A solar plant’s payback depends on how much of the output you consume yourself. Calculate, from your actual consumption, how many years the investment takes to pay back.
Mostly how much of the output goes straight into your own consumption (self-use). A self-consumed kilowatt-hour saves the whole network and energy price; a kWh sold to the grid earns only a smaller price.
From 1 August 2026, production and consumption on a bidirectional meter are offset in 15-minute steps — which significantly improves the payback for many solar plants.
From your metering point’s actual consumption profile, Gridea calculates the payback time and annual saving for panels (and a battery) — not a rule of thumb, but your own data.
Typically 6–10 years, but it depends heavily on your self-consumption share. Gridea calculates the exact figure from your actual profile.
A battery raises self-consumption and therefore the saving, but adds cost. Gridea shows whether — and at what size — a battery pays off for you.
Net metering offsets production and consumption in 15-minute steps, improving payback for many plants. Gridea accounts for this automatically.
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