How do we calculate your number?

Solar panels can significantly reduce the amount of electricity a household imports from the grid. However, due to the inherent timing mismatch between peak electricity consumption (mornings and evenings) and peak solar electricity generation (daylight hours), most households still require some amount of grid electricity to supplement their energy needs.

The electricity that a household imports from the grid (regardless of whether it is solar energy or not) has an associated emissions intensity. Emissions can be calculated by applying the grid emissions factor to the imported kWh value.

The energy a household consumes behind the meter (i.e. from home solar generation) cannot be calculated from the electricity bill alone, however is reflected in the reduced kWh import from the grid.

In many cases, some of the energy produced by a household’s solar system is exported back to the grid. This low carbon energy has already been accounted for with the forfeit of your STCs, registered with the Clean Energy Regulator’s REC Registry, at the point of purchase of your solar system. As such , this exported energy should not be applied as a “credit” to your household’s total carbon footprint as it would be a case of double counting.

In the case that you do not forfeit your STCs to your solar provider, please contact us and we can assist you to calculate the emissions from your electricity use.