Homeowner stunned after receiving first 'surprise' electric bill since installing solar panels: 'Is this normal?'
This is largely because implementing solar energy sources in a home is a clean and green way to protect our planet while saving consumers loads of cash on energy bills.
One Reddit user, for example, was shocked by their low first electric bill since installing solar panels. They shared their experience on the r/Solar subreddit.
The scoop
"Surprise," they titled their post, "first electric bill after a full month of service."
The poster shared a screengrab of their bill, which showed impressive natural energy overproduction. The consumer, whose home has an area of 2,600 square feet, used 425 kilowatt-hours of energy and put 800 kWh back into the grid. They were credited with around 400 kWh for use on less sunny days.
Their usage charge was only $15.53.
This high energy production and low bill are reasons enough to go solar, and those looking to make the switch could use resources like EnergySage, which offers consumers tools for solar installation and quote comparison.
"I'm not complaining but is this normal?" the Reddit poster mused.
Commenters informed the poster that this can be pretty typical, although cloudy or snowy months may show a higher bill.
How it's helping
Consumers can save up to $1,500 a year by going solar. Solar panels can potentially lower energy bills to $0, but government incentives are in place that can save consumers money on solar installations.
What would it take for you to get rid of your gas stove?
I'd pay for it myself
Give me the new stove for free
I'd need at least $2K
I already have an electric stove
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Those considering going solar should act sooner rather than later, as the currently implemented 30% Investment Tax Credit is now scheduled to end after 2025, and projects must be fully installed, which can take about 12 weeks.
One resource that is not going anywhere, however, is EnergySage. The company's free quote comparison service has reportedly saved consumers up to $10,000 on solar installations.
While solar-using consumers save money, they also lower their carbon footprints and indirectly impact the environment by reducing the production of greenhouse gases in their households, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
What everyone's saying
Many commenters were happy for the poster and related to them about their energy output with solar panels.
"Good work," one commenter said, "the longer days are paying off. For me, Jan solar was 42kWh over grid used, and Feb was 340kWh solar over grid."
Another said: "This is amazing—glad it's working so well for you!"
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jensen Huang Says He's Created More Billionaires Than Any CEO: 'Don't Feel Sad For Anybody At My Layer'
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. As the Donald Trump administration unveiled its AI policy plan, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang joined top Silicon Valley figures to weigh in on the cutthroat battle for AI talent and compensation during a live podcast in Washington, D.C. What Happened: Earlier this week, appearing on the All-in podcast alongside venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya and Jason Calacanis, Huang pushed back on concerns about executive-level compensation amid billion-dollar offers for AI researchers. During the conversation, Palihapitiya raised the point that AI researchers were being offered unprecedented contracts—one reportedly as high as $1 billion over four years from Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META). He asked why similar valuations weren't seen at the CEO level, despite their role in enabling breakthroughs. "First of all, I've created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO in the world. They're doing just fine," Huang said. "Don't feel sad for anybody at my layer." Trending: 7,000+ investors have joined Timeplast's mission to eliminate microplastics— Huang also underscored the efficiency of small, well-funded teams in AI. "The impact of 150 or so AI researchers can probably create, with enough funding, an OpenAI. There's something about the elegance of small teams," he said. Later, Calacanis added levity, teasing Huang about rumors of a secret stash of stock options. "Somebody told me you just drop RSUs on people if they do a great job," he joked. "That's nuts," Huang responded, adding, "I review everyone's comp myself ... and I 100% of the time increase opex because you take care of people and everything else takes care of itself." Why It's Important: The discussion came during the Trump administration's unveiling of its AI Action Plan, a strategic initiative backed by a new wave of Silicon Valley. The fierce competition for AI talent has driven record compensation and high-profile hires across companies like Meta, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), OpenAI and Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google DeepMind—often