Q2 2017 summary: 15% warmer, 1% less usage and 15% less sun (412 kWh) as compared to Q2 2016.

Overall, here’s how this quarter compared to 2016.

Chart showing usage, solar, net and hdd
Chart showing usage, solar, net and hdd
2016 Usage Solar PV Net usage or (surplus) Avg. daily usage HDD
Total 1,439 2,668 (1,229) 15.8 994
Apr 575 893 (317) 19.2 615
May 551 834 (283) 17.8 279
Jun 313 942 (629) 10.4 100
All values in kWh (except HDD which is base 65°F).
2017 Usage Solar PV Net usage or (surplus) Avg. daily usage HDD
Total 1,421 2,258 (837) 15.6 846
Apr 531 758 (227) 17.7 420
May 514 692 (178) 16.6 315
Jun 375 807 (432) 12.5 110

Most noticeable is the lower solar generation, 15% down this quarter and 17% down for the combined first and second quarters. I think we’ll still easily remain net positive for the year, but this might be the lowest solar generation year for us since we got the panels.

The last day we used heat was April 11 for a total of 69.3 kWh this quarter. Last year we turned the heat off on April 17th and used 117.2 kWh that quarter.

Here’s our breakdown on energy use and cost for the last four winter seasons.

Winter season Heat kWh Est. Cost
2012-13 957 $144
2013-14 1,804 $271
2014-15 2,200 $330
2015-16 1,305 $196
2016-17 1,804 $271

Est. cost based on $0.15 kWh.

We would have spent about $1,212 (if we paid for electricity) in the last five winters. That’s still a lot less than many of our neighbors would spend in one winter.

We haven’t netted out energy-wise yet. Last year we netted out on May 31 after 8am. In 2015 we were 637 kWh short of netting out for the year. In 2014 we netted out around mid-July. In years prior we were net positive by May or June.

Our overall water usage is down 34% from Q2 2016. This has been a very rainy an cloudy season as evidenced by the lower solar generation numbers. Out hot water usage was up 17%.