How Much Solar Does a Home Actually Use? Measured Energy Flows From Six LA Homes
In six Los Angeles-area homes with full energy metering, 15% to 70% of the solar they produced was used on site (median 54%); the rest went to the grid. From the other side, solar and batteries supplied 11% to 77% of the electricity these homes used (median 51%). Even the most self-sufficient home bought about a quarter of its power from the grid — at night, in winter and on hot evenings.
These six are every home in our monitoring fleet with a consumption meter and a complete, consistent energy balance. Six homes are a set of measured examples, not a statistic for all of Los Angeles; the range between them is the point.
Where each home’s solar went
Share of each home’s solar production, all complete years combined.
| Home | Utility area | Battery | Complete years | Used directly | Into battery | Exported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home A | LADWP | Yes | 5 | 10% | 5% | 85% |
| Home B | SCE | Yes | 4 | 18% | 11% | 71% |
| Home C | LADWP | Yes | 6 | 43% | 6% | 51% |
| Home D | SCE | Yes | 4 | 26% | 32% | 41% |
| Home E | LADWP | No | 5 | 60% | 0% | 40% |
| Home F | SCE | Yes | 2 | 52% | 18% | 30% |
Where each home’s electricity came from
Share of each home’s own use.
| Home | Utility area | Own solar | Battery | Grid | Battery output a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home A | LADWP | 10% | 1% | 89% | 0.1 MWh |
| Home B | SCE | 34% | 24% | 42% | 1.1 MWh |
| Home C | LADWP | 41% | 6% | 53% | 1.0 MWh |
| Home D | SCE | 24% | 31% | 46% | 3.3 MWh |
| Home E | LADWP | 38% | 0% | 62% | — |
| Home F | SCE | 55% | 22% | 23% | 2.0 MWh |
https://cali-energy.com/research/solar-self-consumption-los-angeles. Aggregated data are free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.The spread comes from the household, not the panels. Home A exports 85% of its solar and buys 89% of its power: a home that uses little electricity in the daytime sends most of its midday solar to the grid and draws from it at night. Home F, with an active battery, uses 70% of its solar and buys only 23% of its power. Panel size and roof matter for how much a system makes; when it is used decides where it goes.
Season by season
Median of 5 homes with monthly import and export data.
| Month | Home use vs average month | Share of solar exported | Grid share of home use |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 94% | 43% | 58% |
| February | 91% | 48% | 61% |
| March | 98% | 56% | 56% |
| April | 87% | 55% | 46% |
| May | 90% | 52% | 43% |
| June | 99% | 52% | 48% |
| July | 123% | 40% | 48% |
| August | 132% | 36% | 53% |
| September | 117% | 37% | 58% |
| October | 97% | 44% | 57% |
| November | 86% | 52% | 64% |
| December | 96% | 41% | 63% |
| Home use vs average month: 100% = the home’s average month in the same year. | |||
Two seasons break the pattern in different ways. In late summer the homes used up to 32% more electricity than in an average month, most likely for air conditioning, so more solar was used on site and exports fell to 36%. In November and December the sun is low and evenings are long, and the grid supplied 64–63% of home use. Spring is the opposite: mild weather, strong sun, the most exported solar and the least grid power.
What changes when a battery cycles every day
| Year | Battery output | Share of home use from battery | Share of solar exported | Grid share of home use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.1 MWh | 0% | 71% | 71% |
| 2023 | 3.9 MWh | 42% | 39% | 39% |
| 2024 | 4.3 MWh | 40% | 28% | 35% |
| 2025 | 5.0 MWh | 42% | 22% | 37% |
In 2022 Home D’s battery barely moved energy, and the home exported 71% of its solar while buying 71% of its electricity. From 2023 the battery delivered 3.9–5.0 MWh a year; exports fell to 22–39% and the grid share of home use to 35–39%. Same roof, same panels: the battery moved midday solar into the evening.
Across the five battery homes there is a clear split. On the 3 homes in SCE territory, batteries supplied 22–31% of home use. On the 2 LADWP homes, 1–6%: those batteries moved little energy and behaved mostly as outage backup. That matches the rules: SCE’s time-of-use rates price evening power highest and its net billing tariff pays little for exports, while LADWP’s net metering credits exported power, so storing it for the evening gains little. See LADWP net metering and NEM 3.0 explained.
Why most solar homes still buy electricity
Night
Panels make nothing after sunset; without a battery that cycles, evening and overnight use comes from the grid.
Winter
In November and December the grid supplied 64–63% of home use in these homes.
Hot evenings
Air conditioning keeps running after the sun drops, the most expensive hours on time-of-use rates.
Growing use
An EV, a heat pump or a new ADU adds load the original system was not sized for. See still have a bill after solar.
Methodology
- Homes
- Every system in our SolarEdge monitoring fleet with a consumption meter and a consistent energy balance: six homes, 5 with batteries. Two metered systems were left out: one whose consumption readings jump implausibly from year to year, and one whose metered production does not match its inverters.
- Complete home-year
- A calendar year 2019–2025 after the first year of metering, with no downtime year in the production record. 26 home-years in total; each home is shown over all its complete years combined.
- Measures
- Solar used directly, stored in the battery and exported, as shares of production. Own solar, battery and grid, as shares of home use. Shares are computed from energy totals, so each home adds to 100%.
- Months
- 5 homes with monthly import and export data. Monthly home use is estimated as production − export + import; battery losses are small and ignored.
- Utility area
- Assigned by ZIP code: homes in the City of Los Angeles are LADWP customers; the other three are in SCE territory. Individual tariffs (NEM 2.0, net billing, time-of-use plan) are not known and not assumed.
- Limits
- Six homes are measured examples, not a representative sample. Household habits, appliances and battery settings differ from home to home and are not observed directly. No names, addresses, system sizes or locations are published.
Frequently asked questions
How much of my solar does my home use?
In the six LA homes we measured, 15–70% of solar production was used on site, median 54%. Homes that use more power in the daytime or have a battery that cycles daily use more of their own solar.
Why am I still buying electricity with solar panels?
Because solar produces in the daytime and homes also use power at night, in winter and on hot evenings. Even the most self-sufficient home we measured bought 23% of its electricity from the grid.
Does a battery reduce how much solar I send to the grid?
When it cycles daily, yes. In one home, exports fell from 71% of production to 22–39% once the battery began moving energy every day.
When do solar homes export the most?
In spring. In our homes, the median share of solar exported peaked at 56% in March and fell to 36% in late summer, when air conditioning raised daytime use.
What is solar self-consumption?
The share of your solar production used in your home, directly or through a battery, instead of being exported. Self-sufficiency is the other side: the share of your home’s electricity that came from your own solar and battery.
More research
Next steps
Thinking about a battery, or adding load to your solar?
Prepared by Cali Energy, October 7, 2026. Figures describe systems in our monitoring fleet and are not a guarantee of what any specific roof will produce; orientation, tilt, shade, equipment and weather change results. Not engineering, financial or utility advice. See our Content Disclaimer.