Today I have been busy in my lab (AKA, my kitchen) brewing concoctions, and finally going completely green 💚

#SaveTheFishies 🐟🐠🐟 #NancyBirtwhistle #GoingGreen #GreenCleaning #CleanMagic #HomeMadeLaundryDetergent 🧼

#SolarUpdate time

New year, new data... I post these every month, giving people a glimpse into the solar and battery system I've had on my home since early 2023.

All figures are within a few % of actual, the data reported for the web portal is very close to true... but there's always a slight variance compared to the energy provider, as data drop outs can occur at times if wifi acts flaky for example.

Total solar generation for Jan 2026 was roughly 163kwh and we used 99% of that, only exporting 1kwh.

We imported roughly 286kwh of energy.

That's not bad generation for a January. Previous years have been in the 150kwh range, so we're up a few % on the avg of 155kwh.

Total cost of electric including all standing charges and VAT for the month was £92.

Gas for heating was still the biggest part of the bill. My elderly mum lives with me and struggles with the cold a lot more. So the heating is 2ºC higher than I would have it... and that adds about £30 a month extra to the heating bill over the colder months. Typically the heating is used between Oct-April.

So gas use for Jan inc all charges was £126.

The total bill was £227 and some change.

That's less than previous years... I've done a lot to help insulate the house these last couple of years, and it shows. Prior to that work, the winter bill for Jan 2023 was £267. After the work it's been £222 and £227. So that's an avg of £42 saved just in Jan these last 2yrs.

The gas bill was almost identical though for last year and this year. In spite of turning the thermostat up. Which means, the heating is using more gas when on, but the house is retaining the heat for longer. So if i could turn the thermostat down to my regular 18-19ºC rather than the 20-21ºC it is at the moment. I'd see better savings.

Obviously, the gas use isn't impacted by the solar/battery system. But I've worked hard to improve the efficiency of the whole house within my budget and abilities. The only way to improve it further would be to replace the cavity wall insulation... and that's expensive as they have to suck out the old stuff and replace with better quality... these days they use small resin bound polystyrene balls to replace the loose stuff they used before, as that drops over time leaving voids under windows and the tops of walls.

Savings for the month on electric are in the £42 range thanks to the solar generation.

#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen

#SolarUpdate

A few interesting graphs that show how the solar system has performed over the last 3yrs... Bear in mind it only shows the first 11 months of 2025, whilst the ones for 2023 and 2024 are 12 months.

Graph one, shows a pretty consistent total use in the home for the whole year. It's an avg of 5000kwh give or take around 100kwh. 2023 being 5072kwh, 2024 was 5102kwh and 2024 is currently 4672kwh, with approximately 380-400kwh expected for Dec. Which will bring the total to around 5080kwh.

So that's very consistent across 3 years.

Graph 2, shows the solar generation for the same 3yrs. That's not quite so consistent, and also doesn't quite factor in the expanded battery in Feb 2024 to increase storage. This nearly tripled our storage and reduced the export a huge amount, meaning we used more of what we generate and imported less. Solar fluctuates with the weather, and 2023 was a decent year, 2024 wasn't so good but the extra battery storage more than compensated for it, reducing import further... and 2025 has been really good so far, breaking all records set in previous years.

Graph 3, well that shows how I've managed to make the system work better for our needs. This is the amount of electric imported from the grid. In 2023 the 1st year of the system and with just a 5.2kwh battery, we imported 2195kwh of electric. In 2024, with the battery expanded to 15.4kwh... we imported 1954kwh... a reduction of roughly 240kwh. Less than 1kwh per day and roughly a 20p a day saving. Doesn't seem like a lot, but it's an extra £73 a year saved.

So far in 2025, we have used 1373kwh... plus the avg 380kwh for Dec and that's going to be around 1753kwh. A further 200kwh reduction and a further £40 a year saving.

So over the last 3yrs, we're saving an extra £113, on top of what we were already saving.

