Yearly Energy Update
Usage
All-time high for electricity (thank you electric car) and all-time low for natural gas. I guess that's good since I don't pay for electricity. And 2014 eked out 2012 as my overall lowest year. It worked out to 28.2 kBTU/ft2 (24% below the national average for homes built between 2000 and 2009). I should probably see if I can find that data disaggregated by home size though, because if my home is a little larger than average that would give me an advantage over smaller homes.
My surplus electrical credits are up to 6,813 kWh or 94.3% of my average annual electrical usage. I was worried that the Leaf might eat up my surplus pretty quickly, but it's looking like I might still break even on my production/usage.
In addition I've used 843 kWh of electricity at public charging stations. For now this is free...we'll see how long that lasts.
Production
My production was about 2% below average this year. The photovoltaics will degrade slightly over time, but I'm guessing this drop is mostly due to variations in the weather.
Comments
1. It could just come down to climate. It would seem like there are a lot more temperate places than Nevada, but maybe there are a bunch of people in the east that have colder winters (greatest energy consumption in most homes is for heating).
2. Maybe my home is better insulated than most. Plus it is rather box-shaped which gives it fewer outside walls.
3. I'm am quite conscious about my consumption (just the fact that I pay attention to what I use sets me apart from most people) and do my best to conserve. Most of our light bulbs are CFLs, we keep our house at 65 degrees in the winter and 76-78 in the summer (and we have cool nights where we open the upstairs windows). I also have my tv/blueray/receiver and computer/monitor on surge protectors that I power off when not in use.