Your electric bill is full of numbers, but one matters most: the kilowatt-hour. Understanding it makes your bill far less mysterious — and it's the key number for planning solar. Here's a plain-English guide.
What a kilowatt-hour is
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is simply a measure of electricity used — one kilowatt of power drawn for one hour. Running a 1,000-watt appliance for an hour uses one kWh. Your utility charges you by the kWh, so the more you use, the more you pay.
Reading your bill
Look for your total kWh used for the month, and note that most California homes are on a time-of-use rate, where the price per kWh changes by the hour. You'll also see the bill split into charges — generation (the energy itself) and delivery (moving it to your home). Add-on fees and taxes round it out.
Finding the number that sizes your solar
The single most useful figure is your annual kWh usage — the total you use across a full year. That's what a good installer uses to size a system that offsets your real consumption. You can add up 12 months of bills, or find annual usage in your online utility account.
Using it to plan solar
Once you know your yearly usage and your rate, you can estimate what solar would offset and what you'd save. It also reveals whether shifting usage or adding a battery would help. The more accurately you know your usage, the more accurate your solar proposal will be.
Paxton Energy reads your usage and rate for you and turns it into a clear, honest proposal — bring your latest bill and we'll show you the numbers. Start with a free assessment.