I’ve written previously about installing solar panels and batteries as well as converting our heating, air conditioning and water heating over to electric heat pumps. We now have a full 12-months worth of electric bills since having Xcel Energy completely shut off natural gas to our home, so I thought I’d share our numbers.
Before I do, let me define what an all-electric house means. This means that not only do we use electricity for, well, electricity, but we use it for all of our other energy needs as well. This includes all of our appliances, our heating and air conditioning, and our water heater. But it also includes our vehicles (we own two cars, both EVs) and our yard equipment (batter operated lawnmower and trimmer). So if someone wants to compare their numbers to ours, they need to include all of those costs. That means not only electricity, but also whatever they use to heat their home (typically natural gas, sometimes heating oil). That means they also need to include whatever fuel they use for their vehicles and their lawn equipment (typically gasoline, sometimes diesel). Where you live, of course, also impacts this, as heating and cooling needs can vary tremendously based on geography. We live along the front range of Colorado (family of three in a house that is too large for us), which means we have both heating needs in winter and cooling needs in the summer.
So here’s our total trailing 12-month energy costs (April 2025 – March 2026)
$522.86
(or an average of $43.57 per month)
This likely compares favorably to most folks trailing 12-month bills for energy. I know some folks who spend more than $43.57 in a week just filling up their two cars with gas, much less what they pay for electricity and natural gas (or whatever they use to heat with). To be clear, part of the reason for this low cost is our solar panels and batteries, and there is an up front cost to that. I originally estimated that we would probably “break even” on the solar panels in 6-8 years, and perhaps slightly longer than that on the batteries. But given policy changes at the federal level, international events, and increasing electricity demand (data centers, etc.), prices for electricity, natural gas, and gasoline/diesel are all increasing more quickly than expected. If that continues for any length of time, our break even will likely be under five years (and we’re already 2 years into the solar panels/batteries, and 1 year into the all-electric house).
For us, of course, it’s not just about the savings (although that’s a fantastic aspect of this). It’s about doing our part, however small, to combat pollution and climate change, and to help lessen the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. Which – as we are seeing right now – also has tremendous geopolitical impacts and costs in addition to climate impacts (and climate impacts also have tremendous human impacts and costs). So if you own your own home, considering at least exploring the advantages of installing solar panels and/or battery storage. It can be a great financial decision as well as a great “investment” in your community and humanity as a whole.
Fisch Financial 