As for those savings, if we imported the 5100kwh entirely... that would be in the region of £1450 at current prices... 3yrs ago, that would have been 30% higher due to the higher costs for energy at the time. They're still exceptionally high and continue to rise every 3 months. Once you add on the daily standing charges and the 5% VAT, the bill would actually be more like £1694.

This helps us save more, and reduces the return on investment. What was originally going to pay for itself after 9yrs, will now pay for itself after 8yrs.

So far for 2025, the electric bill has been £581 including all extra fees. A direct saving of £1109 so far this year. That doesn't include all of the export earnings, nor the free energy sessions I've taken advantage of this year which totals around another £150. Meaning the savings so far this year are around the £1259 mark. With electric for Dec still to pay for, this will reduce by around £80-100 by the end of the month.

That's just the electric side though, we still have to pay for gas which is used for heating and hot water. Typically the heating is turned off towards the end of April and not turned back on until the start of Oct. This will usually be in the £700-750 range for the year.

The potential bill for the house without the solar system is in range of £2500. This would require monthly payments of around £250.

As it stands, we pay just £75 a month now after building up £1100 worth of credit on the account these last few years.

I cannot recommend a solar and battery system enough... I cannot also recommend you get one if you have to take out a loan to do so. You won't see those savings until the money is paid off. But if you qualify for a grant or have the spare cash at hand... It's worth it for the peace of mind it brings.

I'm considering what the next efficiency steps could be. I've improved insulation in the home as much as I can without serious work to remove the cavity blown insulation and fill with newer and more efficient products (around £3000), nor insulate between the floors (removing ceilings or floors) But as I've moved walls and redone bedrooms. I've added acoustic insulation to the stud walls upstairs to improve heat retention. I've replaced every radiator in the house with more efficient ones and switched to a better thermostat for more control.

The previous owners of this house had no solar system, not proper thermostat and no control over the heating as most of the TRV's were broken... and I think the heating was pretty much left on 24/7 because they ran up a debt of over £7000 to their provider... who continued trying to collect it for about a year after we bought the house and we had no forwarding address.

#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen

#SolarUpdate I don't think I did one of these for Oct. Probably because solar generation was utterly appalling for the month, with generation down around 40% on the previous few years avg.

So it was a little refreshing, and very surprising to see that the Nov was actually a little up on previous years. In fact it was roughly 17% higher... That was surprising because it has been a dreadfully wet month... worse than the previous month of Oct, whilst only generating about 20kwh less energy than Oct.

Avg use on the house was 433kwh, battery didn't get much charging, with the best days only getting it to about 45%. We've been trying to maximise solar use even more, so when it's sunny and the battery is charging... get the washing done, use the tumble dryer if needed.

Import was around 300kwh for the month... around avg for this time of year.

Total energy bill inc gas and all extra charges was up around 10%, we've been on a fixed deal until next Spring, so the 3 prices rises this year have yet to affect us... But I've had to turn the heating up nearly 2ºC over it's normal setting to appease my mum who lives with me now. That alone is going to increase the gas bill 10-15% and I've seen that already in Nov with the gas use being almost 15% higher, inspite of the temperature for more than half the month being very mild and the first 15 days of Nov using very little.

It's a good job, the solar and battery system has allowed us to increase the credit on the energy account over the rest of the year to cover it.

We'll make it through the winter without running the credit down to zero too.

Over the last few years, my 'parental training' has started to pay off. My mum is a dreadful energy waster who puts her convenience before anything and anyone else. So she'll leaves all the lights on, she goes to bed and leaves the tv or her computer on... She always 'claims' she turned them off... but I've seen what she does... she hits a button on a remote without ever actually looking at what she does... so she hits the tv off button then gets up and walks past the TV that still on without even seeing it. 🤦 and blindly claims she DID turn it off. there's a disconnect between her actions and her comprehension of those same actions.

But... the amount of energy we import from the grid has fallen from about 2200kwh a year in the first year of the system, to around 1750kwh for this year (1363kwh so far, Dec is usually between 350-390kwh).

That saving is just from making better use of what we have... turning stuff off when not in use, and using the higher electric using products at times when we have more solar and battery available.

