Who's got a Solar Power System installed?

[Psyber]

I have a 1.9kw system.
If I had the money, I would tripple that system.
Unfortunately I am a very low income earner....

But then you are a devout and committed Consumer - always espousing chuck it away and get new.

Seriously, I'd have probably done the 4 Kw system with the firm dedja used had I gotten on to them before it was too late to get the high feed in rates.
I was put off the year before by highly inflated quotes - several at $25-30K for a system I could have got for $8.5-9K in May 2011 had I not been off to the UK that month.

Dutchy's point is valid too.
I'd worked out it was 5 years to break even, even with that last quote, if one took loss of bank interest into account, and I'm still not sure I'll stay here that long.
(I'm finding an acre full of Stringy Barks dropping branches is a bit much to keep under control.)

I'm looking at investment property, and/or a move myself, at the moment and solar panels on the roof won't increase what I'll offer for any property.
I've already said that to a couple of agents who pushed it as a factor. (Both women actually.)

[dedja]

Generated 30kWh and exported 25.5kWh today ...

[Squawk]

eah,it was a good day for me too - generated about 39kw but not sure what I exported!

[dedja]

what size system have you got?

[Squawk]

what size system have you got?

6.27kw

[dedja]

you should be getting a more than 39kWh, somewhere upwards of 45 on a good day.

Are your panels not north facing or do you have shading issues?

[Squawk]

you should be getting a more than 39kWh, somewhere upwards of 45 on a good day.

Are your panels not north facing or do you have shading issues?

Some shading in the afternoon plus the panels dont face north directly - more like NNW.

[MatteeG]

Is more kW better? Generates more?

[dedja]

The kW rating is the max amount of power you can generate in an hour ... so the higher the rating, the more power you will generate per day.

On a perfect day, you can generate about 7 hours 'worth' ... ie. my 4.18kW system max generation in a day since I've had it installed is 30.5kWh

[MatteeG]

Cheers Dedj

[dedja]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 6255808521

A New rebate system will allow the average household that installs solar panels to save a total of $417 a year.

The Essential Services Commission has approved a new rebate rate, which will allow people who missed out on the Government's previous generous scheme to be paid an 11.2c per kilowatt hour rebate by electricity companies for energy put back into the grid.

Chief executive Paul Kerin said every household was different, but the average solar-panel system would generate 1500kWh of excess energy that could be fed back into the grid, earning $147 in 2012-13 and $168 in 2013-14.

This is based on the rebate rate per kWh increasing from 7.1c/kWh to 9.8c in July 2012 and 11.2c the following year.

The annual rebate is in addition to the average annual savings of $270 from using solar power instead of electricity from the grid.

[Alaska]

I am still confused dedja?
I decided not to do it as I will move inside five years.
Now that the prices have dropped so much I was again thinking of getting back onboard as payback was down to 3.5?
What is the best decision now?
The electricty cost is becoming significant!

[dedja]

There is no simple answer I'm afraid.

How did you work out the payback period?

[Alaska]

Again not simple, but looked at current costs of 3kw system and what I would save (based on unreliable info) although had been spruiked before the changes. Then compared that to my current costs.

[dedja]

You need to take the following into account over the full cycle of a year:

- how much you will consume
- when you consume ... ie more during the day or night
- your equation with grid connected solar becomes: ((kWh imported x retailer charge) + daily service charge) - (kWh exported x FIT) ... if you get a negative number then you are making money
- choosing your retailer wisely so that they don't rip you off on import rates
- Note the following import and export definitions:
- if at any instant you are generating more power from your PV system than you are consuming, then you will export to the grid
- if at any instant you are consuming more power than you PV system is generating, the you will import from the grid
- the ETSA import/export meter will take all this into account and record import and export continuously, so it is in your interest to consume as least as possible during the day when your PV system is generating power (ie. put the dryer, dishwasher, etc on at night)

Fact sheet from Escosa

If you had a PV system
- approved before September 30, 2011, you will get a guaranteed Feed in Tariff (FIT) rate from ETSA of 44c per kWh exported until 30 June 2028
- approved between 1 October 2011 and 30 September 2013, you will get a guaranteed FIT from ETSA of 16c per kWh exported until 30 September 2016
- approved after 1 September 2013, you will not receive a FIT from ETSA

