Why this matters for shopping solar
Solar bids estimate “savings” based on your assumed annual kWh and your assumed rate. If those numbers are wrong, the savings projection is wrong. Common installer mistakes:
- Assumed flat rate when you're on TOU — under-states peak-rate hours and over-states savings.
- Average rate from a single bill — ignores tier 2 / tier 3 marginal pricing on high-usage months.
- Missed demand charges — commercial bills often include $/kW demand charges that solar offsets very differently from energy charges.
- Assumed 3% annual rate escalation when your utility has filed for a 6%+ rate case.
- Used last year's data when a tariff changed — e.g. CA NEM 3.0 customers, IN EDG-tariff customers.
Running your bills through this tool gives you the actual numbers to challenge installer assumptions.
What we extract from each bill
- Account number (redacted in the report; we use it for de-duplication)
- Service address
- Billing period (start / end)
- Total kWh used (broken out by peak / mid / off-peak if TOU)
- Rate structure (flat / TOU / tiered)
- Peak rate $/kWh, off-peak rate $/kWh, mid-peak rate $/kWh (if applicable)
- Fixed monthly charge
- Demand charge (commercial / industrial bills)
- Net metering credit (if you already have solar)
- Total bill amount
- Estimated daily average kWh
Privacy
Your bill is processed only to generate your analysis report. Account numbers are partially redacted in any output. We do not sell or share your personal info.
Frequently asked questions
How many bills should I upload?
One year is ideal — captures the seasonal swing in usage. Six bills (every other month) gets you most of the way. If you only have one or two, the analysis works but is less accurate for annual savings projections.
What if I'm on a TOU rate?
Upload at least one TOU bill (peak / off-peak rates are usually shown on the back page or summary section). The AI extracts the schedule and rate tiers. TOU is critical for battery sizing — battery dispatch math depends on the rate spread.
Will this work for commercial bills?
Yes — commercial bills with demand charges, KW-rated rates, power factor, and multi-meter accounts all extract. Demand charges (the $/kW peak charge) are extracted separately because solar without storage doesn't reduce them, but solar + battery does.