Solar Power systems

[Daves]

Iain, who did you use for your install?

Dave/Jarro - are you happy with the service/install you received from SolarGreen?

I'm keen to do this (not keen for the outlay) but would like to seriously consider it. Need to get some numbers to convince the wife though I guess...
We're starting to creep up a little in our bills (more than I'd like them to be anyway) so something to perhaps offset it a little would be good...

All of this is great food for thought but I am wondering whether or not it is as effective in Melbourne?

Our electricity bills are around $900 per qtr. If it costs $12 - $15K to get something decent installed, how long does it take for the system to pay itself off?

What size system is needed/practical?

Yep, happy with the install and everything so far. I also got them to install a system on our Straddie place as well.

I guess the viability/efficiency of a system is going to be dependant on the orientation, and how many panels they can place on your roof. At the moment our system it covering our average historical usage. I won't know the exacts for sure until the new meters are installed (Thursday) and we get our first bill, but i expect to have wiped out our $800 per quarter bill at home and will be making serious credits on the Straddie place. I would suggest average payback is probably 5/6 years or thereabout, but ours is more like 4 years. There is a limit on size of systems that you can get rebates on in Qld (5Kw), not sure if that is the case interstate? Feed in tariffs also vary fairly widely I think.

The other part of the exercise for us is to audit our use and modify equipment, usage, behaviour etc to reduce our actual usage eg. replace pool pump with eco one, LED and CFL bulbs, use power saving modes where available, etc.

[Daves]

Solargreen have a web page on approximate system sizes needed and relative paybacks. Note this is based on Qld tariffs, rebates etc.

http://www.solargreen.net.au/systemsize.php

[markTHEblake]

I got 11kw yesterday on a 2kw system. Dunno if that's good or not I guess I need to see over longer term

[Mububban]

I got 11kw yesterday on a 2kw system. Dunno if that's good or not I guess I need to see over longer term

I had 5kWh on my 1kW system the other day (mostly sunny, some cloud, low 20s) so sounds about right?

[Daves]

Energex installed our new meter (flat rate domestic) yesterday. A quick online read plus a check of the MIL's bill, which includes solar, and I now have the hang of how they will bill us. For those that don't know, basically during the day your solar production at any time is used to 1) provide your power needs 2) any excess is feed into the grid. If solar production is not enough to cover your needs at any time, power is taken from the grid (e.g. at night). So you end up with 2 figures on your meter 1) net grid power used (01 on your meter) 2) net power feed into the grid (40 on your meter). If you also have a special rate tariff eg. off peak, your meter will have 3 figures I gather 1) (01) Net power used at normal tariff 2) (30) Net power used special tariff 3) (40) net power feed into the grid.

For each billing period you will get charged (GST inclusive);

1) Fixed supply charge $0.28787 per day
2) Net use at normal tariff at rate being 25.378c per kwh
3) Net use at special tariff, if applicable

less any discounts you have negotiated or are in your contract. Against that you will be credited for your net power to the grid. In Qld that is 44c/kwh plus your supplier bonus, in our case .06c/kwh Origin.

So it pays literally to move any discretionary power use to non solar production periods if you can. I have reset our pool pump accordingly, using discretionary power on rainy days will also help as well.

Based on my monitoring of our use so far, we should make a healthy credit overall. It also explains why you don't necessarily need a big system for it to pay, but if you have the roof area and the upfront capital, the economic return is quite attractive. It also explains why the government pulled the feed in tariff bonus back from the very attractive 44c/kwh it was up till July, to the now somewhat miserly 8c/kwh it is now.

[Mububban]

I've been checking my inverter when I get home at 4pm, it doesn't show 0.x partial units but it's been generating 5 or 6kwH this week, mostly sunny, scattered cloud, mid 20s. Yesterday's peak was 1018w of a maximum 1075w output.

[Pieface]

37.5 units yesterday for me. Temp will knock it back a bit today.

Looking forward to the next "bill"

[Mububban]

Latest power bill:

$20.70
Average daily units - 6
Average daily cost - 20 cents

Produced - 184 units @ 8.4c and 40c
Paid for - 341 units @ 22.6c, plus $22 supply charge, plus $10 gst

Shame we bought our system when it was so expensive, we used our baby bonus in 2008 to get a 1kW system and can't currently afford to buy extra panels. But getting a $20 power bill is always nice

[graham_w]

Whats nicer is getting a bill that's a credit of $532.