All PV owners will receive an additional guaranteed minimum FIT from their retailer (they may elect to pay more if they wish) from 27 January 2012 to 30 June 2014 as follows:
- 27 January 2012 to 30 June 2012: 7.1c per kWh exported
- 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013: 9.8c per kWh exported
- 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2014: 11.2c per kWh exported

So your total min FIT is ETSA component + retailer component ... in my case, this is now 44 + 7.1 = 51.1c per kWh exported from 27 January 2012.

The best way to maximise the benefit of a PV solar system is to consume as little energy as possible during the day (as you return on export is much higher due to FIT).

Since my 4.018kWh PV system was installed in May 2011, I have imported 2950kWh and exported 2722kWh, so my electricity account balance over the last 8 months is:
((2950*0.25)+128) - (2722*0.44) = -332 ... so I have made $332 in that period

Dedja's PV stats

In the same corresponding 8 months prior to installing my PV system (May 2010 to Jan 2011), I would have paid approx $2000.

Therefore, I am approx $2,332 better off ... and that is only after 8 months.

Now to ensure that seasonal adjustments are taken into account, I need to wait until I have 12 months of solar before trying to work out a payback period with any accuracy.

But based on extrapolating the figures so far, my payback would be less than 4 years.

My best advice is to get a power usage monitor (apparently you can hire from some councils are even your retailer) so that you understand your power usage patterns, then create a great big dirty spreadsheet and create scenarios to take into account predicted retail power increases, and you estimated usage.

Only after doing all that (which I did) would I even contemplate getting a PV system over 1.5kWh


So after all that, only you can answer the question of whether it is worthwhile to get a PV system now if you expect to sell your house in 5 years. My gut feel is that any payback on a system will be negligible over that period when you take into account the capital gain of your house as an asset.

I don't expect to be selling my house in the next 10-15 years, and if I move I will probably retain it as an investment property anyway, so the investment in a PV system is well worth it.

With any luck some of this will make some sense.

[Alaska]

WOW thanks dedja I am glad you are on leave!

Does this " power usage monitor (apparently you can hire from some councils are even your retailer) so that you understand your power usage patterns" provide me with the time of day usage?
As I am on hols now using heaps of the Air Con but normally only turn it on at 7pm at night till 6am in the morning!
Having said that I use a bore pump to provide most of my water both domestic and landscape so again it runs generally after 7pm.
Starting to think, again that my current lifestyle is not going to work for this?

[dedja]

I bought an EnviR monitor from http://www.smartnow.com.au, and the stats are uploaded to PVOutput every 5 mins using the PVBeancounter program running on a netbook running 24/7. The link to the stats are in my last post.

You can also just buy the monitor and clamps, together with a bridge which will automatically upload stats in 5 min intervals to a website. This will cost between $160-$200, depending on whether you have single or three phase power.

If you don't want to pay for a monitor, etc, then enquire at your local council to see if you can hire something from them.

I found that understanding my usage gave me valuable info ... I also replaced all incandescent and halogen globes with compact flouros and LEDs.

So I went from an average usage of 38kWh per day in 2010 to about 10kWh per day (with solar), and about 15kWh per day (without solar) in 2011.

[Alaska]

WOW WOW thanks dedja as I have some time now I will follow through.

Although the 3 phase power that I have is a worry in this.
It has been a godsend with other power interruptions.

[kickinit]

something for everyone to keep in mind, next door neighbour had solar installed a while ago and the other week the inverter died, contacted the company he got his system through and guess what they are no longer in business, contacted the contractor and he's wiped his hands with it, rang ACCC and was told it is the company who sold it to him that has to deal with the warranty. He spoke to the company that made it and they said they would replace it under warranty but need it back before they can give him a new one. So basically he has to pay someone to remove it and fit new the new one. I'd be looking at going to a company that does more then just solar as there won't too many around to only do solar.

[dedja]

Agree that you need to choose wisely ... There are a few sharks out there a la the pink batts fiasco.