All things Solar (merged threads)

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Stagg1991

if your like me and a handful of other people, you would buy it because you know that climate change is happening and you want to do your bit for mother nature, all questions end in the same answer, that renewable energy and sustainability is the answer!

Originally Posted by Stagg1991

1999 AU Fairmont Ghia V8

Riiiiiight.

[ute83]

Originally Posted by Stagg1991

Whether your motive is to reduce your power bill, make money from the system, or if your like me and a handful of other people, you would buy it because you know that climate change is happening and you want to do your bit for mother nature, all questions end in the same answer, that renewable energy and sustainability is the answer!

UNBELIEVABLE. Your numbers have never added up stagg1991. You live in fairy land. Time to sell your V8 fairmont and by a bicycle.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by EgoFG

I am personally in it for the $
I have looked at my peak, average and minumum hourly Consumption, and compared this to the corresponding supply of electricity from a Solar system.
1.9, for me isthe magic number (assuming the hourly averages reflect realtime figures).

Living in a world of Post 60c FIT, means saving 60% on the purchase price.
For a 90% larger system than my brother-in-law, at a price 60% less, I will repay in about the same time.
After repay he will be making more than me for a little while (depending on electricity prices in 2016) then after that I will be making (saving) more.
Hopefully in 6 months panels will be cheaper, and I will add a few more and increase the gain.


The least I can say is .... do the maths !!!!

yep! I can only agree, you got to know what you are using now in order to proceed!

I'm not in it for the money, I am merely sick and tired of energy bills that just keep spiralling

my thoughts are still on solar hot water but as has been said the tanks only last around 10 - 12 years here! at a cost of $6,400 that is $640 per year......bit iffy!!

can the tanks be replaced as a separate item to the heating cells????.....if so, how much?

but then I haven't added up all the costings and savings of the actual system ......by my calculations i will have a "credit" of about $2,000 from my array every year after my energy bill has been taken care of so this should pay off the solar hot water

then I've got to tally up the potential savings from gas hot water heating.......I just don't know as yet!

even the feed in credit is not a given as energy prices rise, it will take more of my credit to pay the bill

solar hot water is a big question mark for me at this stage!.......I don't know enough about it!

[flappist]

Keep it on topic and not personal. Take this as a "pre-warning".

[davenl5l]

hey dave if you allready have a mains pressure hws some of these can just have the heating panels etc added dont know if you would still get a rebate but it could be worth looking into.i went to trade school with a lad from cummins about 40 years ago his family were the local plumbers if hes still around he was a good bloke back then,probably still is could be worth a call for info.tell him dave that he used to have sausage rolls for lunch with said g'day i cant remember his name too many parties over the years lol

[poppa smurf]

Ah!.....sounds good....mine is only about 6 months old so an upgrade may be an option, and yes it is mains

rebate doesn't bother me that much!

I'm still crunching numbers, I don't like the idea of having so much "credit" with the energy suppliers going to waste and i don't want to pay tax on it as income so I thought by changing energy suppliers and using that credit to pay for other "stuff" may be a way to go

tariff payments with another provider would remain basically the same

my son has the older style solar hot water and has had no problems but he showers different to me,.....we shower at night, he showers in the mornings (office worker)......because we shower at night then, in theory, the booster would always be on, not saving us a dime!

i've got to get more info and do some more figures on them!.......I simply don't know!.....solar energy is a lot easier than hot water to work out!...too many variables

[james22]

I have a 1.5kw system installed. Has only been running for 4months. On a good day the system will generate around 10kw.

My last bill was $74.00. The solar system paid for all the electricity usage, but the supply charge was $90 approx.

So the system paid for all the energy used, and a small part of the supply charge. I'm happy as a normal $350 bill has been slashed by about 75-80%

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by james22

I have a 1.5kw system installed. Has only been running for 4months. On a good day the system will generate around 10kw.

My last bill was $74.00. The solar system paid for all the electricity usage, but the supply charge was $90 approx.

So the system paid for all the energy used, and a small part of the supply charge. I'm happy as a normal $350 bill has been slashed by about 75-80%

yep! good outcome......the amount generated will fall as winter approaches but will still take care of a good part of your bill!

I only generated 2 kilowatts from a 3.5 kilowatt system here yesterday...heavy cloud and rain all day!

[MNM96]

Originally Posted by MNM96

My employer has released this offer. Any thoughts???