I also conducted an experiment when my mum went away for a week, and found that her use alone accounts for 35% of total energy used. Shared use accounts for another 43% (cooking, cleaning and heating) which means I account for just 22% of excess electric use (which is mostly my computers for work and gaming).

#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen

#SolarUpdate LIES.... LIES... IT'S ALL LIES!!!

This is an example of how I have been lied to for the last 8 days.

The grey is the prediction for solar generation tomorrow.

Every single day for the last 8 days have seen a similar curve prediction between 12-17kwh of generation.

The very small partially coloured in irregular curve is what happens on the actual day.

Those 12-17kwh turn into 1-4kwh... at worst, 10% of the prediction, at best 20%.

It's like they've lost the ability to predict anything properly... they couldn't even predict if bears shit in the woods.

It's frustrating, because I can't plan for shit... I think, oh tomorrow will be good, I can do some laundry and drying for almost nothing... or I could put the dishwasher on... important things to reduce how much electric we consume.

So the dishwasher is full, the laundry is piling up and if it lies tomorrow too... I'm going to have a very expensive day using 2 or 3 times the amount of electric I normally.

It's already the worst Oct we've ever had, more than 50% down on the avg. It's more like Dec generation.

I know we're heading into the colder, darker, months... But we should normally be generating 280kwh of electric still... we won't even hit 140kwh at this rate.

It's also starting to affect my S A D... I've not seen sunlight for 8 or 9 days now.

#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen
#SunshineWhatFuckingSunshine

#SolarUpdate time once more.

We're in the transition period from Summer to Autumn, evenings are getting darker earlier, sun sinking a little lower in the sky.

So solar generation starts to lower at a quicker rate. It's been an odd year, we were breaking records from March through May with 10-20% more generation than any previous year... then we had the weakest June we'd ever had (but still 506kwh and still only a combined bill of £23)... But 10% lower than the previous year and 20% lower than the year before).

But then July was about the same & August gave us a little tick up with a 13% improvement over last year (Aug is normally 480kwh, and this year was 550kwh).

So far in Sept after the first week, we've generated about 80kwh, if that continues to be the avg each week, we'll be around the same as previous years.

Yesterday (Sunday) was a miserable day, heavy rain and little solar (less than 4kwh all day)... and coincided with a lot of cooking. So the oven was running for 4-5hrs baking apple crumbles and a Sunday roast. Hence the huge spike of 14kwh electric import in one day. I was also running my computer all day playing a rather graphically intensive game, which uses more power too.

So we've imported more in the first week of Sept, than we imported during the entirety of August (32khw in Sept vs 19kwh in Aug).

In fact, from March to August, we've only imported around 130kwh of electric, whilst using 2147kwh of electric in the home and exporting 690kwh of electric back to the grid.

That's a whopping 94% of our entire use for 6 months that was free electric from the solar and battery system.

Then that exported electric earned a further £106.

So here's the savings for the year so far, Jan-Aug

Jan - Paid £80, Bill £222
Feb - Paid £80, Bill £186
Mar - Paid £100, Bill £94
Apr - Paid £100, Bill £51
May - Paid £100, Bill £-1.63 (we earned more than we used)
Jun - Paid £100, Bill £23
Jul - Paid £100, Bill £27
Aug - Paid £100, Bill £26

So far this year, we've paid £760 into the energy account and used £627 worth of gas & electric... and roughly £240 of that amount is in the daily standing charges we have to pay here just for the privilege of being allowed to heat and light our homes.

No matter how much energy you consume... each home will pay in the region of £360 a year just to have gas & electric in the home.

Yet people who have no gas at all and save about 35p a day... still have to pay for their electric based on gas prices... because the entire grid system in the country occasionally has to use gas to supplement the grid when renewables are lower... whilst also paying billions to energy companies to turn off renewables when there's an excess instead of adjust the prices to make energy costs lower or even free, so people will manage their energy intensive tasks better... Which is exactly what I try to do here.

