I’ve been keeping a close eye on my electricity consumption for the past year, and now I’ve made a change that will have a big impact on my bills. On top of that, my balcony solar system have just reached an important milestone... they have officially paid for themselves. You can read it here: @louis88/my-balcony-solar-power-system-1-year-and-break-even
This post is a full breakdown of my usage, the switch from my old E.ON contract to my new grüüün tariff, and how my solar production is already saving me money every single day.
My electricity consumption
Since my smart meter was installed on 04 November 2024, I’ve been logging each reading. Over the past 284 days, I have used a total of 2,890 kWh, which works out to:
| Period | kWh |
|---|---|
| Per day | 10.18 |
| Per week | 71.23 |
| Per month | 309.52 |
| Per year (est.) | 3,714.26 |
This includes:
Fridge, Cooking, 6x 4k Displays, 2x TV's, 2 PC's, Router, Standby-Electronic, Lighting, Washing Mashine etc... Just A 2 Nerdy Person Household.
The old E.ON contract
With E.ON, I was paying 39.35 cents per kWh plus a yearly base fee of €254.85 and €20 for the meter operation.
| E.ON (old) | |
|---|---|
| Price per kWh | 0.3935 € |
| Yearly base fee | 254.85 € |
| Yearly meter fee | 20 € |
| Energy cost/year (3,714 kWh) | 1,461.56 € |
| Total/year | 1,736.41 € |
| Per month | 144.70 € |
| Per day | 4.76 € |
The new grüüün contract
From 27 October 2025, I’ll be with grüüün. A cool and fancy Engery Provider. The new rate is 25.78 cents per kWh with a yearly base fee of 255.78 €.
| grüüüün (new) | |
|---|---|
| Price per kWh | 0.2578 € |
| Yearly base fee | 255.78 € |
| Energy cost/year (3,714 kWh) | 957.54 € |
| Total/year | 1,213.32 € |
| Per month | 101.11 € |
| Per day | 3.32 € |
Savings from switching provider
Just by changing the contract, my costs will drop without changing my usage:
| Year | Month | Week | Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savings | 523.09 € | 43.59 € | 10.03 € | 1.44 € |
That’s like getting more than four months of electricity free compared to my old contract.
My two balcony solar systems
I started with the system a little over a year ago. Back then, I wrote here on Hive about my first results... 145.62 kWh in just 1.5 months, saving me 52.20€. @louis88/cost-and-benefits-of-my-new-balcony-solar-power-system-in-june-2024
By July last year, it was producing over 90 kWh so far. That’s when I started thinking about adding another one but this not happend yet.
- 821.58 kWh total since installation
- 431.92 kWh in 2025 so far (and it’s still August)
- Over 819 kg CO₂ emissions avoided
At my old E.ON rate, that production is worth around 322€. At my new grüüüün rate, it’s still worth about 212€ a year — and since the systems have now paid for themselves, every watt is pure profit.
Break-even point reached
The combined cost of the system is now fully recovered through the electricity they’ve generated. This happened in just over one year — much faster than I expected. From here on, the solar production is simply reducing my bills further and further each month.
The complete picture
If I combine the savings from switching provider and the yearly production from my balcony solar system, the total annual reduction in my electricity costs looks like this:
| Source of savings | Annual € saved |
|---|---|
| Switching to grüüüün | 523.09 € |
| Solar production (2025 output est.) | 212 – 322 €* |
| Total savings/year | 735 – 845 € |
*Lower value based on new tariff, higher value based on old tariff for comparison.
Final thoughts
Switching provider and producing my own electricity turned out to be a powerful combination. My fixed costs are down, my per kWh rate is lower, and my solar panels cover a big chunk of my usage... all while being good for the environment.
If you haven’t checked your electricity tariff in a while, I recommend it. And if you have the chance to install balcony solar, it can pay for itself faster than you think. Watching the app update every day has become strangely addictive for me, and now it’s even better knowing that every number is pure profit.
