All things Solar (merged threads)

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by xisled

Nice work. Good to see you getting credit.

yeah!, thanks,....very pleased with the result, I'd heard a few horror stories and was starting to have serious doubts, really happy and relieved to see my figures and calculations pan out correctly and to have such a result in a short time

origin energy contacted me again today to see if I was still interested in going over to them and also installing the solar hot water, I'm still thinking about it

must be tough times out there for energy retailers, to lower the price of power supplied to me and up the infeed tariff.....then to have rival retailers more than willing to match or even better it....but it's all a win win for me

I'm just in the process of helping a couple of other folks out with their systems....feed in tariff will not be as high but the benefits are still there, well here in south australia anyway,.....

the price of systems have fallen a fair bit as a result of the F.I.T. lowering or even drying up

[MNM96]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

just got my first energy account since installing the array......quite happy......just shows it pays to talk to your energy provider.....and to do your homework

sorry for the quality but the system wont let me post any larger

I'm in substantial profit after paying for ALL energy use......

there are 4 lots of energy costs.....the first shows my old charge's and my second shows the negotiated new charges......0.05c per kilowatt cheaper

my FIT went from 0.44c per kilowatt up to $0.51c per kilowatt as well

my supply charge also FELL under the new negotiation

I also received a 15% "early bird" payment up from a 10% discount previously

so no more power bills and a substantial credit with lower charges as well

at this rate I will be very close to my $2,000.00 credit at the end of a 12 month period

it seems I CAN have it both ways

Thats a great result! Getting excited about having mine fitted. Waiting for Ergon Energy to process my IES Application.

[poppa smurf]

keep us up to date will you, very interested to know how you get on!

we've just came out of a very cloudy and unusual couple of months so production was down, and being summer power usage was up

as the weather clears and the days are milder but sunny, we should see production actually increase and power consumption fall

fingers crossed!!

[MNM96]

Will do. The waiting is killing me!

[buggerlugs]

http://www.news.com.au/money/austral...-1226305729807
Think your electricity bills are high now !!!

[poppa smurf]

yeah!.....leon Byner was talking about it on talkback radio this morning......south australia has the highest electricity costs in the world and it's going to get worse

[ute83]

WTF happened to this country and when did it happen?

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by ute83

WTF happened to this country and when did it happen?

cant agree more!.....south eastern forestry sold off to pay for upgrade of a footy oval???

etsa utilities sold off to pay for the state bank debacle

sa water used as nothing more than a cash cow

sell it off, dig it up and export it thought process for our mineral resources

top farm land production ground sold off to developers

"when I was a boy"!!!........but all jokes aside the country has been packaged up and sold to the highest bidder, the proceeds have and are lining the pockets of the ultra rich

Reinhardts ....$16 billion dollars.....come on, one family???

it was best said by Paul Keating......."the best way to see Australia is in a plane at 30,000 feet on the way to france!"

just shows the mentality of our pollies.........world is changing but not for the better!

[ltd_on20s]

you guys do realise, that once the majority of people are on solar, or other cheaper alternatives, and the companies are making bugger all money, they will find some inventive ways of taking your money?

might charge you for using the sunlight that lands on australia or something....

[poppa smurf]

yes mate, quite correct, we will have to find a way around the new schemes as they arise

[xisled]

Originally Posted by ltd_on20s

you guys do realise, that once the majority of people are on solar, or other cheaper alternatives, and the companies are making bugger all money, they will find some inventive ways of taking your money?

might charge you for using the sunlight that lands on australia or something....

That reminds me of the who shot Mr Burns ep from The Simpsons. Blanking out the sun. LOL

[BLKWDW]

just got of the phone to energy matters and now im confused. I enquired about a solar system for my house with an average daily use of 12.3kw a day. He advised a 1.9kw system producing 6kw a day.
i said how would that benefit me if i'm producing 12.3 kw a day as i want to get rid of my electricity bill or it defeats the purpose of getting it. he then proceeded to state that for me to have a bill of $0 at the end of the qtr id need at least a 10kw system. How does that work when ppl on here are running 3-4kw systems and not paying a cent for there electricity.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by BLKWDW

just got of the phone to energy matters and now im confused. I enquired about a solar system for my house with an average daily use of 12.3kw a day. He advised a 1.9kw system producing 6kw a day.
i said how would that benefit me if i'm producing 12.3 kw a day as i want to get rid of my electricity bill or it defeats the purpose of getting it. he then proceeded to state that for me to have a bill of $0 at the end of the qtr id need at least a 10kw system. How does that work when ppl on here are running 3-4kw systems and not paying a cent for there electricity.

