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+---
+slug: solar-one-year
+title: "Solar: One Year"
+date: "2023-12-29T08:06:45-04:00"
+pics:
+ dashboard:
+ css: "image"
+ tip: "Total 2023 energy production and consumption."
+ sources:
+ - "/files/posts/solar-one-year/dashboard.webp"
+ - src: "/files/posts/solar-one-year/dashboard.png"
+ width: 855
+ height: 527
+ bill:
+ css: "image"
+ tip: "Our July power bill with monthly usage and amount due highlighted."
+ sources:
+ - "/files/posts/solar-one-year/bill-20230722.webp"
+ - src: "/files/posts/solar-one-year/bill-20230722.png"
+ width: 873
+ height: 534
+tables:
+ savings:
+ # table columns (required)
+ cols:
+ - id: "desc"
+ name: "Description"
+ tip: "Description"
+ - id: "amount"
+ name: "Amount ($)"
+ tip: "Amount of money saved, in dollars."
+ align: "right"
+
+ # table rows (required)
+ rows:
+ - amount: "$868.00"
+ desc: "Energy Produced (6.2 [MWh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hour#Multiples \"megawatt-hour (MWh)\"), $0.14/[kWh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hour \"kilowatt-hour (kWh)\"))"
+ - amount: "$260.25"
+ desc: "[Fairfax County Solar Energy Equipment Tax Exemption](https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/relief/real-estate-solar-equipment \"Fairfax County Solar Energy Equipment Tax Exemption\")"
+ - amount: "$179.52"
+ desc: "[SRECs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Renewable_Energy_Certificate \"Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC)\")"
+ - amount: "**$1307.77**"
+ desc: "**Total**"
+---
+
+{{< pe-figure "dashboard" >}}
+
+Last year we got [rooftop solar][solar]. The picture above is our
+[Enphase][] dashboard, which shows how the solar panels performed in
+2023.
+
+The blue bars indicate the energy produced by our solar panels and the
+orange bars indicate the energy consumed by our house, in
+[megawatt-hours (MWh)][MWh].
+
+The relevant values are:
+
+* Consumed: Total energy consumed by our house.
+* Produced: Total energy generated by our solar panels.
+* Net Imported: Energy we are actually billed for.
+
+Any excess energy that we produce is exported back to the grid and
+credited to our account ([net metering][]), so our power bills during
+the spring and early summer look like this:
+
+{{< pe-figure "bill" >}}
+
+The sections of the bill highlighted in red show the following,
+respectively:
+
+1. Four months of zero net energy use.
+2. A bare minimum power bill.
+
+## Savings
+
+Here's a breakdown of the money we saved this year from solar:
+
+{{< table "savings" >}}
+
+Notes:
+
+* The solar panels offset **62%** of our energy use for the year
+ (6.2/9.9 = ~0.62) and saved us **$868.00** (6200 kWh * $0.14/[kWh][] =
+ $868).
+* We received a **$260.25** property tax exemption from the [Fairfax
+ County Solar Energy Equipment Tax Exemption][tax-exemption].
+* We generated 6 [solar renewable energy credits (SRECs)][srec] in 2023
+ and 5 have been sold. We received **$179.52** for them (after fees).
+
+The expected lifetime of the solar panels is 20 years. We expect to
+recoup the initial installation cost in 11-13 years.
+
+That's longer than usual (most folks try to break even in 5-8 years),
+but we're okay with it; our house is partially shaded and our panel
+placement is deliberately less than optimal for aesthetic reasons.
+
+[solar]: {{< relref "posts/2022-09-11-solar-panels.md" >}}
+ "Solar Panels installed on our roof."
+[enphase]: https://enphaseenergy.com/
+ "Enphase"
+[kwh]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hour
+ "kilowatt-hour (kWh)"
+[mwh]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hour#Multiples
+ "megawatt-hour (MWh)"
+[net metering]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_metering
+ "Net metering"
+[srec]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Renewable_Energy_Certificate
+ "Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC)"
+[tax-exemption]: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/relief/real-estate-solar-equipment
+ "Solar Energy Equipment Tax Exemption for Fairfax County"