Case Study - Brian Whelton
The Problem
Brian lives in a semidetached housing with high electricity bills and recently purchased an electric vehicle. As he was changing his electric tariff to an EV tariff, Brian wanted to reduce his electricity bill further but not use the high day time rate. On top of this he wanted to power most of his house on renewable energy but not rely on his supplier giving him a green tariff.
What we did
Brian reached out to Solarstream to design a solar system for his home to cover his daytime usage as well as a way to not pay the day time prices his supplier would charge when solar would be at his lowest - November to January. We designed a 4.8kw system for his home with a 10.98kwh Dyness battery system to store any excess solar generation as well as allowing Brian to store his night rate electricity to be used in the daytime.
We completed his installation with our installation team of roofers and electricians in 2 days while our office supported Brian on his ESB and SEAI grant application, returning him a grant of €2100 and allowing Brian to export his surplus energy back to the grid.
The Result
Reduced Energy Bills
Brian was able to have his solar be the primary source of energy for his house; not his supplier. As a result, he did not need to pay anything for energy that his system generated. Furthermore, anything excess was sent back to the grid, resulting in a large export fee being credited back to his bill. This further reduced his energy bill. Finally thanks to his battery being charged in the night, he was able to run his house on his night rate when solar was not available. This meant on Christmas Day he was able to run his house on his battery alone till after Christmas Lunch!
Solar PV Consumption
Brian's Solar PV usage is highest on weekends when he is home but no solar generation is wasted. If there is no usage in the house - during weekdays - it fills back into the battery. Thus when Brian comes back in the evening he can benefit from solar stored in his battery. Furthermore, if his battery is full, he can benefit from an export fee which can be used to offset his future bills.
Production
The average home consumes 4200kwh in a year but Brian uses more due to his family and Electric Vehicle. While his 5000kwh is not split over every month, all solar is either:
1) Used to power his home
2) Stored in his battery for later use
3) Sent back to the grid so it can come back as export fee credit
CO2 Avoided
As Brian is producing power at his home, he is using energy which is coming from a renewable source. This means that any CO2 emissions generated from supplying his house is not created as the energy is no longer needed for his house. As a result, Brian is reducing his emissions with every bit of solar that he's generating. As a result, Brian's system avoids producing 2.3 tons of CO2 based on his production - offsetting any CO2 generated from his night supply.
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