Consumption task

This guide applies to the easy-pv.co.uk and beta.easy-pv.ie versions of Easy PV, references to MCS only apply to the UK site. The information provided here may not be accurate for easy-pv.com and easy.pv.ie.

The consumption task is an accepted alternative to the MCS performance table completed in the performance task. Unlike with MCS, the Easy PV self consumption task can be used for projects larger than 6000 kWh and with batteries larger than 15.1 kW.

If you would like to use the Easy PV self-consumption calculation in your project, make sure it is selected in the financial task. 

Annual consumption 

There are a number of options for adding the annual consumption. 

• Annual usage: If you know the annual consumption (for example from an electricity bill) you can enter it via the 'Annual usage' option
  
• Meter data: If the property has a smart meter and you can upload half-hourly data to get a more accurate projections. This option is especially useful for commercial properties where consumption patterns differ greatly from domestic properties. 
  
  The data should ideally span at least a year, and must be a minimum of 6 months, although our algorithm will automatically attempt to fill in small gaps where they are detected. 
  
  The file must have a .csv file extension. If your data is in another format you can export it as csv from Excel, Google Sheets, Libreoffice or any other spreadsheet editor.
  
  Note that there are many different CSV formats for smart meter data, and we don't support all of them yet. If your upload doesn't work, you are welcome to send us the spreadsheet at help@easy-pv.co.uk or help@easy-pv.ie and we will see if we can add the format.
  
• Not sure: If you don't know the electricity consumption in the property, you can use a typical value for the size of property.
  
  

Tariffs 

By default, we'll calculate the financial benefits using your default flat tariffs which you can specify in your financial settings. Alternatively, you can create and select your own tariffs by selecting 'Create a new tariff' under import and export tariffs.

See here for a full guide on creating tariffs in Easy PV. 

Self-consumption calculation

Once you are happy with the consumption and tariffs, select submit. You can then explore how the PV generation, consumption within the property, state of charge of the battery (if a battery is included) and import and export of electricity from the property change through the seasons and over the course of each day.

To edit consumption task inputs, select the pen icon in the top right corner.