TITLE:
The Economics of Residential Solar Panels: A Comparison of Energy Charges for Different Load Profiles, Rate Plans, and Panel Orientations
AUTHORS:
John B. Broughton, Candace E. Ybarra, Prashanth U. Nyer
KEYWORDS:
Solar Panels, Net Metering, Energy Load Profile, Time of Use, Savings, SCE, California, Orientation, Azimuth
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.12 No.2,
February
28,
2022
ABSTRACT: This
paper examines the effect of different residential electrical load profiles (electrical energy consumption patterns within a
day) on energy charges for customers with solar panels under different
Southern California Edison time-of-use (TOU) rate plans. We identify the TOU
plan which would be the most cost effective for solar customers with each load
profile. The impact of the orientation of the solar panel array (whether it
faces south or west or east) and shading patterns on electricity charges are examined. We also determine the ideal usage offset (the percentage of
electricity consumption provided by the solar array) for the various scenarios
presented in this paper. We perform these analyses using actual data for the
average sized residential customer of Southern California Edison. While the
data we examine are based on solar panel production estimates for southern California, the issues we address, and the methods we use, are applicable
to virtually any locality. And our analysis reveals how myriad factors impact
the economics of residential solar panel systems regardless of location.