eclipsing executive salaries and reshaping the power dynamics in the tech world. Earlier this week, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also dismissed concerns over an AI talent exodus, stating the company remains strong in attracting and retaining top AI experts. Read Next: $100k+ in investable assets? Match with a fiduciary advisor for free to learn how you can maximize your retirement and save on taxes – no cost, no obligation. Warren Buffett once said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." Here's how you can earn passive income with just $100. Photo courtesy: jamesonwu1972 On This article Jensen Huang Says He's Created More Billionaires Than Any CEO: 'Don't Feel Sad For Anybody At My Layer' originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
CORRECTING and REPLACING Zip Marks Fifth Anniversary with New Offices in San Francisco and New York
Agentic Procurement Orchestration Leader Doubles Office Footprint Amid Explosive Growth, Surpasses Hundreds of Billions in Processed Requests SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Please replace the release dated July 24, 2025, with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions. The updated release reads: ZIP MARKS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW OFFICES IN SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK Agentic Procurement Orchestration Leader Doubles Office Footprint Amid Explosive Growth, Surpasses Hundreds of Billions in Processed Requests Zip, the world's leading agentic procurement orchestration platform, today celebrated its fifth anniversary by unveiling expanded offices in San Francisco and New York to accommodate rapid workforce growth driven by unprecedented enterprise adoption. The company has grown from 250 to over 500 employees in the past year alone while securing Global 2000 customers across every major industry. Five years ago, Zip's founders chose to tackle procurement – hardly the most glamorous corner of technological innovation. While others chased trendy markets, Zip focused on the overlooked but critical process of how companies buy what they need. Few shared their vision. Then the world changed. Supply chain disruptions, inflation, and tariffs turned procurement from a back-office afterthought into a C-suite priority. What Zip had been quietly building suddenly became every CEO's top concern. That early vision, combined with five years of relentless innovation and AI leadership, explains why global giants from OpenAI to Discover are choosing Zip to transform their operations. "Over the past five years, we've built something remarkable – a product so sticky that we've maintained 100% retention across our strategic enterprise customers," said Rujul Zaparde, Co-founder and CEO of Zip. "The fact that Fortune 500 companies across financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, defense, and retail are choosing a five-year-old company over established vendors speaks to how fundamentally we've reimagined procurement. We've processed over hundreds of billions in total purchasing request volume since our founding five years ago and we've barely scratched the surface of the global opportunity." From Zero to $2.2 Billion: Five Years of Unprecedented Growth Zip's journey from startup to enterprise standard represents one of the fastest value creation stories in enterprise software history. In October 2024, the company secured $190 million in Series D funding at a $2.2 billion valuation, marking the largest investment in procurement technology in over two decades and validating Zip's position as the category leader. Since its founding in 2020, Zip has achieved milestones that typically take enterprise software companies decades: Customer Momentum: Trusted by hundreds of global enterprises including AMD, Anthropic, Canva, Coinbase, Discover, Lyft, Northwestern Mutual, OpenAI, Pinterest, Reddit, Sephora, and Snowflake Financial Impact: Generated $4.4 billion in customer savings, with companies averaging 3.6% reduction in total spend savings and 25% in productivity gains Product Innovation: Introduced intake to the world, pioneered orchestration, and launched the industry's first agentic AI suite with 50+ procurement agents. Platform has delivered 4.6 million AI insights and achieved unprecedented engagement for an enterprise software platform with 14 million customer comments Doubling Down on Talent and Geographic Expansion To support its trajectory, Zip is hiring aggressively across all markets while significantly expanding its physical footprint: San Francisco: New headquarters doubles office space to 75,000 square feet, housing 200+ employees from top universities like Stanford and MIT, and companies like Meta, Airbnb, and Scale. The expansion reaffirms Zip's commitment to San Francisco as its global headquarters, investing in the city's downtown revitalization New York: Expanding beyond co-working to establish a permanent Manhattan headquarters, positioning Zip closer to financial services and media giants Global Reach: 60+ employees across