[Webster]

I'm considering getting a solar system put in, but not really sure where to start. Only really concerned with covering the amount of power that we use - we are on just under an acre, 30 square home, one fridge, one TV, etc etc. I've been monitoring our use which is between 8 and 13 kw per day depending on what appliances we use. I expect this to increase a bit in summer when we have the A/C on a bit more. We have gas ducted heating. The only things which appear to increase the daily use are the A/C unit and the clothes dryer.

We get a lot of sunny days down here, even in winter - it rains a bit, but we don't get long cloudy days like they do in Melbourne. Not sure what the rebates are like in Vic, but i think its pretty crappy.

What should I do (other than talk to Solarman).

Love, Jack.

[Daves]

Have you got that Pool Pump up and running yet Jack? if so is it in your 8 to 13 KW a day?

[Webster]

Nup

[Daves]

Nup

If you do plan to use it you will need to allow a few more Kws a day. Our is a 1hp motor and it uses about 5/6 kw a day running for 6/7 hours (50,000l pool).

[Webster]

Its only a little pool dave (above ground jobby). But point taken.

[Mububban]

Lately in Perth my 1kW system has been producing 5-6kWh per day. 4x2 home with evap aircon, gas hot water, old CRT TVs (only one on at a time, kids are only 2 and 4), lights go off when nobody's in the room etc. Even in the heat of the Perth summer when we run the aircon for 12+ hours a day, I don't think I've had a power bill over $75 since the system went in.

Solar systems are also half what they cost when we got ours, if we were purchasing nowadays we'd have gone for a 2-3kW system and be getting paid each bill, not paying out.

[Daves]

Its only a little pool dave (above ground jobby). But point taken.

Yep, but they do suck some serious power, as does AC and Dryers.

The size of the system you will need is dependant on your roof aspects and available space. My guess would be around a 3kW system, which should produce around 15kW ave a day over the year. Because the Feed in Tariff in Vic is only 8c now (plus whatever your supplier gives you, probably another 8 cents) you won't have a 1:1 match, so you will need to generate more than you use to get your bill to zero.

http://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/3...t-and-returns/

Once installed it is better if you use any discretionary items like Pool, AC and Dryer during the day so that you use your own generated power, rather than have to draw power from the Grid (at a higher cost price) as you do at night. For those that have the high Feed In Tariffs, the reverse it true.

[Daves]

Whats nicer is getting a bill that's a credit of $532.

Yep, that is about where ours is heading. If I change the Pool Pump to an Eco one (likely), substantially more.

[Jarro]

Yep, that is about where ours is heading. If I change the Pool Pump to an Eco one (likely), substantially more.

You haven't changed that pool pump yet ??

[Daves]

You haven't changed that pool pump yet ??

Not yet, been doing some monitoring of actual use and playing around with the timer settings etc to confirm what the actual savings will be. Plus have only had the new meters installed for a couple of weeks, so only now being able to calculate new power bill. Our motor doesn't use as much power as your old one did, but the numbers are still coming up at about about a $300 savings pa

[Chris32]

Got our first bill since our install, no import export meter yet so it's just been spinning the meter backwards. Our bill has dropped from around 500 a quarter to 130 bucks, happy with that!

[timah!]

Chris, what size system?
I'm still keen, but I am really only looking to reach a zero balance.

[Leon Phelps]

We are currently getting plans drawn up for our extension, and solar is high on my wish list.
Where is th ebest place to look for information?
I know nothing about solar, so any info is welcome.
We are in the Southern Highlands of NSW

[solarman]

The Clean Energy Council website and go into the Consumer Guide.

[Chris32]

Chris, what size system?
I'm still keen, but I am really only looking to reach a zero balance.

It's only a 1.5kw system, and we've had average conditions for producing power. Keen to see how it goes over the next few months. We just didn't have the roof space facing the right way and without any shadows to go anymore, we could have gone maybe two or three panels but we would have had to relocate our evap. cooler which would be a big hassle.

Pretty happy with it, its only a cheapie costing us around $2000 through a friend who runs a small solar company.

[Jarro]

Any of you guys been running the air-con since you've had the solar systems put in ?

I'm keen to see some numbers on this scenario.