July 2022 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency

There is a hidden advantage to leaving town for thirteen days in July: your solar PV system can just crank electrons back into the grid.  Check it out:

A total of ~1.15 mWh produced for the month.  Yep, that is more than a megawatt of clean energy from the sun.  It was also just under the prior month’s ~1.2 mWh of production, but also good for the second best month of production in my system’s history.

In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the black” ~466 kWh..  For the year so far we flipped to being “in the black” by 366 kWh.  As a side note, we also flipped back to being net positive since our new meter was installed about two years ago.

In the chaos of getting ready to leave for almost two weeks I missed recording our last billing cycle’s natural gas consumption.  I remember it actually being higher than the same period the prior year, which makes sense given we were gone for two weeks in June 2021.  I will rectify the numbers next month.

For the month of July we drove the Nissan Leaf 628.9 miles at an average efficiency of 6.2 miles per kWh. This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~737 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. For the year so far we have avoided ~5,051 pounds of CO2.

June 2022 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency

Biggest month ever!  Check it out:

A total of ~1.2 mWh produced for the month.  Yep, that is more than a megawatt of clean energy from the sun.  For some reason the sun felt really intense this month.  There were days when it just felt brutal.

In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the black” ~424 kWh..  For the year so far we are “in the red” ~118 kWh.  We should go net positive by the end of July.

Our natural gas usage always drops in the summer since we are not running any heating equipment save for our water heater.  Still, we managed to use one less therm than the same month a year prior.  So far in 2022 we have used 64 fewer therms of natural gas or about a 14% reduction over 2021.  I have been trying to find a plumber to install a hybrid air source heat pump electric water heater, which would zero out our summer natural gas usage and reduce our total usage by about 150 therms, but so far no dice.  The supply chain problems are really persistent.

For the month of June we drove the Nissan Leaf 1,045.5 miles at an average efficiency of 5.9 miles per kWh.  This was also the biggest month ever.  Why?  Well, with gas prices so high we really prioritized driving the Leaf and took on some carpooling to kids’ summer activities to help out.  It’s pretty awesome driving past gas stations with a gallon of unleaded near $5 knowing that you are driving on sunshine that cost nothing.

This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~1,217 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. For the year so far we have avoided ~4,134 pounds of CO2.

May 2022 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency 

May was a big turnaround from the prior month.  We went from a dark, rainy month to one with mild temperatures and a good deal of sun:

A total of ~977 kWh produced for the month.  This represents the best May for my solar system ever.

In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the black” ~353 kWh..  For the year so far we are “in the red” ~542 kWh. 

Production is one part of this, but so is consumption.  As I have described before, we are trying to limit our use of natural gas in the household.  Keeping the thermostat low and using electrical heat in small spaces has worked.   For the year we have used 63 fewer therms, which works out to an equivalent of ~1,827 kWh of electricity. 

We feel that this is the right approach to energy usage given all of the problems inherent in the production of natural gas and the high level of renewables utilized in Iowa’s electricity generation mix.  Also, it will allow me to install additional solar panels in a couple of years as our household usage increases.

For the month of May we drove the Nissan Leaf 448.9 miles at an average efficiency of 5.7 miles per kWh. 

This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~566 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. For the year so far we have avoided ~3,097 pounds of CO2.

April 2022 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency 

One word describes April 2022: miserable.  It has been demonstrably colder and windier this year than prior years.  Naturally, it impacted solar PV production and our household’s energy usage:

A total of ~739 kWh produced for the month.  In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the red” ~48 kWh. Had we produced the same amount of electricity as the year before we would have been “in the black” ~116 kWh.  Also, given the difference in weather we probably would have used a lot less electricity.  For the year so far we are “in the red” ~895 kWh.  Year-over-year versus the same period last year we are ~400 kWh more “in the red.”

Production is one part of this, but so is consumption.  As I have described before, we are trying to limit our use of natural gas in the household.  Keeping the thermostat low and using electrical heat in small spaces has worked.  Even with a billing period that was ~10 degrees cooler than the year before we managed to use ~2% fewer therms of natural gas.  For the year we have used 58 fewer therms, which works out to an equivalent of ~1,700 kWh of electricity.  My hope is that May represents a turnaround in fortunes, but the weather has not been kind the past few days.  Cold, windy and rainy is the order of the day.

We feel that this is the right approach to energy usage given all of the problems inherent in the production of natural gas and the high level of renewables utilized in Iowa’s electricity generation mix.  Also, it will allow me to install additional solar panels in a couple of years as our household usage increases.

