How do you guys keep track of ROI on your panels / battery?

flyinggoose

I wanted to keep track of how much money I'm saving by having solar panels and a battery, was going to just create a spreadsheet with monthly data  but I was wondering if there is an easier way to track the savings? Or if there's a prebuilt spreadsheet anywhere?

Thanks!

EcoScruples

Good question, I made my own spreadsheet to track everything but it's a bit of a pain entering all the data.
I have all the info in my Huawei app that works out how much I've used overall, how much I've used from the grid (actual cost) and how much I've been paid back for export.
The figure is actually pretty close to what I have for the saving I've made so far.
2 months to go and I'll have a full year.

Alnat1

Everyone works it out differently. For example, if you generate 15kWh and use 10 of them, were those 10kWh free? Or did you save 34p x 10? Or did you lose 15p x 10 because you didn't export them?

Are you going to have a party when you hit ROI?

I'm just forgetting the maths, all I know is, since the system went in last year in March, I haven't had to pay for any energy. That's good enough.

powerful_Rogue

I made a spreadsheet to keep track of things. Just update it once I get my bill through from Octopus each month.

Why do I do it? Gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside

flyinggoose

powerful_Rogue said:

I made a spreadsheet to keep track of things. Just update it once I get my bill through from Octopus each month.

Why do I do it? Gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside

Thanks! Your spreadsheet looks pretty neat think I'll model mine after it 👍

powerful_Rogue

flyinggoose said:

powerful_Rogue said:

I made a spreadsheet to keep track of things. Just update it once I get my bill through from Octopus each month.

Why do I do it? Gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside

Thanks! Your spreadsheet looks pretty neat think I'll model mine after it 👍

I've been tweaking it as things have changed. Now I don't bother using the export rate to calculate, as it changes on flux, so just put the actual £ i've saved instead each month.

[Deleted User]

People will spend £30k on a new kitchen and not think about a RoI. Having sold a house with solar PV, it does attract buyers so I tend to think of my present investment as something that reduces my energy prices whilst adding value to my home.

propnut

My Growatt inverters give me a running track of generated power and revenue. My system was installed in Nov 22 so come Nov this year I will take the figures and use them to work out my ROI.

cm4ever

[Deleted User] said:

People will spend £30k on a new kitchen and not think about a RoI. Having sold a house with solar PV, it does attract buyers so I tend to think of my present investment as something that reduces my energy prices whilst adding value to my home.

I'm with you all the way, people buy cars at the drop of a hat then change them for something else entirely, never hear them talking about RoI - anything but!

The way I look at it, having a total electric bill including standing charge of just £5 + gas in March (after exports and minimal imports due to the battery storage) is good enough to confirm to us we made the right choice for us.

Everyone has their own view, but RoI isn't something I purchased our system for, making a positive change in our energy usage was more important.

EcoScruples

I refuse to believe anyone doesn't buy solar for ROI. When people say that, then what they're saying is they bought solar to lose money. That makes no sense what so ever.
By reducing your energy bills you will make a return eventually, how long is the interesting bit for many people.
What I do believe is that some aren't bothered by how long it takes to payback.

My spreadsheet is a bit simpler than Rogues, nice work.

ispookie666

My habits have changed significantly, and I have given up!  My electric usage has gone up considerably, as it has replaced the oil boiler as the primary heat source.  
2022 - Electric £1200 saved if I did not have solar +battery;   Adding the heating (if I include Jan and Feb), the saving comes to approximately £1700, due to approximately 1000L less oil purchase.