Solar doesn’t work when the sun don’t shine!

My solar capacity is between 650 to 720 kWh per month, which would satisfy electrical energy usage for our home. We have upgraded our home with energy savings in mind—double-paned windows, ceiling insulation, low-energy appliances and air conditioning, led lighting and more. We use natural gas for home heating and hot water.

In January, our solar panels produced 345 kWh, and in February, they produced 440 kWh—nearly every day was cloudy, or it rained. Some days our solar panels generated only 0.6 kWh. If we depended only upon solar power generation and battery backup for electricity, there would have been several cold days in our household—no sun—no electricity.

We now have an EV which averages 300 kWh a month to charge—over and above our home usage. In January and February, we would not have been able to drive our car if we did not have electricity provided by Southern California Edison.

California is in the process of banning natural gas—relying on electricity. Woe is us when the sun don’t shine.