For the month of January we drove the Nissan Leaf 649.1 miles at an average efficiency of 5.3 miles per kWh.  Year-over-year versus the same period last year we drove ~12.5% more.

This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~743 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. For the year so far we have avoided ~2,531 pounds of CO2.

March 2022 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency 

March is the month where we start producing a lot more electricity via our solar panel array.  Check out the month’s numbers below:

A total of ~667 kWh produced for the month.  This was in line with the two years prior—better than 2020 and a little down from 2021.  In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the red” ~119 kWh.  This is trending in the right direction and hopefully April can be the month where we breakthrough into the black producing more electricity than we use.  For the year we are “in the red” ~847 kWh.  In the year prior we were “in the red” ~641 kWh.  The difference can be accounted for in the increased use of electricity for heating small spaces in order to reduce our use of natural gas to heat the entire house.

Based on the information in my natural gas bills we have used ~17% fewer therms of natural gas than the year prior.  This works out to ~57 therms.  Using an equivalent amount of electricity would work out to ~1,670 kWh at a rate of 29.3 kWh per therm.  So, if we use additional electricity at a lower amount we are coming out ahead of the game.  The next big reduction in our natural gas usage is hopefully going to come from the installation of a hybrid air source heat pump water heater.

For the month of January we drove the Nissan Leaf 530.7  miles at an average efficiency of 5.2 miles per kWh.  This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~606 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. For the year we have avoided ~1,788 pounds of CO2 by driving the Leaf in favor of an ICE.

February 2022 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency 

February is usually a tough month for solar PV product, but something strange happened in 2022:

Not only was this the best February in history for our solar PV array, but it also bested any prior November, December, or January in terms of production.  Hopefully this is a harbinger of a big year for solar PV production.

A total of ~465 kWh produced for the month.  In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the red” ~245 kWh. In comparison with the prior year we were “better” more than 100 kWh even with a significant increase in EV miles driven.  For the year to date our household is “in the red” ~728 kWh.

Our household effort to use less natural gas, which seems even more important now that energy is becoming a weapon on the world stage, continues apace.  During the last billing period for which I have data we used ~11% fewer therms of natural gas than the year prior.  This works out to ~14 therms.  Using an equivalent amount of electricity would work out to ~410 kWh at a rate of 29.3 kWh per therm.  For the year to date our household has used ~39 fewer therms versus the same period the year prior.  An equivalent amount of electricity would work out to ~1,143 kWh using the same logic as above.

For the month of February we drove the Nissan Leaf 548.6 miles at an average efficiency of 5.0 miles per kWh.  This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~622 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. 

For the year to date, we have driven the Nissan Leaf 1,053.3 miles.  This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~1,183 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. 

What is really scary is that my daughter received her learner’s permit this month, so she has started putting miles on the Leaf.

January 2022 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency

January and February are always tough months for solar PV production.  The days are short, the skies are cloudy, and frequently the array is covered in a layer of crusty snow.  You can really tell how covered the array was early in the month:

A total of ~249 kWh produced for the month.  In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the red” ~483 kWh. 

This seems like a lot and it is more than double 2021, but it is actually in line with what my household averaged in 2020.  Furthermore, my wife and I have been making an effort to reduce our natural gas usage and utilize more personal heating.  She uses a radiator style space heater in her home office and I use an electric foot mat heater in my home office.  During the last billing period for which I have data we used ~22% fewer therms of natural gas than the year prior.  This works out to ~25 therms.  Using an equivalent amount of electricity would work out to ~730 kWh at a rate of 29.3 kWh per therm.

We feel that this is the right approach to energy usage given all of the problems inherent in the production of natural gas and the high level of renewables utilized in Iowa’s electricity generation mix.  Also, it will allow me to install additional solar panels in a couple of years as our household usage increases.

For the month of January we drove the Nissan Leaf 504.7 miles at an average efficiency of 4.5 miles per kWh.  It is amazing just how much efficiency you lose driving an EV in the winter with a resistive heater.  It also speaks to just how much waste heat an ICE produces through combustion.  This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~561 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. 

2021 Personal Goals Scorecard

2021 was a year.  Actually, it felt like more than a year.

Looking back I do not know what I really did for an entire year.  Work feels like pretending as our ad hoc work from home arrangement is entering its third year with no end in sight.  Play feels like a constant question of “is this worth the risk of potential exposure?”  Heck, every time I think about going out to grab a pizza my minds starts to think about transmission rates and air handlers.  Yeah, that is what 2021 did to my brain.

Anyway, I digress.  How did I do when it came to my goals for 2021?  Read on below to find out.

