Solar and battery storage in Orlando, Florida

What is specific to Orlando

Your utility: Orlando Utilities Commission

OUC is a municipal utility serving Orlando and parts of the surrounding area. Because it is not an investor-owned utility, Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065 does not govern its net-metering terms. OUC administers its own programme, so sizing limits and the treatment of exported energy should be checked against OUC’s current terms rather than assumed from statewide rules.

How production changes across the year in Orlando

Modelled output for Orlando peaks in May at 152.8 kWh per kW installed and bottoms out in December at 106.1 kWh — a spread of 31% between the best and worst months. Averaged across meteorological winter, output runs about 16% below the summer average. Peak output falls in a spring month rather than midsummer, which is what the model shows for every Florida location covered here.

Where to start

The three questions worth settling before you talk to an installer in Orlando are what you are trying to achieve, how much electricity you actually use, and how much life your roof has left. Everything else follows from those.

1. 1

   Decide whether this is about the bill or about outages

   Solar reduces what you buy. Storage changes what happens when the grid goes down. They are different purchases with different justifications, and bundling them obscures that.

2. 2

   Find your annual kilowatt-hours

   Not your bill amount — your consumption. Florida usage swings hard between winter and summer, so use twelve months rather than one.

3. 3

   Assess the roof honestly

   If it is near the end of its life, replace it first. Removing and reinstalling an array later is pure avoidable cost.