In an effort to give employees the opportunity to reduce living expenses,
****** has reached an agreement with solar panel supplier SolarFarmers to provide a discount solar power system. The opportunity is also being made available to all permanent *** employees.
The deal comprises of three package options on purchases made through this offer based on a minimum 50 employees participating in the scheme:
•
1.5kW starter pack for $1,395
•
3kW value pack for $3,436
•
5kW ultimate power pack for $7,995
These prices include full installation.
In addition to the discounted prices above, *** will also be offering a subsidy to employees who take up this offer *** prior to 29th February 2012.
The subsidy provided by *** will be dependent upon both the number of employees who take up the offer and the size of the system that is purchased. Details will be communicated to those employees who participate once confirmed. The subsidy will be provided over a three year period.
If you are interested, we encourage you to look at the product FAQ's on the following pages.
*** makes no performance guarantees about the product or the vendor. Any issues relating to installation or quality of the unit will be a matter between SolarFarmers and the employee.
If you want to participate in this offer you MUST complete the registration forms and return to HR before Wednesday 29th February 2012. Forms and additional information are available from HR.

I signed on for the 5kw unit. Don't know how long, but there has been an uptake of over 250 people at work.

[poppa smurf]

sounds like a pretty good deal to me, I hope it works out well for you!

ours has dropped off a bit just lately with all the cloud around but it is still paying our power plus about $2 per day extra......I keep telling the minister for finance that we are going be rich......she wont have it!

I'm still looking at solar hot water.....very undecided about it, we got a feller from origin coming around monday to have a yak, he reckons the only issue we may have as far as longevity is concerned is the sacrificial anode

seems to think the tanks will last well in excess of ten years

not sure about that....but Origin will take the solar credit as payment for the system so in theory it wont cost anything to find out

very edgy about this one!......no figures to work on!

the other B.I.L. came around this arvo, he's putting solar on his house,........

how big....dunno,

how much power do you use.....dunno but they are going to repoint the roof and install solar for about $20,000

how many quotes did you get......only two

makes me smile that people dont even do the very basic number crunching before working out what is needed

[davenl5l]

if it costs you nothing go for it .but origin are full of brown smelly stuff the tank will be lucky to last 10yrs because the anode will be well and truly gone after 5 this is just the way it is in sa unless you are on pure rainwater.my mates tank on his edwards solar hws was rusted out 2 months after the warrantee expired luckily his son is his plumber

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by davenl5l

if it costs you nothing go for it .but origin are full of brown smelly stuff the tank will be lucky to last 10yrs because the anode will be well and truly gone after 5 this is just the way it is in sa unless you are on pure rainwater.my mates tank on his edwards solar hws was rusted out 2 months after the warrantee expired luckily his son is his plumber

okay so even if I consistently replace the anode the tank will still be gone in ten years regardless of what the sales folk states

he's due here shortly so I will ask for, in writing, a warranty on tank failure

may give this one a miss I think!

[poppa smurf]

warranty on tank is 10 years, warranty on collectors and other stuff is 5 years

price REDUCTION, Dux Sunpro mp15 gas boosted is now $5,990.....surprising given the rebate withdrawal from the guvmant!

not going ahead at this stage....$600 per year is too much with no guaranteed savings

[z80]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

I have misconstrued nothing, I understand perfectly what you have said and that is why I'm questioning it,......all I have asked is for you to prove your statements!!!!!! which you have consistently failed to do.......!

the proof is in the power bills....they rise with an undersized system.

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

to state that when one buys a solar array one is automatically placed on the green scheme by manner of a collusion between the solar industry and every energy retailer in the land (your statement, not mine) is incorrect and libellous and I have found many that would be willing to take the matter further if they could find out who was spreading this within a public arena..!

Errr...yes, that's what solar powered grid feed generation is...a green scheme.

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

as I state.....prove it!.......I have spoken to many people who have solar and many energy retailers and many solar outlets and can find nothing of this!

Prove what...that the minimum system as per the govt rebate makes peoples' bills rise?

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

fact #1 putting solar on your roof will NOT make your bill rise.........with the correct meter how can it??........once again....please explain....energy retailers cannot implement higher rates unless the consumer is notified.....any rise could then be nullified by simply switching providers!

With a 1 kw system, a smart meter to gridfeed and a grid feed agreement..customer pays higher peak rates.

Bill goes up if customer uses power during peak period therefore grid feeds zero.

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

my neighbour has a 1.5 kw system on his shack.....no more power bills....he is in credit to the tune of $28......only had it on for 6 months..he is only at the shack once a month but leaves his fridge running...the solar pays that plus a small excess!

Who cares about hippidy dippidy shacks?

We are talking about dwellings built to house families.

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

I have never argued with fact #2........if one is using 12 kilowatts per day and only producing 6 kw then the shortfall is undeniable......however the 6 kw that is produced will come off his account thus making the purchased amount lower and making that array a useful item to start with particularly given the low purchase cost of the system and the expected 25 year lifespan!