Here goes:

1. Read 60 books—73 books in total against a goal of 60.  Victory.
2. Ride 3,000 miles on my bicycle—4,103.6 miles against a goal of 3,000.  Victory.
3. Ride 3 “new to me” trails—I only rode one “new to me” trail: the High Trestle Trail in central Iowa.  It seemed like coronavirus and weather killed every effort I made to ride new trails.
4. Local, direct, and packaging free beer—Pretty good.  You can see the details here, but the theme was heavy on the local (only one non-local purchase all year) and decent on buying direct from the brewer and/or in a packaging neutral form factor.
5. No new car in 2020—Epic failure.  We got through March before the reality of needing two cars that could travel more than 75 miles or so set in.  Granted, I am glad we did not spend the first half of this year trying to rent cars for those few weekends of kids activities separated by hundreds of miles. A single weekend was going for about what our car payment is right now.  That would have hurt.
6. Less lawn, more life—I feel like I am about halfway to my goal of ripping out my lawn in various spots.  I started to build out a large pollinator garden in 2021, but 2022 is probably going to see my finish the project and undertake another similar style bed in another part of my lawn.
7. Deeper decarbonization—Like the prior year, I do not know how to categorize this goal.  Without any effort on our part, my wife and I “avoided” 218 days of commutes to work.    Since 2019 we have “avoided” 383 days of commutes to work.  This is a lot of avoided carbon dioxide and other attendant pollution.  I have also decarbonized my lawn care with a battery electric mower.  It does feel, however, like we stalled out a little this past year.  Our delayed effort to replace out natural gas water heater with a hybrid air source heat pump model ran into supply chain realities.  As a household we made some efforts to reduce natural gas usage by keeping our house a little chillier and focusing on heating the person via electricity.  If there is one thing I am going to work on in 2022 this is it.

December 2021 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency

December 2021 solar photovoltaic production was up versus the same month last year.  About 43 kWh of additional production is good, especially in a generally garbage month for production.  How did the month look:

A total of ~273 kWh produced for the month.  In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the red” ~256 kWh. 

For the year, my household is ~459 kWh “in the black” or net-positive in terms of electricity production versus consumption.  The prior year we ended “in the black” ~1,040 kWh.  A part of this attributable to not working from home for the first quarter of 2020 and then following that up with a severe downturn in miles drive—a direct proxy for electricity usage in my household due to the Nissan Leaf.  Additionally, we are making an effort to use electricity to heat small spaces this year rather than relying on our natural gas fired furnace.  For the same billing periods in November and December our natural gas usage was down ~41% and ~18% respectively with similar average temperatures.

For the month of December we drove the Nissan Leaf 438.1 miles at an average efficiency of 5.1 miles per kWh.  This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~498 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. 

For the year, so far, we have driven ~6,307 miles at an average efficiency of ~5.3 miles per kWh.  This translates into a CO2 avoidance of ~7,210 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. 

November 2021 Solar PV Production and EV Efficiency

November 2021 solar photovoltaic production was up versus the same month last year.  Granted, it was only 10 kWh difference for the entire month but more is more.  How did the month look:

A total of ~384 kWh produced for the month.  In terms of electricity production versus consumption my household ended up “in the red” ~302 kWh.  Some of the increase in extra electricity usage is attributable to driving our Nissan Leaf more (up almost 40% year-over-year) and a Thanksgiving holiday week with a house full of people.

The other big change year-over-year is that we are trying to use a lot less natural gas to heat our home.  My wife and I work from home full time, so our heating bill has been higher than pre-COVID-19.  However, since we spend the majority of the time in two smallish rooms of the house that have been turned into home offices we have been turning down the thermostat for the whole house and using electric heat.  She runs a little more cold blooded than I do, so in her office she is using a small radiator style space heater to keep her warm.  I am just using an electric foot heater to keep my toes warm, which is about the only part of my body bothered by the cold.  It will be interesting to see if we have made a noticeable difference in our natural gas usage over the course of the winter heating season.

For the year, my household is ~715 kWh “in the black” or net-positive in terms of electricity production versus consumption.

For the month of November we drove the Nissan Leaf 720.2 miles at an average efficiency of 5.2 miles per kWh.  This works out to a CO2 avoidance of ~822 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region. 

For the year, so far, we have driven ~5,869 miles at an average efficiency of ~5.3 miles per kWh.  This translates into a CO2 avoidance of ~6,712 pounds versus my truck assuming we pulled every watt for the Nissan Leaf from the grid at an average carbon intensity for my region.