Self-Consumption

Updated 2026-08-24 · Read this page as Markdown

The share of the energy a PV system generates that is used on site rather than exported to the grid. It is the metric that most directly drives the economics of a residential installation, because avoided imports are usually worth more than exported units.

Raising self-consumption is a matter of matching generation to demand: shifting flexible loads such as water heating, dishwashers and vehicle charging into the middle of the day, and storing what is left over in a battery. A typical household without storage or load shifting consumes only a minority of its own production, since peak generation happens while the house is empty. Note the distinction from self-sufficiency, which measures the opposite direction — the share of household demand covered by solar. A system can score well on one and poorly on the other.

Related terms

Clipping The loss that occurs when a PV array could produce more DC power than the inverter is able to convert, so the inverter holds its output at the AC limit and the surplus is simply never harvested. It appears on production graphs as a flat plateau around midday. DC/AC Ratio (oversizing) The ratio between the array's rated DC capacity in watt-peak and the inverter's nominal AC power. A ratio above 1.0 means the array is deliberately oversized relative to the inverter, which is standard practice rather than a design error. Derating The automatic reduction of an inverter's output power to protect its internal components, most commonly triggered by high temperature but also by high grid voltage or by an out-of-range input. The unit keeps running at reduced capacity instead of shutting down. Power Optimiser A small DC-to-DC converter fitted to each module that performs maximum power point tracking at module level and conditions the module's output before it joins the string. The string then feeds a simplified central inverter that handles only the DC-to-AC conversion.

Self-Consumption

Related terms

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