Basic Information
Capacity of system – 5.5 kW (JA Solar / Jinko Panels*)
Inverter Capacity – 5 kW (Solis)
Type of System – On-grid System
Total Cost – Rs 1250000
Production Data
| Date | Energy Produced (Units) | Energy Consumed (Units) | Profits Earned from Excess Export | Bill Amount Saved (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23-June to August | 1412 | 683 | 26973 Rs | 40528.21 Rs |
| 23-Sep | 435 | 215 | 8140 Rs | 12198.98 Rs |
| 23-Oct | 490 | 260 | 8510 Rs | 17216.42 Rs |
| 23-Nov | 487 | 252 | 8695 Rs | 18285.13 Rs |
| 23-Dec | 435 | 291 | 5328 Rs | 21106.67 Rs |
| 24-Jan | 570 | 293 | 10249 Rs | 21535.39 Rs |
| 24-Feb | 556 | 364 | 7104 Rs | 28508.72 Rs |
| 24-Mar | 623 | 445 | 6586 Rs | 29583.93 Rs |
| 24-Apr | 579 | 427 | 5624 Rs | 28128.21 Rs |
| 24-May | 364 | 315 | 1813 Rs | 19738.47 Rs |
| 24-Jun | 465 | 303 | 5994 Rs | 18589.74 Rs |
| 24-Jul | 502 | 326 | 6512 Rs | 18236.58 Rs |
| 24-Aug | 525 | 306 | 8103 Rs | 14968.21 Rs |
| 24-Sep | 505 | 332 | 6401 Rs | 17403.08 Rs |
| 24-Oct | 459 | 315 | 5328 Rs | 15802.06 Rs |
| 24-Nov | 447 | 305 | 5254 Rs | 15135.39 Rs |
| 24-Dec | 535 | 348 | 6919 Rs | 17768.21 Rs |
| 25-Jan | 417 | 275 | 5254 Rs | 12225.98 Rs |
| 25-Feb | 545 | 325 | 8140 Rs | 13928.21 Rs |
| Total Units Produced to Date | 10351 |
| Total Units Consumed to Date | 6380 |
| Time Period | 1 Year 9 Months |
| Total Profits (Cash Earned) | 146,927.00 Rs |
| Total Bill Cost Saved | 380,887.59 Rs |
| Total Savings | 527,817.59 Rs |
| Average Monthly Savings | 29,323.03 Rs |
| 1st Year Gross Earnings | 325,852.13 Rs |
| 1st Year Profits | 89,022.00 Rs |
| 1st Year Average Monthly Earnings (Bill + Profits) | 27,154.34 Rs |
| 1st Year Average Monthly Profits | 7418.50 Rs |
| Average Monthly Unit Production | 495.92 |
| 2nd Year Gross Earnings (9 Months) | 201,962.46 Rs |
| 2nd Year Profits | 57905.00 Rs |
| 2nd Year Average Monthly Earnings (Bill + Profits) | 22,440.27 Rs |
| 2nd Year Average Monthly Profits | 6433.89 Rs |
| Average Monthly Unit Production | 488.89 |
| Total Cost of System | 1,250,000.00 Rs |
| Locked in Tariff Rate | 37 Rs per Unit |
| Current Gross | -722,185.41 Rs |
| Break Even Time (Total) | 3.55 Years |
| Current Break Even Time | 2.05 Years |
Breaking down the Data
So, that was a ton of data. Let’s break this down, shall we?
First, let me explain why the months of June to August are combined. Typically, the installation process, clearance process, and contracts take about 1.5 to 2 months. If I remember correctly, we started the whole process in the first week of May. By the time everything was done, it was around June 15th. However, the CEB staggers the first payment by about 3 months. So, we got our first paycheck in August for nearly 27,000 Rs. After this, you’re paid monthly, but not for the current month. What I mean is, if you’re in February, you’ll mostly get paid for either the December or January bill. This is because of the initial stagger, but it’s a non-issue in my opinion.
We’ve been paid on the dot, towards the late 20s of each month, after August.
From the charts here, you can see that our best earning month was January 2024, where we were paid more than 10,000 Rs. On the contrary, the worst paying month for us was May (there was quite a bit of rainfall and cloud cover) where we got paid a measly 1,800 Rs. On the bright side, though, we haven’t paid a single cent in electricity over almost 2 years now, and that feeling is absolutely terrific.
You may also notice that our average monthly earnings have dipped a bit in year two. This isn’t necessarily because of solar but because of the tariff reductions. If you look closely at the bill statements, you’ll see a pretty significant decrease in price for the same amount of units in the more recent months. This, along with more cloud cover over the past few months compared to last year, has dropped the earnings by a bit. However, it’s been pretty sunny this March, so I assume we’ll cover and come close to last year’s unit production value by June.
Our system cost us around 1.25 million Rs. It may seem a bit steep now for a 5.5 kW system, but back in 2023, those were the standard prices. Because of the higher cost, though, we got the export tariff at a fixed rate of 37 Rs for the next 20 years, which has worked really well in our favor.
Of the 1.25 million Rs we spent, we’ve already recovered 520,000 Rs in 21 months, and our break-even point is set to be in another 2 years. (It might be a bit longer, as the high electricity bills in the first year skewed the data.)
The system we’ve installed is a 5.5 kW system with a 5 kW inverter. As for the brands, the inverter is Solis, and I genuinely can’t remember the panels—I believe they were Jinko or JA Solar.
Well, there you have it! First-hand, raw data from an on-grid solar system. I hope this blog series helps you in making your decision regarding solar.
Interested in Solar after seeing the first hand data? Click the link below to know everything there is to getting Solar in Sri Lanka.