year depending on how much you drive. If you’re considering one in the next few years, factor it into your system sizing now. It’s much cheaper to add extra panels during the initial installation than to do a separate project later.
• Heat pumps and electrification. If you’re planning to replace a gas furnace with a heat pump or switch from a gas water heater to a heat pump water heater, your electricity usage will go up (but your gas bill will go down or away). This is an increasingly common scenario and it changes the math significantly.
• Pool or hot tub. Pool pumps run many hours per day, and heated pools or hot tubs are substantial loads. If one is in your future, account for it.
• Household changes. Kids moving out, retirees spending more time at home, adding a home office — lifestyle changes affect usage patterns. You don’t need to predict the future perfectly, but it helps to think about the direction your usage is heading.

You don’t have to build for every possible scenario today. But if you know a major electrification project is likely in the next few years, it’s smart to plan for it now. At minimum, consider sizing your inverter and electrical infrastructure to accommodate future panel additions, even if you don’t install all the panels on day one.

Battery storage is not required for a solar installation, and for many homeowners it’s not the best use of their budget — at least not yet. But there are clear scenarios where it makes sense:

We’ll help you evaluate whether batteries make financial sense for your specific situation. The answer depends on your rate structure, net metering policy, outage frequency, and budget. Don’t let anyone tell you that you “need” batteries — it’s a financial and practical decision, not a requirement.

When you’re ready to talk, here’s what to have on hand. This information lets us hit the ground running and make the most of your consultation time:

You don’t need all of this to get started — but the more you bring, the more specific and useful our recommendations will be from day one.