AVERAGE ELECTRICITY USAGE

One of the factors in planning the size of your array is how much energy your building uses. Your average monthly usage (in kWh) helps us determine the maximum system size that would be appropriate for your building. In most cases, there is not enough roof space on a commercial building to install a PV system that would supply more electricity than the building uses. However, for a small business with a large roof, this may not hold true.

During the day, if your solar PV system produces more electricity than the building is using, surplus electricity will flow backwards through your meter onto the grid. Xcel buys that electricity from you at the retail rate (a 1:1 exchange). If your system makes more energy than you use over the course of a month, Xcel will generate a credit on your bill (also paid at the retail rate) that rolls over to the following month. However, at the end of the calendar year (i.e. December 31), if your system has still generated more energy than you have used, Xcel will settle out your account by paying you for that excess at wholesale rates. This rate is lower than the "retail" rate that you are charged for energy, so there are no financial incentives for you to own a PV system that creates more energy than you use over the course of the year.

In order to calculate your average monthly usage, you will need a year's worth of bills from Xcel. If you have not saved a year's worth of bills, you can call Xcel to get a report of your energy usage. That number is 1.800.895.4999. If you do have a year's worth of bills, you can find your monthly kWh usage here: