Kilowatt-Hours (kWh)
Also known as: kWhKilowatt-hourEnergy consumption
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the unit PG&E uses to bill you for electricity. It measures energy used over time: one kilowatt (1,000 watts) of power consumed for one hour. A 100W lightbulb running for 10 hours uses 1 kWh. An EV battery charging at 7 kW for one hour uses 7 kWh.
The PG&E bill in Santa Cruz County uses tiered + time-of-use pricing. Off-peak kWh costs less than peak; the first chunk of monthly usage costs less than usage above a baseline. Solar credits are calculated in kWh under NEM 3.0.
When evaluating an electrification project — solar, battery, EV charger, heat pump — the relevant math is in kWh. How many kWh does the new load consume? How many does solar produce? How many will the battery store? When are those kWh consumed (peak/off-peak)? PG&E's pricing makes WHEN you use kWh nearly as important as HOW MANY.
A solar + battery system only works financially when it's sized against actual kWh consumption from your prior bills. We pull your last 12 months of PG&E data before sizing anything — there's no useful guess without it.
Met this term in a quote or inspection report?
A free whole-home inspection turns jargon into a written assessment of your actual house — you keep the report either way.