How do I get my FPL, Duke or TECO usage history for a solar quote?

Because the utility sizes your system against a full year. FPL's net metering guidelines say a system must be estimated to produce less than 115% of your annual kWh use to be approved, and every application has to be approved before installation. FPL SolarTogether goes further and caps you at 100% of your last 12 months.

A year also catches Florida's long cooling season. Tampa Electric notes that Florida heat can last up to half the year and that air conditioning is by far the biggest reason summer bills spike. In the EIA's 2020 survey, air conditioning was 28% of Florida home energy use, against 9% nationally. A quote built on one or two bills can miss by a lot in either direction, which is why winter bills surprise people too. See why your bill is high in winter.

For a sense of scale, a home using 12,000 kWh a year in Orlando could be approved for a system making up to about 13,800 kWh, or roughly 9.3 kW. The full sizing math is in how many solar panels you need.

• Account number: FPL calls it the unique identifier for the customer at that address. FPL's net metering application asks for it.
• Name on the account: on FPL the account holder is the one who applies, so it should match who signs the solar contract.
• Rate code: for most FPL homes it's RS-1, residential service. It tells the installer how your bill is calculated.
• Meter number: printed in the meter reading section of the bill.
• Monthly kWh for 12 months or more: the number that sizes the system. Dollars alone don't work, because rates and fuel charges change.
• The tier lines: FPL, Duke and Tampa Electric all charge more for each kWh above 1,000 a month, and FPL's bill shows the kWh above 1,000 on its own line. Big summer months are where solar saves the most.

The fixed charges stay after solar. See how to read your electric bill after solar and the rate details for FPL, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric.

• On the bill: FPL's energy usage history chart shows the monthly kWh for the last 13 months.
• Past statements: FPL's online account lets you view and print up to 24 months of bill statements.
• In the app: FPL says you can track your daily, weekly and monthly energy use.
• Energy Manager: the free Energy Dashboard shows your home's use over time, and the Energy Analyzer estimates where in the home it goes.
• Hourly use: FPL's smart grid FAQ says monthly, daily and hourly usage is available online, and FPL says its smart meter rollout to homes is virtually complete.

FPL doesn't advertise a Green Button style data download for homes. Printing or saving your last 12 statements, or a screenshot of the Energy Dashboard's monthly view, gives an installer what it needs. For older history, call FPL and ask.

Duke Energy Florida says customers can track their use down to the hour, day or week by signing in to their account on its website or app. Duke's help pages describe an "Energy Usage" section in the online account and a "Usage" tab in the app, with each day's data showing up the next day.

Duke's account pages mention up to 24 months of billing history, while some describe about 13 months of usage history, so check what your own account shows. Either way, 12 months of kWh from your bills is enough for a quote. Duke Energy Florida finished installing smart meters in 2021, which is what makes the hourly view possible.

In the Interactive Bill. Tampa Electric says you can log in, pick a billing period and view and compare daily, monthly and yearly usage reports, with a usage graph that shows how the weather affected your bill and year-over-year comparisons.

Tampa Electric says today's meters are digital smart meters that support daily meter readings. It doesn't publish a residential data download, so save your last 12 bills or screenshot the yearly view for your installer.

On Budget Billing, send kWh, not your payment. Tampa Electric explains that a Budget Billing payment is based on the average of your bills from the previous 12 months, and FPL says the same averaging applies to its program. The payment hides your real summer peaks, so an installer working from it will undersize or misjudge your savings. The kWh lines on each bill are still your actual use.

If you just moved in, you won't have a year of your own. An installer can work from the home's size, the seller's usage if you can get it, or a few months of your bills, but the utility still has to approve the system size. If you're adding a pool or an EV, tell the installer so it can plan for the extra load. See solar for pool homes and solar and EV charging.

1. 1

   Pull 12 months of kWh

   Write down or screenshot the monthly kWh for the last year, or 24 months if your account shows it.

2. 2

   Copy the account details

   Note the account holder's name, account number, meter number and rate code from one recent bill.

3. 3

   Flag big changes

   Tell the installer about a new pool, EV, AC replacement or a move, so the size matches how you'll use power next year.

4. 4

   Add a hot summer day

   If you're thinking about a battery, an hourly view of a hot summer day shows what it would need to cover in an outage.

Run your numbers through the solar savings calculator, then get a quote with your usage in hand. When the quotes come back, check them with the solar quote checker.