The bit you can't seem to understand is that the 6kw shortfall is charged back to him at a 50% premium....and that is the catch.

you can't grid feed without agreeing to a higher peak tariff.

You need to draw yourself a picture and do a paper and pencil exercise...then you might see the problem.

You will find for example that the 12kw is consumed during the peak tarriff period window, not in a 24 hr window.....

[MNM96]

Originally Posted by z80

the proof is in the power bills....they rise with an undersized system.




Errr...yes, that's what solar powered grid feed generation is...a green scheme.



Prove what...that the minimum system as per the govt rebate makes peoples' bills rise?



With a 1 kw system, a smart meter to gridfeed and a grid feed agreement..customer pays higher peak rates.

Bill goes up if customer uses power during peak period therefore grid feeds zero.



Who cares about hippidy dippidy shacks?

We are talking about dwellings built to house families.



The bit you can't seem to understand is that the 6kw shortfall is charged back to him at a 50% premium....and that is the catch.

you can't grid feed without agreeing to a higher peak tariff.

You need to draw yourself a picture and do a paper and pencil exercise...then you might see the problem.

You will find for example that the 12kw is consumed during the peak tarriff period window, not in a 24 hr window.....

So Righto Zed. I am not saying your wrong or right and I am not saying you are the only protagonist, but give it a rest guys.

I will say this.

Regulations vary from State to State. Supply varies State to State.
There is very little valueable solid information available on a Car Forum, but the discussion that can be had is positive.

By all means, share your experiences. Ask questions, help others.

At the end of the day, if you go and spend thousands of dollars upon solar without doing some due dilegence, or based on what you read on Ford Forums, then you are one of Darwins special little ones.


If you come in here for the bun fight, go away.


Mods, I implore you to ban protagonists rather than close thread please. This post should stand as a warning!

[poppa smurf]

gee! argumentative thread killer aren't you!

I agree that a ban is indeed in order!.....you have proven yourself to be a problematic member on many occasions!


lets just look at a few misconceptions you have placed in here,

you don't know the size of his system array so you cant comment on that..........and yet you do!!

you don't know what state he's in so you cant comment on any tariff costs or tariff rises..............and yet you do!

you don't know any of his standard tariffs so you cant comment on that......and yet you do!

you don't know how much power he was using last year.......yet another bad assumption

you don't know how much power he has used this year........another bad assumption

you have not taken into account ANY feed in from the solar array at a size unknown at the rate of .44c per kilowatt ( an assumption on my part) that was made that would probably offset the .10c rise in his account.......but you still say that it is too small to make any difference!....I can prove it will

you have no idea of his usage before the array was placed .........yet you continue jump to conclusions

you don't know his usage after the array was placed.............yet you blame this for the increase in his account

you dont know if he has a smart meter or just a normal one.......once again a bad assumption!

all of your so called facts are based on conjecture........you cannot prove one thing.....nothing.....nada! yet you are willing to argue a point that you cannot possibly win......you have NO information of this particular circumstance!

I have done the sums on this (based on a few assumptions) and I suggest you do the same!........you have placed a lot of misconceptions in here and just caused unnecessary trouble.......being in business my daily life is largely taken up by facts, figures, charts and paperwork of all descriptions .........so I am VERY conversant with facts and figures......this solar study is a hobby of mine and is one that is very easy to follow

now go away!

[ute83]

[QUOTE=


Mods, I implore you to ban protagonists rather than close thread please. This post should stand as a warning![/QUOTE]


Why don't you just make the rules.

Zeds argument has some good points. You must get a smart meter and therefore you go onto a time of use tariff, with which if you only have a 1 or1.5 kw system you Will be paying be paying more whenthe bill shows up unless you use more power in the off peak times as i have stated before. The way we use electricity we come out roughly the same. But zed, the idea is to roll out smart meters to everybody and therefore everybody will be on a TIME OF USE tariff. In that regard a 1 or1.5 kw system will be of benefit.

[ute83]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

gee! argumentative thread killer aren't you!

I agree that a ban is indeed in order!.....you have proven yourself to be a problematic member on many occasions!


lets just look at a few misconceptions you have placed in here,

you don't know the size of his system array so you cant comment on that..........and yet you do!!

you don't know what state he's in so you cant comment on any tariff costs or tariff rises..............and yet you do!

you don't know any of his standard tariffs so you cant comment on that......and yet you do!

you don't know how much power he was using last year.......yet another bad assumption

you don't know how much power he has used this year........another bad assumption

you have not taken into account ANY feed in from the solar array at a size unknown at the rate of .44c per kilowatt ( an assumption on my part) that was made that would probably offset the .10c rise in his account.......but you still say that it is too small to make any difference!....I can prove it will

you have no idea of his usage before the array was placed .........yet you continue jump to conclusions

you don't know his usage after the array was placed.............yet you blame this for the increase in his account

you dont know if he has a smart meter or just a normal one.......once again a bad assumption!

all of your so called facts are based on conjecture........you cannot prove one thing.....nothing.....nada! yet you are willing to argue a point that you cannot possibly win......you have NO information of this particular circumstance!

