Manually loading your utility data seems to be such a pain for most, but by doing it it allows you to take note of your energy use habits and it could inspire you to better energy use habits.

When loading your utility data in EkoGuru it is best to start of with the past 12 months, but for its basic functionality just the last month of data would be sufficient.

EkoGuru understands that everybody’s environment differ, and therefore let you choose your own goals and measure you against those goals, we do not compare you against averages. For this to be successful we need you to commit to maintaining your monthly data. It’s just human nature that if we pushed you the data, you would not be invested in the process and the goal of changing your energy use habit would fail.

Watch the tutorial video to show you how to load your utility data

Before you start using the Solar Sizing functionality it is important to note the assumptions on which it is based when determining your array size. The results should be used as a guideline when discussing with your solar installer and will vary depending on your specific circumstances.

1. EkoGuru assumes a panel size of 220w
2. EkoGuru assumes an installed watt rate of $5, this can be manually changed by you for what-if analysis.
3. Ekoguru assumes a average minimum solar irradiation of 4 hours, which can be manually changed depending on where you stay.
4. EkoGuru assumes the following derate factors:
   • 2% for the PV power tolerance
   • 10% for heat
   • 5% for dirt and or snow
   • 3% for wiring
   • 7% for the inverter
   • 30% when using a battery based system
5. The loan term is 20 years and all renewable systems that take longer than that to pay back is labeled as “Not Viable”.
6. EkoGuru assumes that a Battery System will add 2x the solar watt installed rate to a project and that the batteries will have to be replaced every 8 years if well maintained.
7. Ekoguru assumes maintenance cost on your system at 1% per annum of the value of your system.

EkoGuru want’s you to challenge your friends to sign up and commit to save energy. Dare your friends via social media. Use the Challenge Your Friends functionality to create all kinds of fun challenges to your friends. The Ekoguru community would like to see your creative and fun dare, upload it to social media and #ekogurudare.

As opposed to other solar sizing sites EkoGuru aims to include the time value of money, expected increases in your utility cost and inflation on maintenance, so you can make a more informed decision.

Before proceeding with Solar Sizing take note of the Solar Sizing Assumptions also listed in the Support section.

Once you have uploaded your utility data Ekoguru would assist you in determining the size, cost and return on investment on the right size solar system for your house or small business.

EkoGuru determines the required system inputs from your utility data. I you are a more technical user or want to play around with different scenarios, you can manually change the inputs and see the result on the Return on Investment page.

EkoGuru requires that you input the financial data, such as inflation rate, expected increase in utility rates, interest rate on loan, deposits and rebates. If you don’t have it, don’t worry, EkoGuru will still give you a solar size and basic Return on Investment.

If you challenge your friends to save 5kWh a day, the each challenge 7 friends to save 5kWh a day who each challenges 7 more will result in enough savings to disable 1 average sized US coal fired power station. It’s as easy as that to make a difference, so go ahead, challenge your friends to sign-up to Ekoguru and commit to saving 5kWh a day. It’s not so difficult.

Use Challenge your friends to invite friends to join Ekoguru.

Create all kinds of creative and fun dares on a daily basis. Ekoguru would like to see your creative challenges at #ekogurudare.

Watch the tutorial video on loading your household appliances in EkoGuru.

Ekoguru can assist you to make energy efficient choices when you need to decide on purchasing that new appliance, light or even a electric vehicle. Once you have loaded your utility data Ekoguru would know what your energy cost is. Now just load the appliance you want to acquire, how much you will use it and Ekoguru will show you how much it will cost on a daily basis to operate. You would be surprised to see that a electric vehicle will cost you more than 4 times to operate in Hawaii than in Washington State.

EkoGuru allows you to save on so many fronts, personally and for community.

Say you live in California and use 40kWh of electricity a day. By committing to save 5kWh a day through altering your energy use habit you will save $270 a year.

If you go further and use Ekoguru to assist you in changing to  renewables the same user will save over $100 000 over 20 years, just on electricity cost.

EkoGuru also advices on more efficient appliances which can reduce your daily consumption even further, letting the savings pay for your upgrade to new appliances.

These savings does not even take in account the savings in combating green house gasses, water used in the generation process and creating a healthier environment for us all.

Watch the tutorial video to see how you use Ekoguru to help you save.