Owning a solar power system is an excellent way of producing your own emission-free electricity while saving money on your bills. But are you using your solar system to the fullest?
For instance, monitoring your production in real time is a powerful way to maximize the usage of watts you produce. But that’s just the beginning. In this blog, we’ll introduce our 3-step way to success to make the most of our solar power system: monitor, use, and store.
1. Monitoring your production
Monitoring production is essential in using your system efficiently. Firstly, by regularly checking in on your solar production, you ensure your panels produce as expected. It is good to keep an eye on the month-to-month production of your system.
You can compare these numbers with your electricity bill: how much did you save using the panels? Another reason to monitor production is to detect anomalies immediately. Depending on the type of system, one defective panel might prevent the entire system from delivering power. Such problems are easily detected by keeping an eye on your production and will ensure you maximally enjoy your panels!
We at Synergi have created a solar integration in our app to ease the monitoring of your solar power system. You can quickly hook up your system to Synergi and instantly gain insights. We can tell you how much you are producing, but also compare this to previous production periods. This aids you in finding the anomalies we talked about previously.
We have also got you covered for your historical production. We provide the most crucial information about your solar production in the previous 24 hours, 30 days, and last year’s data.
Aside from the production information in the graph, we also give you the statistics in a summary, as seen in the image above. We provide you with the total production and your savings, shown as CO2 and money saved.
These cover all the relevant statistics we previously mentioned and are all provided to you on one clear, structured page. We provide these statistics for free, so nothing should stop you from signing up! We will give you instructions for this later; let us first look at how you should use your electricity production.
2. Using your production
Now that you are a pro in monitoring your system, the next step is to know how to use the insights to maximize your production and savings. What should you look into?
- Pay attention to when your system outputs the most power: When you align your high electricity-consuming activities with the period when your solar system produces the maximum power, you can reduce your reliance on grid electricity. This can help you lower your electricity bills because you utilize the free electricity generated by your solar panels. It is easy to find out when your system is producing maximally using the statistics you find in the Synergi app.
- Make sure to use all the electricity you produce: You can plan your daily activities accordingly when you know when your solar panels produce the most electricity. This way, you can use more of the free electricity you generate instead of sending it back to the grid. This increases the efficiency of your solar panel system and reduces your environmental impact. However, you can also sell your electricity back to the grid and repurchase it later. There is still an advantage in using your own electricity, as selling electricity costs you money in terms of VAT and a small charge. One crucial fact is that solar systems output power early in the morning and later in the day. As long as there is sun, there is solar power for you to enjoy. The power output early morning and later in the day, naturally, are lower than during solar noon, but that is no reason to forget about those times. Using the Synergi app, you can quickly determine if your system is still producing, how much this is, and when it usually produces electricity.
3. Storing your production
We understand that planning your electricity-heavy tasks during the sunshine can be challenging. Another way to enable you to use your own generated power is by storing your produced electricity. The best-known example of this is by using a battery. Batteries are the most versatile way of storing electricity, as you can get power for any device.
However, batteries are not in reach for all households and are yet to become a popular option. But fear not; there might be other storage opportunities for you!
- Electric vehicles: Electric vehicles are batteries on wheels. The difference between a fixed battery at home is that you cannot use your electric vehicle to power your favorite home appliances. Charging your electric vehicle using solar power is a great way to ensure you maximally use your production. In the future, we will support solar charging, where we automatically decide if the solar power is strong enough to charge your EV. Another future technology is V2G (Vehicle to Grid), where power from the vehicle battery can be transferred to the grid during peak demand periods. Read more about V2G in our blog.
- HVAC devices: These devices, such as heat pumps and air conditioning, heat up and cool down your home. By enabling these devices during solar hours, you can store your production in the form of heat. Then, when the sun has set, your home will be comfortably warm (or cold during the summer).
Maximizing your solar panel setup pays off!
What did we learn today? We looked at ways to monitor your production and why this is important. Knowing if (and how much) power you produce lets you know when to plan your electricity-heavy tasks.
We also looked deeper into why it is essential to use your production to the fullest because of the monetary advantages. For those unable to use their solar production to the fullest during the solar hours, we looked at different ways to store your production so you can still enjoy it after sunset.
You’re only one step away from making the most of your solar system! Join Synergi and start monitoring your production for free!
Get the Synergi app and start saving on your electricity bill! Here’s how:
- Get the app and connect your devices: Download the Synergi app and connect your devices. You don’t need any extra equipment.
- Change settings and preferences: Set up and use the smart features you want! Set preferences for smart charging, set limits for home heating & cooling systems, and more coming to the app soon!
- Enjoy the savings: Sit back and save money as Synergi adjusts your electricity use to cheaper times.
