Q2 2013 summary: 13% colder, 44% more usage and 4% less sun.

In Q2 last year our total usage was 1,021 kWh. This year is was 1,468 kWh, a 44% increase. Although it feels like it had rained a lot more this year then last, we only produced 4% less energy in Q2.

Overall, here’s how the first and second quarters compare to 2012.

Q1 and Q2 comparison
Q1 and Q2 comparison
2013 Usage Solar PV Net usage or (surplus) Avg. daily usage HDD
Total 1,468 2,626 (1,158) 16.1 906
Apr 528 920 (392) 17.6 571
May 529 904 (375) 17.1 232
Jun 411 802 (391) 13.7 103
All values in kWh (except HDD which is base 65°F).
2012 Usage Solar PV Net usage or (surplus) Avg. daily usage HDD
Total 1,021 2,731 (1,709) 11.2 802
Apr 387 925 (538) 12.9 535
May 309 867 (557) 10.0 170
Jun 325 939 (614) 10.8 97

Interesting note, we used 44% more energy this quarter as compared to 2012, but that was 447 kWh, or about the same as last quarter. We’re consistently using about  5 kWh extra per day than last year. This breaks down to 208 extra watts per hour. 100 watts is a heat lamp for the chick brooder, and the other 108 watts is roughly what my 2 laptops and task lighting use on average per hour.

Our water usage is only up 12%, and our hot water usage is down 3% from Q2 2012.

As for heating, we used the ASHP for roughly 14 hours in April for a total of 7.5 kWh.

In summary, Q2 usage is up compared to last year. That increase is attributed partially to the incubator and brooder box heat lamp (for the turkeys, chickens and guinea fowl), and partially to the increased use of the home office (last year I spent most of the summer building a barn, not staring at computers). We should be retiring the brooder box heat lamp this month, so I predict our next quarter usage will be up roughly 230 kWh from Q3 2012. Let’s see if my prediction holds.

You can see heat maps and detailed charts of temperature and electrical usage at netplusdesign.com. View hourly, daily and monthly values for solar, usage, net usage, temperatures and HDD.