EMEA, with continued expansion in London The company has grown from approximately 250 employees to over 500 in the past year, hiring 100+ people per quarter, with spending heavily weighted toward R&D. Five Years of Relentless Innovation Zip's trajectory from introducing intake to pioneering agentic procurement orchestration showcases the company's ability to anticipate and shape market needs: 2020: Founded with a vision to fix broken procurement processes; introduced intake and procurement orchestration to the world, transforming how companies start the procurement process 2021: Revolutionized workflows by launching dynamic approvals and integrating with 25+ enterprise systems including ERPs, CLMs, and GRC platforms 2022: Expanded beyond intake to full Procure-to-Pay capabilities, enabling end-to-end procurement orchestration 2023: Became the first procurement platform to embed generative AI, delivering millions of AI-powered insights to customers 2024: Launched the Integration Platform enabling rapid enterprise deployments; established the Zip AI Lab following landmark Series D funding 2025: Introduced Agentic Procurement Orchestration; unveiled suite of 50+ specialized AI agents that autonomously handle complex procurement tasks from tariff analysis to contract reviews "Five years ago, we introduced intake to the world. We scaled orchestration. Now, we're shaping the agentic future with 50+ AI agents that are redefining what procurement is capable of," added Lu Cheng, Zip Co-founder and CTO. "The most exciting part? We're just getting started." This fall, Zip will host Zip Forward 2025 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where 750+ procurement and finance leaders will gather under the theme 'Agents of Change.' To request an invitation, please visit About Zip Zip is the world's leading agentic procurement orchestration platform, empowering businesses to accelerate the procurement process, mitigate risk, and drive growth by offering a single front door to unify the teams, tasks, and tools involved in working with suppliers. With Zip, businesses can maximize employee adoption of purchasing policies and increase spend visibility and control. As the leading solution for optimizing business spend, Zip's AI-powered platform is trusted by hundreds of leading enterprises worldwide, including AMD, Anthropic, Coinbase, Discover, Dollar Tree, Instacart, Invesco, Lyft, Northwestern Mutual, Prudential, Reddit, Sephora, and Snowflake to maximize the ROI of every dollar. To learn more, visit View source version on Contacts chrysta@ Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's EPA Reportedly Wants to Remove Limits on Tailpipe Emissions
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." A new draft plan is reportedly going to unwind the EPA's ruling that greenhouse gases are a public health issue. If passed, the federal agency's ability to enforce restrictions on automakers could be limited in the future. The plan would overturn official EPA policy that has been in place since 2009. A newly drafted plan from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said to be days away from going public, aims to strip the agency's ability to limit greenhouse gases. According to reporting from the New York Times, the draft proposal rescinds a 2009 declaration that carbon dioxide and methane emissions are hazardous to public health. If verified and passed, such a proposal presents further headwinds to EV adoption and also removes limits on tailpipe emissions. The ruling would also affect industrial pollution, but as far as the automotive industry is concerned, it would remove carbon emission limitations as a target for automakers. With fines for CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) violations largely eliminated and federal rebates for EV purchases gone, this new change could continue to change the course of domestic car manufacturing. Long-term, such a change would limit the EPA's authority to enforce rules aimed at limiting climate change. The proposed draft is said not to argue with the science regarding greenhouse gas emissions, but rather it states that the EPA has legally overstepped its authority. It seeks to limit the EPA's ability to legislate except in specific circumstances. There are several steps to be taken before such a change occurs, not least of which are various legal hurdles. If enacted, the new plan would almost certainly face challenges from various sources. It also has to weather some form of public review. It took two years for the EPA to officially label greenhouse gases as a public health issue after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that they were pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Unwinding this finding may take a similarly long timeline. If you are in the automaking business, however, it's fairly straightforward to see which way the winds are blowing. For the near future, investing in combustion-powered transportation is likely to be the safe bet. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
