Solar Export Earnings Calculator

How it works

Monthly export earnings = exported kWh × export rate. Yearly earnings = monthly earnings × 12; the 10-year figure keeps both inputs unchanged. The self-use comparison multiplies the same exported energy by your electricity import rate, then shows the positive difference between the two values.

Worked example: 200 kWh exported each month

At an export rate of 0.05 per kWh, 200 kWh earns 10 per month and 120 per year in the selected currency. Keeping both figures unchanged for 10 years gives 1,200.

At a 0.17/kWh import rate, using that same 2,400 kWh per year at home would avoid 408 of grid purchases. The 288 difference is a value signal, not an automatic battery saving: storage cost, round-trip losses, capacity, warranty, and whether you can actually use the energy later all matter.

Use the rate from your actual export agreement

In the United States, net-metering eligibility and bill-credit design vary by state and utility. Some credits offset imported electricity rather than arriving as cash. In Great Britain, Smart Export Guarantee suppliers choose their tariff rate, contract length, and other terms. Across Europe and other markets, the arrangement can be a supplier tariff, market-linked payment, feed-in tariff, or net billing.

Enter the effective per-kWh value shown in your utility or supplier agreement. Do not substitute the retail import price unless your program genuinely credits exports at that rate.

Measure export separately from total solar production

Solar production is everything the array generates. Export is only the portion left after the home uses some of that production. Your billing meter, export statement, or utility portal is the authoritative source for payment. An inverter app may show production but not always the exact utility-meter export total.

A compatible panel monitor can help explain the pattern between solar generation, home consumption, grid import, and net export. Emporia states that the Vue can monitor solar and net metering when its sensors are installed and configured correctly on AC conductors. Shelly documents two-way photovoltaic monitoring with the Pro 3EM for compatible three-phase or DIN-rail installations. Both are in-panel products; confirm the electrical system, sensor capacity, local requirements, network/app needs, and qualified installation before considering either one.

Sources used for assumptions: U.S. Department of Energy — Homeowner’s Guide to Solar and net metering; Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee supplier requirements; Emporia Energy — solar generation, grid import, and net-metering monitoring; Shelly — Pro 3EM photovoltaic production and two-way energy monitoring.

Frequently asked questions