Who amongst us have gone solar

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by Stoffo, 29th Dec, 2016.

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Who amongst us have gone solar

  1. Nope, live in an apartment/strata/unit

    10 vote(s)
    7.2%
  2. Thought about it, yet to decide

    70 vote(s)
    50.7%
  3. Yes, I have paid for solar

    38 vote(s)
    27.5%
  4. I have solar and am looking into batteries

    18 vote(s)
    13.0%
  5. I am completely off grid

    2 vote(s)
    1.4%
  1. kierank

    kierank Well-Known Member

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    Gold Coast
    As I have posted earlier, the main reason we installed batteries was for power reliability reasons. We have a lot of electrical gadgets in our house (including a file server, home security system, security cameras, electric gate, electric garage doors, effluent plant, ...). None of these work without power. When we purchased our batteries, we used to suffer blackouts on a regular basis. Now the gadgets operate 24/7.

    Our FIT is 50c/kWh. Our grid price (before discounts) is around 23c/kWh. So, it makes sense for us to export as much as we can via our Agreement. That is why we have two arrays - the original array which pumps power into the grid (to maximise our exports) and a second smaller array to charge our batteries. Because of this, our payback is quicker with batteries.

    If your FIT is 6c, I would have thought batteries wouldn't be cost effective and you would be best to maximise your power consumption during the day because, in reality, it is only costing 6c per kWh.

    Given the power supply problems we are facing in Australia (with closure of Hazelwood) and the possibility of more blackouts in the future, power reliability might become a bigger issue.
     
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  2. klabat

    klabat Well-Known Member

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    Has anyone gone complete off the grid with solar panels and batteries?
     
  3. kierank

    kierank Well-Known Member

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    I didn't because it is too risky and too expensive.
     
  4. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Sydney
    Got solar in June, 6kW Fronius/Jinko system from SolarGain. Absolutely love it, cut our quarterly electricity bill down from $435 to $31 (yes, thirty-one). PowerShop plan with 12.8c FIT. As we reach the middle of Spring I expect our daily bill to reach $0 and begin accruing account credit for next Winter.

    We'd consider batteries if we had frequent blackouts, but I count 3 brief outages (2 scheduled) in 3 years, so they definitely don't make sense as the numbers don't stack up.
     
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  5. magyar

    magyar Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    16th Mar, 2017
    Posts:
    218
    Location:
    Brisbane

    Wow that's awesome. I think my solar might not be working to capacity. Only received $45 off a quarter!!! $15 a month doesn't sound right. Less then 2 years old 5kw sunnyboy invertor with 24 panels.
     
  6. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

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    Is $45 just your feed-in tariff component? If it is then your true saving is much larger as you aren't drawing from the grid during the day (when you are using solar power directly.)

    Another possibility is that you are on gross metering, which means you don't benefit from using solar power directly. Your elec retailer should be able to sort this out for you though. (you want to be on net metering)
     
  7. Joshwaaaa

    Joshwaaaa Well-Known Member

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    Adelaide

    So even through middle of winter we were averaging 50c-$1 a day in our favour. We pretty much have our whole summer holidays/ christmas period paid for. Loving our solar
     
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  8. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

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    Nice one!

    Possibly silly question: is it possible to redeem that credit as cash on an ongoing basis? Or is it locked into the elec retailer account as credit?
     
  9. Joshwaaaa

    Joshwaaaa Well-Known Member

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    22nd Jun, 2015
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    Adelaide
    yup you can request a cheque, but apparently it can take about 3-4 weeks. So we are going to request ours soon, then use that money for our christmas period spending money and hopefully not touch a cent of pay + bonuses etc. Will be about $1200 + credit by then
     
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  10. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

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    NICE :p

    I think I'll only have a small amount of credit after a full yearly cycle, but who knows how much I'll generate during summer...
     
  11. Angel

    Angel Well-Known Member

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    19th Jun, 2015
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    Location:
    Paradise, Brisbane
    We just signed up for a system with Origin where they own, install and maintain the system and we buy our daily consumption of solar off them at 9c per kwh. Our current provider charges 28c. They spoke with Mark at his work so I dont know any more, sorry. Installation is mid January and I have to sacrifice the huge Golden Cane palm at my front wall. Origin estimates we will save up to $2450 a year off our bills. We have zero initial cost but can offer to buy the system (depreciated) after the first two years if we want to, or continue with the current arrangement. It will be 24 panels.

    The people who loaned us their old solar system for our camper trailer have just this week agreed to let us keep it :) After the roadtrip, we decided to get a couple more caravan batteries anyway. When we get a spare weekend (2017 was a bad year) we might get around to sourcing a yacht turbine which we could run off-grid.
     
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  12. Angel

    Angel Well-Known Member

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    @Gockie, you dont want any swimming pools at your IPs in QLd.
     
  13. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

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    Not a bad deal. Assuming that the 9c/kwh fee is only for electricity drawn from the grid when you aren't generating solar power and using it directly (i.e. net metering).

    Also take into account the daily supply charge and GST. If I was on the same "plan" with my 22-panel solar system, I'd be paying 6.7c per grid kwh, including supply+gst.

    Either way, sounds like you'll be saving a huge chunk of money!
     
  14. spludgey

    spludgey Well-Known Member

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    18th Jun, 2015
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    Sydney
    It will actually be some kind of PPA (power purchasing agreement).

    I'm a little sceptical of those, as in the long run, you're usually better off owning the solar panels outright.

    Plus their claim of a saving of $2450/year is a bit outrageous. Assuming that the panels are 280W and assuming 4.2kWh/kWp, it gives me an annual figure of 10.3MWh/year, making the average saving 24c/kWh. This means that your normal electricity price would have to be 33c/kWh and you would have to consume each and every single kWh of the system to make this calculation work (as a reference, I export about two thirds of the energy my solar system generates).
     
  15. Angel

    Angel Well-Known Member

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    I'm sceptical too, His Lordship is trying to do the best with the crappy financial position we are in post APRA/Gladstone. I understand we have to pay for our consumption of the same power we generate at 9c per kwh, in return for not paying anything for the hardware.

    Once we have it up and running I'll be in a better position to make a judgment. Should we buy it in a few years, then we get to save the installation fees plus we buy a "used" system.
     
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  16. spludgey

    spludgey Well-Known Member

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    Sydney
    Definitely not. While prices are still coming down, subsidies (STCs) are being reduced each year, so the net price is either stagnating or going up. Plus if you buy later you miss out on the time value of money, since you're currently paying for grid electricity.
     
  17. chylld

    chylld Well-Known Member

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    24th Jun, 2015
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    Sydney
    That is gross metering. That is a very, very bad deal.
     
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  18. magyar

    magyar Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    16th Mar, 2017
    Posts:
    218
    Location:
    Brisbane
    Heard that next year you will be able to use your ips as solar farms essentially. I.e u have two ips and a ppor. Have solar on all three properties redirected to your ppor.
     
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  19. PJ1

    PJ1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    26th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    209
    Location:
    NSW
    I purchased a 2.2kw system back in 2008 for our ppor when we were on 60c feed-in tariff.
    Our bills were a consistent $240 per quarter and we received a cheque for $500+. It took 3 years to pay off.

    This property is now an IP, has anyone got solar on their ip and how do you manage/market it to tenants?
    I have the chance to add solar to another ip shortly does it add up in NSW?
     
  20. r3ckless

    r3ckless Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    126
    Location:
    Sydney
    Any recommendations for Sydney metro? I am looking to install solar panels on my house in 2018, and a view to get a battery in a couple years thereafter
     

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