Many customers see their utility statement showing only a small amount of solar energy and assume their system is underperforming.
In reality, the utility does not measure your total solar production.
It only records the energy you send back to the grid.
Your solar energy is used in three steps:
1️⃣ Solar powers your home first
When your system produces electricity during the day:
Solar → Home consumption first
This energy:
- Runs appliances
- Powers AC, lights, electronics
- Reduces what you buy from the grid
⚡ This is the largest and most valuable portion of your solar production.
👉 But the utility cannot see this energy, because it never leaves your home.
2️⃣ If you have battery storage
After powering your home:
Solar → Battery (if installed)
Extra energy is stored for later use:
- Evening consumption
- Nighttime power
- Backup during outages
Again:
👉 This energy never goes to the grid, so the utility does NOT record it.
3️⃣ Only the remaining excess goes to the utility
After your home and battery needs are satisfied:
Solar → Grid (Net Metering / Export)
This is the only solar energy the utility meter registers.
This exported energy is what appears on your bill as:
- “Excess generation”
- “Energy sent back”
- “Net metering credit”
📊 What the graph shows
- Blue curve: total solar production
- Gray curve: home consumption
- Yellow highlighted portion: energy sent to the battery storage
- Dark blue highlighted portion: energy sent to the grid
Notice:
👉 Most solar production is used inside the home
👉 Only a smaller portion reaches the utility
That smaller portion is what shows on your bill.
🔎 Example (typical sunny day)
Your system may produce:
25 kWh total solar energy
That energy could be used like this:
- 10 kWh → powers your home directly
- 3 kWh → stored in your battery
- 12 kWh → exported to the grid
Your utility bill will show: 12 kWh
But your system actually produced: 25 kWh
Both are correct — they measure different things.
✔️ How to see your real solar production
To view your total solar output, check:
- Solar monitoring app (Tesla / Enphase / SolarEdge etc.)
- System production reports
Your utility bill shows only grid interaction, not total generation.
