You use power in kWh from the grid. Your electricity retailer charges you per kWh you use plus a daily supply charge.
Solar is just an additional source of generation that produces power during the day and is plugged right into your switchboard so you can use it.
When the solar is producing power (Production), you can either use it (Consumption), sell it to the grid (Export) or store it in a battery 🔋.
Using solar power instead of grid power saves the money your electricity retailer would’ve otherwise charged you to use the power from them. This can range from 25c-50c per kWh.
By exporting to the grid, your retailer gives you a credit towards your bill, deducted from it at the end of the month or quarter. This can be anywhere from 5c-20c per kWh.
Kilowatt-hours (kWh): The unit of measurement for electricity consumption and production.
Production or Generation: The power your solar produces in kWh.
Solar Consumption: The power you are using while the solar system is producing it (kWh).
Solar Export: The excess power you ARE NOT using in your home, which will be sold back to the grid (kWh).
Net billing: Refers to how your Solar Export is calculated. Net billing means that your solar export will be managed at the billing level. This means your retailer assigns a price to the units of power you send back to them and it will get deducted from your bill at the end of the billing period.
Solar Panels: Called Photovoltaic Modules, solar panels turn UV light (Photons) into electricity (Volts) hence the name Photovoltaic.
Solar Inverter: One of the major components in a Solar System. The inverter converts the power produced by the panels from Direct Current (DC) into Alternating Current (AC), which can be safely used inside the home or business.
How Solar Works
