PV billing: bill the power from your photovoltaic system correctly
Your photovoltaic system is generating – now it is about using that power sensibly and billing it correctly. You enter the solar kWh allocated to each flat, SchäferStrom bills them at the solar tariff and turns them into finished invoices.
A PV system on an apartment building usually generates more power during the day than any single household needs at that moment. The interesting question is: what happens to this output? The more of it that is consumed directly on site, the more valuable every kilowatt-hour becomes – the key term being the self-consumption rate.
For the solar power to be billed, the solar kWh consumed by each flat have to be established. You decide this split outside the tool in your ZEV or vZEV – for example from the smart-meter load profiles – and enter the allocated figures in SchäferStrom. The tool bills them per unit at the solar tariff and separates out the grid consumption; this also works when your system supplies several buildings in a vZEV.
You bill the separate solar tariff apart from the grid power. That way your residents see transparently how much cheap solar power they have drawn and how much more expensive power from the grid.
How PV billing works step by step
Record generation and consumption
You manually enter your PV system’s meter reading and the flats’ consumption meters – the basis for the whole bill.
Enter the solar kWh per flat
You enter the solar kWh allocated to each flat. You decide the split outside the tool in your ZEV or vZEV – SchäferStrom does not distribute the power itself.
Apply the solar and grid tariff
SchäferStrom bills the allocated solar kWh at the solar tariff and the remaining grid consumption separately – including peak and off-peak tariffs, if used.
Invoice with QR payment section
Each flat gets a clear bill with a Swiss QR payment section that shows the solar and grid share distinctly.
What PV billing with SchäferStrom can do
Made specifically for photovoltaic operators who want to bill their power on site.
- A higher self-consumption rate – more of your output stays in the building instead of going to the grid
- Allocate the solar kWh per flat yourself – you enter the split from your ZEV directly
- A separate solar tariff, cleanly split from the grid power and fully transparent
- Works across several buildings – including in a virtual self-consumption association (vZEV)
- Peak, off-peak and solar tariffs are combined automatically and correctly
- A built-in 80% check warns of an excessive solar tariff – the responsibility stays with you
Frequently asked questions about PV billing
How is the solar power per flat determined?
You enter the solar kWh allocated to each flat yourself – SchäferStrom does not distribute the power automatically. You decide the split in your ZEV or vZEV, for example from the smart-meter load profiles or a method you have agreed on. From the figures you enter, the tool bills the solar share at the solar tariff and separates out the grid consumption. Why solar and grid power are billed separately in law is explained on our billing self-consumption page.
What happens to solar power that is not consumed?
Output that nobody in the building is using at that moment flows into the grid and is remunerated through your grid operator’s feed-in remuneration – usually well below the local solar tariff. The aim of PV billing is therefore the highest possible self-consumption rate: the more power consumed on site, the more valuable the installation. What the higher local share brings economically is shown on our tenant electricity billing page.
Do I need a separate meter for each flat?
Yes, accurate consumption-based billing requires each unit to have its own meter, plus a meter for the PV generation. SchäferStrom processes the readings you enter.
Does the billing also work for several buildings?
Yes. If your system supplies several buildings, each with its own connection, this can be billed as a virtual self-consumption association (vZEV) – you enter the solar kWh allocated to each unit, and the billing runs on the meter data.
Related topics
Get more from your photovoltaic system
Enter the solar kWh allocated to each flat and let SchäferStrom bill them automatically – with a separate solar tariff and a Swiss QR bill.