Path-Q Solar
How does exporting excess electricity affect a solar system's financial return?
Answer
Exporting excess electricity improves financial return only by the value assigned to those exports. If exported energy receives less value than electricity used on site, a system that produces large surpluses may have lower marginal savings than a system better matched to on-site consumption.
Key points
- Separate self-consumed generation from exported generation in the financial model.
- Export compensation may differ from the retail purchase price and may include timing or settlement rules.
- Load shifting, batteries, or a smaller system can increase self-consumption, but each has a cost.
- Oversizing can add production while contributing less savings per additional unit of capacity.
What it depends on
- Current export compensation and billing rules
- Hourly load and solar production
- System size and orientation
- Battery or load-shifting capability
- Utility charges and settlement period
Risks and trade-offs
- Assuming all production offsets retail-priced consumption can materially overstate return.
- A battery may increase self-consumption but introduce cost, degradation, and efficiency losses.
- Export rules can change and may differ by customer class or interconnection arrangement.
Information you may need
- Current utility tariff and export terms
- Interval consumption data
- Hourly production estimate
- Battery and controllable-load options
Your next step
What to do next
Request a model that reports self-consumption, exports, avoided purchases, and export credits separately for each month.
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