Here is my monthly report on how our solar panel system did in May 2026. We have:
- 20x400W panels = 8kW, facing west
- 5kW GivEnergy inverter
- 9.5kWh GivEnergy battery
The house is in the UK at about 52° north. The system was installed in February 2024. The system was installed by Octopus who also supply our power and gas.
This is the year so far, all in kWh:
| Month | Generated | Used | Exported | Imported | Cost import | Paid export |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 110 | 518 | 106 | 522 | £88.53 | £14.91 |
| February | 237 | 592 | 226 | 580 | £79.08 | £33.97 |
| March | 590 | 484 | 599 | 507 | £74.47 | £68.30 |
| April | 937 | 283 | 927 | 326 | £37.71 | £112.71 |
| May | 1001 | 315 | 950 | 312 | £45.14 | £113.99 |
| June | 1009 | 465 | 954 | 405 | £60.83 | £124.07 |
| Totals | 3884 | 2657 | 3762 | 2652 | £385.76 | £467.95 |
2025 figures here.
Generation last month was good due to some sunny days. Consumption was up as the EV is finally back from having a locking issue sorted out. We had a petrol car over that time.
The export shown for June includes what we got from Axle Energy who pay us a good rate for periodic events where they will draw from our battery. They guarantee to pay us at least £10 each month, but we also had a referral reward for joining and anyone I sign up will get that too. I did not include that reward above as it does not relate directly the the energy produced and it is a one-off. This extra income will reduce the pay-back time of installing this system. Octopus increased our monthly payment as we was owing them a bit over the winter, but I hope to reduce that again if I can manage to keep us in credit. I can take the money out if that gets too high.
Our account is nicely into credit now and that should increase for the next couple of months.
Although we will probably not bother there should be plug-in solar options available in the UK soon. That will allow many more people to benefit from free power with a fairly low set-up cost. The country is already getting the majority of our power from renewables for much of the year as you can see here. Solar is the fastest growing energy source and also one of the cheapest. We need to get it on more industrial roofs. Some complain about using farmland, but it covers a lot less ground than things like golf courses. The UK is a long way north and most countries get more sun than we do so they stand to gain more. The fossil fuel industry may not like it, but people will go for what saves them money.
We may get more hydro-power in the UK soon. That can be controversial as it can affect natural ecology, but we have to balance out the benefits and harms. People may forget how much pollution comes from legacy power stations. Even nuclear has issues desides (rare) radiation incidents as it can need vast amounts of water. Solar has the advantage of being very passive once installed.
Shine on!
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