We generated 1,018 kWh in August, up 5% from last month. That is our best month yet, and our best daily average of 32.8 kWh per day as compared to the last two month’s average of 31.3 kWh per day. Typically solar generation starts to decline in August, with decreasing sunlight hours, more clouds and more heat, but not this year.

We used 315 kWh, 1% less than the previous month. We used the air conditioning for only 3 days. We used 10 kWh for cooling / dehumidification, 3% of our month’s total usage. We generated a 703 kWh surplus this month, our 6th surplus month in a row and highest yet.

All values in kWh (except HDD).

  1. January values based on meter reads.
  2. February values based on TED data.
  3. Heating Degree Days (a measure of how many outside degrees in a day it is below a target inside temperature)
  4. Calculated from our HOBO outdoor weather monitor hourly data, unless otherwise noted.
  5. January HDD data downloaded from degreedays.net, Station ID: KALB (Albany International Airport).
  6. March values based on meter reads. (TED died March 1st, eMonitor installed March 16, 2012)
  7. Values based on eMonitor data.
Jan 1 Feb 2 Mar 6 Apr 7 May Jun Jul Aug
Solar PV 369 597 860 925 867 939 970 1,018
Usage 873 666 515 378 309 325 319 315
Net usage or (surplus) 504 69 (345) (538) (558) (614) (651) (703)
Avg. daily usage 28.2 23.0 16.6 12.9 10.0 10.8 10.3 10.2
HDD 3,4 1,212 5 1,045 704 617 298 144 34 56

I was surprised that our usage for the month was lower than last month. We’ve been using the stove like crazy canning tomatoes, dehydrating veggies and making lots of pesto. The big energy saver this month was less need for cooling and dehumidification. The number of hours we experienced temperature values below 68F increased to 56 HDD, although this is still below the average of 90 HDD for August in our area. Our water usage is also back down to a more normal summer range of 79.5 gallons per day.

You can see heat maps and detailed charts of temperature and electrical usage at netplusdesign.com. View solar, usage, net usage, temperatures and HDD for all of February and circuit-level data for 16 days in March and the full months of April through August.