To enter customers consumption information, click the 'Edit Info' button from the Project Dashboard
Step 1: Confirm the customer's pre and post solar rates and set your escalation rate
Aurora will automatically populate the most likely rate in the zip code for your project. However, if you need to select a different rate you can select it from the drop-down or search for the rate or utility company by typing in the name of the rate or utility provider.
The Escalation Rate will increase the variable portion of the utility rate by a certain percentage each year to simulate the increasing cost of electricity over time.
Step 2: Enter your customers consumption information
- Average Monthly Pre-Tax Bill, will populate the same bill amount for each month throughout the year.
- Average Monthly Consumption, will simulate the same kWh consumption for each month throughout the year.
- Up to 12 months pre-tax bills allows you to enter one or more bill amounts, and Aurora will calculate a projected usage curve based on the weather patterns in this area as well as the daily load profile that you set below.
- Up to 12 months energy will allow you to enter one or more utility bills in kWh used. Aurora will then calculate the projected usage curve based on the weather patterns in this area as well as the daily load profile that you set below.
Step 3: Configure the Energy Profile
While knowing the size of a customer's bill is important in determining the benefit of your system, it does not tell the full story of how your customer uses electricity. For example, a homeowner who has electric heat rather than gas will likely use much more energy in the winter months, and a customer with an electric vehicle will likely use more energy at night while their vehicle charges.
Configuring the Energy Profile helps Aurora to know the projected energy needs the home or business will be for each hour of the year and can more accurately determine when they will be importing or exporting energy to the grid.
If you are interested in learning more about the hourly load profile, see our blog post entitled How to Estimate a Homeowner's Energy Load Profile.