How does solar appear on my bill?

Where to find it on your bill

The credit usually appears as one or more lines on your electricity bill. Look for terms like:

• Export Units - this tells you how many kWh your system exported during the billing period.
• Microgen Credit or Export Credit - this shows the amount you were paid.
• You might also see something like '€123.45 CR' that 'CR' just means it's a credit, not a charge.

Electric Ireland (light blue heading) and Energia (dark purple) display these slightly differently, but the key figures are the same: how much power you exported and how much you got back.

Electric Ireland line item for solar export

Here's an example of how it looks on an Electric Ireland bill:

Energia line item for solar export

And here's how it looks on an Energia bill:

Summer vs winter - real examples from Irish homes

We looked at real bills from PureVolt customers using both Energia and Electric Ireland to see how export credits changed across seasons.

• Summer export credits averaged around €200.54 per billing period.
• Winter credits were lower, averaging €88.24.

That's a clear seasonal pattern. Summer gives you longer days and stronger sunlight, so your panels generate more. The more you generate, the more likely you are to have spare to export, and that's where the bigger credits come in.

Here's how it looks on real bills:

Electric Ireland summer bill example

See Microgen Credit line with 275.31 cr (credit).

Electric Ireland winter bill example

With 30.24 + 1.76 cr (credit).

Energia summer bill example

See Export Units line with 121.16CR (credit).

Energia winter bill example

See Export Units line with 8.16 + 10.20CR (credit).

What affects how much I get paid?

There are a few key factors that influence how much export credit you'll see on your bill:

• Season and weather - Summer has more sunlight hours, so your panels work longer each day.
• Your usage habits - If you use more electricity during the day when the panels are generating, there's less left to export.
• System size - Bigger systems tend to export more, especially if you don't use all the energy at home.
• Battery storage - If you have a battery, some of that excess gets stored for later use instead of going to the grid, which can reduce your export credit but increase your savings overall.

So, what does it mean for you?

Your solar export payments won't look the same every month, and that's normal. The key is to look at the bigger picture. Over the year, most systems generate enough surplus in spring and summer to offset lower generation in winter. Export credits are just one part of the benefit. You're also saving every day by not buying electricity at full price from the grid.

If you're on the fence about solar, or already have panels from us and just want help reading your bill, we're here to help.