1.93 will be of little benefit to you!......I strongly advise you have a look at the material that I placed up http://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/w...ble-Energy.jpg

find your state and the size of system you require from that, then go "armed" to talk to these people

I found EM solar's phone people absolutely frustrating to talk to......the one "good" fellow whom I had dealings with that is in there is a bloke by the name of Jonathon Williams

if you can ask for him, and IF they put you through to him then all will be easy.....he knows his stuff and is good to talk to but you may not be able to get past the halfwits in stage one

if not then you have a frustrating time ahead of you!.....but be patient

I cant work out the size system you would need without a lot more information but from the "thingy" URL whatsit you will get a fair idea

dont let them push you into a system that will not suit your needs......and don't go too big!......

[davenl5l]

anyone used eurosolar? they have quoted me $7,000.00 for a 4kw system eg:- 16x250w monochrysaline ameri panels 30 yr warrantee 5kw jpy inverter fully installed in country sa on a 2 story house this price does not include the meter. thoughts everyone?

[MNM96]

Got my approval for the IES yesterday, Now the install.

[EgoFG]

Got my 2.1 kw system in on Friday.
since then I have generated 46kWh, 33 of that was used to offset my consumption, and the rest fed into the grid.
My "pay back" time is at 4.1 years assuming that the last week is a reasonable average. If prices rise in that time I will "pay back" sooner.
the 2.1 system has averaged 8.4kWh per day.

I have a Wattson - it is fairly accurate it might be about as far out as 2% .
The software for it gives you your figures for every 5 minute interval, but this seems to match the figures on the Solar and Mains meters even though they calculate the feed-in continuously.
My panels are on a NNW facing roof.


Very Happy with the setup.
I thought I was getting a JFY, but I have been given a KSTAR, not sure if that is better or worse.

[poppa smurf]

gotta be all good......if it knocks the bills down and pays for itself in a reasonable time frame then Hey!.....win win..

sorry cant help you with eurosolar but with a warranty like that they must be okay!.....just hope they are still around if or when things go wrong...but thats the chance we all take I guess

[opto]

Looking at meters for watching consumption and generation on a daily basis. I have found 2 at both ends of the scale, both with Pro's and Con's.

http://steplight.com.au/education/mo...nergy-monitor/
This one is cheap at $159.00 + postage. Wireless,can monitor 2 circuits. nice and simple LCD display with a USB Cable to hookup to the PC , the software that comes with it, leaves something to be desired, no time clock, looks like the graph is no self adjusting, just short on practicality.

http://ecofront.com.au/p_ecofront.php

This one is roughly $900.00 the software is great, no LCD display, software will work on time date for monthly readouts , you can monitor 8 total circuits, you can overlay bar graphs of different circuits, it can be used to monitor a power consuming circuit and see if you can modify usage somehow, you can put a $ value to the Kwh, but unfortunately, you cannot put 3 or 4 values at different Kwh points, and I dont think you can do quarters, you can set a CO2 value with the Kwh also, been told this is very accurate unit.
At the moment I am thinking of using both, the cheap one to start with, and then the full blown software based one.

[poppa smurf]

hell Opto, you're getting into technical stuff there........is it really worth it?

I've monitored my system through a sunny beam wireless monitor system, I say "monitored but I should say occasionally glance at it, but mainly I simply take the readings from my smart meter, note down infeed and outfeed

I then go to the shed, where my inverter is, and note down the power generated for that day

lately I haven't bothered taking readings as much, although I still do, as my power account has backed up my initial figures

takes me all of five minutes.......I'd rather spend the $1,000 on another panel if it would fit

but it's up to you as to what you do, my wireless monitor came as a "gift" for stuffing me around in the install side of the system otherwise I wouldn't have bothered

the company wanted $500 for the monitor......not worth that I dont think........it can be hooked to the computer to give all readings but only works on PC........I run an IMAC 27"

but in the end it's your decision!

[DJL351]

Originally Posted by BLKWDW

just got of the phone to energy matters and now im confused. I enquired about a solar system for my house with an average daily use of 12.3kw a day. He advised a 1.9kw system producing 6kw a day.
i said how would that benefit me if i'm producing 12.3 kw a day as i want to get rid of my electricity bill or it defeats the purpose of getting it. he then proceeded to state that for me to have a bill of $0 at the end of the qtr id need at least a 10kw system. How does that work when ppl on here are running 3-4kw systems and not paying a cent for there electricity.

There are two numbers you need to have if a complete 100% zero dollar bill is the target.
Daytime usage & 24 hour usage.
Most people use more power at night, than during the day, more so if you work 'normal' hours.
If your 12Kw number as day usage, roughly double it to cover your night usage, meaning the system would need to produce at least 25KW during the day to cover a complete 24 hour cycle.
*With a 1:1 draw/return meaning a minimum of 12/13 units would need to be returned to the grid during that day for you to 'draw' on at night.