Sun is out, washing goes on... it's a free wash cycle for energy, I can even throw some bits in the tumble dryer for free as a tumble dry gets a better result for some things over putting out to dry on a rack or line.

This afternoon, the dishwasher can go on for free too.

This October, energy prices are going up... they claim by 2%.

But the majority of the rise is being added to those daily standing charges. So higher users (wealthier people) are actually going to see a 1% or less rise in their bills, whilst lower users (poorer people) will actually see a 4.5% increase in their bills.

Punish the poor once more... gotta keep them in their place and worried about simply existing... then they can stoke the fire and blame the immigrants rather than the greed of billionaires and corporate interests who own the politicians.

#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen
#EatTheRich
#TaxTheRich

After a couple of days of reasonable, yet poor solar generating weather. We will finally be running out of battery power at some point tonight.

In the 192 days since March 1st 2025.... We have spent 151 of those days off grid for electric use.

Of those 41 days we imported more than 1kwh of electric. The total amount of electric imported in those days is just 129kwh of electric.

We use about 400-450kwh of electric a month.

So that's about 10 days worth of electric purchased from the supplier in 192 days (6 months).

Because even on those days we imported more than 1kwh (Below that is effectively off grid, because there's always a tiny trickle for load balancing) we still imported very little. You could argue that anything below 10% of avg daily use counted as off grid, then we'd slash another 30 days of the 41.

It's only when you start looking at the whole picture, that you start to see the savings.

We have generated 3600kwh of free electric so far this year, and there's still 4 months left. The avg for those last 4 months over the last couple of years has been 210kwh. So that's a reasonable expectation of another 800kwh of free electric this year.

Last year we generated 3900kwh, the year before 4100kwh.

If the avg pans out, that would mean about 4400kwh.

We use in the region of 5500kwh of electric on the house in a year. 80% of that use occurs before Nov-Feb 15% in Mar-Apr & Sept-Oct and less than 5% in May-Aug.

We're heading into the part of the year where we won't see much earned from exporting. Last year it was about £90, so far this year it's been £123.

Savings alone so far this year are currently at £767 for just the kwh import. Plus the export so far, and that's £890 saved in just shy of 8 months in 2025.

Not bad going really.

#SolarUpdate
#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen

#SolarUpdate time again.

Another not so great month, but a little better than June (which was awful)... yet slightly better than July 2024 (which was also awful)

Figures are not 100% as the data logging can be from 0-5% out. But it's within a margin of error mostly.

Generation 524kwh, that's up 18kwh over June, up 54kwh over July 2024... and yet isn't even as good as the generation for April this year... middle of summer and the weather is worse than the start of spring.

You can see in the yearly graph (image 2) how good the first 5 months of the year were. Then it drops of massively. June 'should' be the highest generation month of the year and yet it's actually only the 4th highest. That's never happened before. It's always been 1st or 2nd... with May beating it in 2023 and 2025.

That said... we were still effectively off grid for the majority of the month. Only 5 days in the whole month that we imported in excess of 1kwh.

So we only imported around 26kwh of electric the entire month, whilst exporting 106kwh. Including all daily charges and gas use, subtracting what we earned for export. The bill was £27.04, which meant we increased the credit on the account by a further £72.96 to £862.73. That's just about enough credit to cover the entirety of the winter bills from Nov-Feb (avg between £800-950 for those 4 months).

As usual the energy company cannot comprehend how solar and batteries work... and think that we should be paying £4.73 a month... whilst predicting that those Nov-Feb bills will be upto £100 lower than they have been every year previously because those Mar-Oct bills are lower thanks to free electric... also thanks to... oh.. I don't know... WARMER weather... we use less gas because the central heating isn't used between May-Sept and only use gas for hot water.

tl:dr crappy month compared to normal, but crappy is still good and electric was still mostly free.

#Solar
#Battery
#GoingGreen

Hello from the Family

A brief introduction to Shedlandia. Who we are, who we were, where we went, and why we’re here now.

https://www.shedlandia.com/archives/94