I have done the sums on this (based on a few assumptions) and I suggest you do the same!........you have placed a lot of misconceptions in here and just caused unnecessary trouble.......being in business my daily life is largely taken up by facts, figures, charts and paperwork of all descriptions .........so I am VERY conversant with facts and figures......this solar study is a hobby of mine and is one that is very easy to follow

now go away!

You know bugger all about wind turbines and their operation.........and yet you do.

[poppa smurf]

yes that's correct, I know nothing of wind turbines, but I did place a "correction" in the form of a shortcut thing

and that corresponds to the point at hand how?

[ute83]

We can all be guilty of the same thing......

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by ute83

We can all be guilty of the same thing......

yes true......the difference is that some of us are man enough to admit when we are wrong and move on!

I prefer plain facts and figures......not blind conjecture!.....then to argue over blind conjecture is very foolish, misleading and childish indeed!

[z80]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

yes true......the difference is that some of us are man enough to admit when we are wrong and move on!

I prefer plain facts and figures......not blind conjecture!.....then to argue over blind conjecture is very foolish, misleading and childish indeed!

anyone who disagrees with you is defamatory, blind, foolish,misleading,childish and should be banned.

thanks....all clear now.

Luckily i seem to have stumbled my way with solar power in spite of being so incompetent....

[poppa smurf]

who's account is this,.....where are the solar credit's.....where are the usage details ......where is the comparison usage details.......I can produce accounts as well that prove as much as this!

where is the current tariff.....where is last years tariff!

the one thing it does prove is that the tariff had risen on January the 1st.......no mention of this from you and you show no mention of it in your statements anywhere!

I dont mind someone disagreeing with me but with no evidence of your claims I can see no reason to allow it!

this has gone beyond farcical.....this account could be anyones and proves nothing!

[ute83]

Originally Posted by z80

anyone who disagrees with you is defamatory, blind, foolish,misleading,childish and should be banned.

thanks....all clear now.

Luckily i seem to have stumbled my way with solar power in spite of being so incompetent....

image

Can't complain about that. Do you get a cheque or can it only be used as a credit on your bills?

[99AUXR]

We tried solar here in NZ for a while but, it was for one to temperamental and also to expensive. The hot water cylinder was to small so we couldn't have enough hot water for three boys and mum. Since then we sold the farm and have a new house. . . no solar. we live right next to dams aswell .

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by 99AUXR

We tried solar here in NZ for a while but, it was for one to temperamental and also to expensive. The hot water cylinder was to small so we couldn't have enough hot water for three boys and mum. Since then we sold the farm and have a new house. . . no solar. we live right next to dams aswell .

was that solar hot water or solar power......big difference, I've had a look into solar hot water but am yet to be convinced about it's benefits

could be like the brother I suppose and just let a mob come down from the smoke and put an array in

he has over $5,000 in credit, when asked what was his average usage before solar the answer is.............................. I dunno

what size is the array.....I dunno

what is it producing........I dunno

what's your feed in tariff....what's that!

"the salesman told me what we needed and we just went with that.....cost $30,000.00"

depends on where you are as to what the array will produce and that would vary between islands as well, I would assume the north island would produce more than the south island simply because of it's placement!

[99AUXR]

No Twizel in the south island would probably produce more than anywhere in the north island, so hot there. but yea it was only solar hot water.

[flappist]

Last warning.

The next person who makes a personal attack against another member in this thread will get a holiday.

[EgoFG]

I crunched the numbers to the best extent that I can

at the current Input tarrif for Origin at 6c (they own Integral who gine 0c)
the best I can anticipate is to offset my own costs - currently 23c

In essence I get 23 cpkW, for the first little bit and then 21cpkW for the rest.
In Sydney there is not a time of day setup, but the creation of electricity is offset against your usage at every point in time (in practice I am told it is every two seconds).

Based on our usage patterns and solar generation patterns (next door) I estimate that If I go past 2.1kW I will shorten my payback period.
I am going with 1.9, which according to current costs, and generation potential will give me a four year payback - assuming we do not have to go to time of day billing in the meantime.

[XD 351 Ute]

I've been following this thread from the start, and the last few pages have taught me one thing: beware of the fine print!

Ed