In WA its 2:1, so for every 1 unit I push in to the grid, I can draw 2 back and have it still not 'cost' me.
(47c for each unit sold to the grid; 20c for each unit taken from the grid)
** I know it is different from state to state. And yes I'm still on the old A1 tarriff and have not had to shift to the 'smart' system with peak/off peak rates etc.

In the peak of summer my 3Kw system produces about 23 units a day.
My 24 hour usage is about 20 units. Daytime is under 10 at the moment.


To me, it sounds like they were pushing their 'special', something that sees some sort of bonus in his pocket. There are a few out there that have picked up panels cheap from other companies that have folded and are trying to push them as they have a much bigger margin.

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

the company wanted $500 for the monitor......not worth that I dont think........it can be hooked to the computer to give all readings but only works on PC........I run an IMAC 27"

The SMA bluetooth is great!
I have mine reporting back to my home server and it uploads through pvbeancounter to the pvoutput website live (every 5 minutes).

[poppa smurf]

yeah! it is a reasonable unit but using it as i and many others are it has it's limitations....without a "booster" the range is not that good and i have found it wont work with mac unless "beancounter" can be installed

but if it works for you then good.....I'm finding I don't monitor as much as I used to as I'm producing far and above my 24 hour period usage as seen in my account above

I just took careful note of it to find out it's performance in the early period to make sure my figures were correct and that I had spent my money wisely

production is dropping a bit now, not sure why,....maybe dirty panels.....gotta get some info on how to clean them....anyone know???

we just had a reasonable amount of rain here but that still leaves a "film" on the panels

or could just be the angle of the sun but production is down from 21 to 17 and some days less......still more than ample to cover my usage

[EgoFG]

Hey P Smurf,

If you are in NSW with a system installed after June last year you are net metering. Meaning that your solar is fed into one of your phases, on your side of the meter. If you generate more than you use on that phase then the meter allow that into the grid, and you get paid somewhere from 0-6c per kWh.

If I know when I am exporting, I know when to switch on the washing machine, a/c, dishwasher etc.

For people with net metering an energy meter that can tell you at any instant how much you are exporting can help you maximise the return on your investment (save more money)

The Wattson meter can do this - it can be set to display Consumption, Solar, or Grid with a selectable refresh rate.
If you leave it on Grid and it reads -500 (and glows green) you can go and switch on 500watts of appliances that you would have used at some other time and this will save you 0.5 *24c every hour.
If you know when this situation is most likely to occur you can use delayed start on the dishwasher etc, or set the timer on the swimming pool pump.
This is stuff you cannot do just by reading the meters on the side of your house.

It is a completely different game now that Net Metering is the only real option in NSW.

[poppa smurf]

ah! you see you've left me behind....not that technical

I'm not in NSW I'm in the boondocks of S.A........

my system was applied and paid for before the september deadline to qualify for the higher feed in tariffs

my meter is nothing special and I'm it doesn't give "instant" feed outs as in immediate power export

it is an ACE2000 SMB type 292 Itron..........gives about four readings, (I think) two of which are of no use to me as I have gas hot water and have no need for "J" Tariff

so basically I only have two constant readings of total infeed and total outfeed

if I want instant readings then the SMA wireless does that, I have it here by my desk.....it gives a load of other stuff as well but the system is working so I don't watch it like I used to

[mickyyyy]

What are your guys thought's on the AGL solar system???

[poppa smurf]

the AGL offer is not too bad,...a lot of specials on at the moment

check the warranty on the panels and installation when looking at any system

most are 15 -25 years.....I dont know how many solar sales shops will be around in 15 years time to honour any warranty but them's the breaks

[mickyyyy]

I think the company that AGL use to do the install have been around for a long time so a safer bet i guess...

[poppa smurf]

I'm sure that AGL would be one of the most trustworthy, in systems and instalation and are likely to be here for the long haul.......that in itself gives extreme piece of mind

if prices of similar systems are around the same then I would definitely go with them

[MNM96]

Originally Posted by F6 FOON

I doubt that completely, they would also probably lose a years worth of merchandise sales to go with it, now would most definitely not be the time to do this, and Roland Dane is not that stupid.

It would be more likely an announcement about Chrysler's involvement next year than the above.

Install date 26.04! Looking toward to it.

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by MNM96

Install date 26.04! Looking toward to it.

You sound like an expecting Dad

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by MNM96

Install date 26.04! Looking toward to it.

ah!......sleepless nights between now and then I expect!

all good, you'll be glad you did it.....have you rang around for good prices from retailers.....a lot of good deals going as each energy retailer fights the others for your custom