All things Solar (merged threads)

[MNM96]

There are not a lot of options in CQ. Ergon it is!

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by ute83

We have a 5kw system purchased before the cut off. We receive 66c per kw and pay about an average of 20c per kw we use. On a nice day we can sell about 24 kw ontop of what we have used for the day. Overnight we buy about 10 kw. Payback time will be about 4 to 5 years, free electricity thereafter. I'm happy.

A pretty good sized system, and if folk can afford such, should head in this direction.

Noted an article in Crikey the other day, the power providers must be nervous of future events-tech; having regard to SELF STORAGE where rather than sell back to the grid your daily excess, you store it for overnight use. You become in effect, independent of the grid.

Much discussion at the odd and weird Whirlpool forum about this.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by MNM96

There are not a lot of options in CQ. Ergon it is!

do you have to stay with CQ providers?, is there a monopoly system in place?....

I'm in SA but my energy provider is Lumo who is Vic based

[MNM96]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

do you have to stay with CQ providers?, is there a monopoly system in place?....

I'm in SA but my energy provider is Lumo who is Vic based

Not sure. I think it's Origin or Ergon, so for me it's a case "better the devil you know"!

[poppa smurf]

still may not hurt to give whatever opposition is available a call......cant hurt and it may be in your favour

never be afraid to give another company a run

[DJR-351]

Solar is so last week.....

http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/c...ubQaZVMlbYUtVA

[XD 351 Ute]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Solar is so last week.....

http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/c...ubQaZVMlbYUtVA

I already have one of those, but I didn't like the colour, so i put some stickers on it:



Ed

[XD 351 Ute]

Seriously though, got my quote for a 5.0kw system the other day, looking at
just under 12K for 22 panels & a sunnyboy inverter.

Ed

[poppa smurf]

not a bad price actually.....I paid a lot more for less......

is it going to knock the power bill on the head?

my wife seen an invention on the idiot box the other day, she didnt see all of it as she had to go to work,

based on what she seen it must be some sort of heat exchanger system using the earths internals as there were two pipes running deep into the ground

the inventor claimed it will generate more than enough power to cover a standard house with the excess heat used to run a good size water heater

anyone heard of this one, I cant find it!

[deesun]

Originally Posted by XD 351 Ute

Seriously though, got my quote for a 5.0kw system the other day, looking at
just under 12K for 22 panels & a sunnyboy inverter.

Ed

Sounds like a good quote. I am on the Goldy and I have 6kw of panels (24 X 260 mono) with a 5KW SB inverter for 11990 so if you are out of the main then thats prolly ok price.

[XD 351 Ute]

Yes Poppa, it will smash my bill, I only use about $120 a quarter...
I will use more when my shed gets its power though.
Have always dreamed of an air conditioned lounge room too, so maybe one day that will come along.

Deesun, still waiting on installer to come & check out what I need, so it might go up a bit, but will wait and see.
Nothing is signed yet, still doing the homework.

Ed

[deesun]

Originally Posted by XD 351 Ute

Deesun, still waiting on installer to come & check out what I need, so it might go up a bit, but will wait and see.
Nothing is signed yet, still doing the homework. Ed

Not sure where you are but when we were getting quotes this mob were on our short list of two at the end, http://www.infinitysolar.com.au/. $400 dearer than the one we chose but bigger company, in the end it boiled down to the bloke who came around, both companies did. IS bloke knew his stuff and wasnt pushy at all. Maybe if they are near you they might be worth a try.

[poppa smurf]

ah! the shed and air con....two of the most important upgrades of the household.....the bill will sneak up from $120

heard good things about infinity....I reckon I'd go that way as well!

[mickyyyy]

Is there a formula i can work out the payback period? or should i post up the latest bill so you guys can give me some advice???

[poppa smurf]

there is no formula,

it's a matter of where you are (number of daylight hours)

what you use daily in kilowatts (found on your latest bill)

how much of your bill you wish to eliminate

I have posted pointers as to all the above

[mickyyyy]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

there is no formula,

it's a matter of where you are (number of daylight hours)

what you use daily in kilowatts (found on your latest bill)

how much of your bill you wish to eliminate

I have posted pointers as to all the above

Going from the last bill we use 15.69kwh per day... would you say a 5kw system would be enough to cover daily cost's???

AGL came out and did a report and said we have the perfect roof angle also how the house is setup, we will get alot of sun on the panel's for all the day...

[poppa smurf]

if you look at my previous posts and follow the pointers, (shortcut thingys) all the necessary info is in this thread, then you can work it out for yourself

you have got to understand the way solar works for yourself in order to make a qualified decision

I could say that 5kw would cover your bill but if you are in tasmania in winter and you only get 5 minutes of sun per day then it wont

there are a lot of variables with solar and the answer is not simple......a lot of factors comes into play

[davenl5l]

well i took the plunge and paid a deposit with eurosolar 4kw system 5kw inverter 16 x 250kw panels $7,000 after the rebate fully installed on the roof country sa 2 storey house geez i hope ive done my homework better than i did in high school

[poppa smurf]

nah! you'll be right.....all the facts are in here and I reckon you're a smart feller!

congrat's!

[LeadFoot81]

Hi all, great thread with lots of info! Just wondering if I could pick your brains re: this offer (7 panels for $1990) from Enviromate. My parents are interested (retirees who are home for most of the day) their consumption is usually 14-18kw per day.

http://www.enviromate.com.au/residen...l-systems.html
The SunSaver Sun Start

1.65kW system
2.5kW inverter (upgradable system)
Entry Level System
Allows you to grow
Suited to 1 bedroom/retired couple low energy requirements
The SunSaver Sun Start is the perfect system to introduce your home to solar energy. This great value system allows you to increase capacity over time. The SunSaver Sun Start system is ideally suited to one bedroom dwelling and or retired couples with low energy requirements.

http://www.enviromate.com.au/solar-e...city-faqs.html
Multicrystalline Panels are made in China by LIGHTWAY Green New Energy Company and Monocrystalline panels by ZN Shine Solar. Inverters made by Sunna (Taiwan) and Delta Energy Systems. We occasionally use other components, however all components we use comply with Australian standards AS4777, AS/NZ3000 and AS1170-2 for Solar installation and wind ratings.

Can anyone comment on the quality of their components, does anyone know if this group is trustworthy?

[deesun]

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

Hi all, great thread with lots of info! Just wondering if I could pick your brains re: this offer (7 panels for $1990) from Enviromate. My parents are interested (retirees who are home for most of the day) their consumption is usually 14-18kw per day.

http://www.enviromate.com.au/residen...l-systems.html
The SunSaver Sun Start

1.65kW system
2.5kW inverter (upgradable system)
Entry Level System
Allows you to grow
Suited to 1 bedroom/retired couple low energy requirements
The SunSaver Sun Start is the perfect system to introduce your home to solar energy. This great value system allows you to increase capacity over time. The SunSaver Sun Start system is ideally suited to one bedroom dwelling and or retired couples with low energy requirements.

http://www.enviromate.com.au/solar-e...city-faqs.html
Multicrystalline Panels are made in China by LIGHTWAY Green New Energy Company and Monocrystalline panels by ZN Shine Solar. Inverters made by Sunna (Taiwan) and Delta Energy Systems. We occasionally use other components, however all components we use comply with Australian standards AS4777, AS/NZ3000 and AS1170-2 for Solar installation and wind ratings.

Can anyone comment on the quality of their components, does anyone know if this group is trustworthy?

I believe you will find the inverter is not upgradable only the number of panels. This of course means you are hobbled by the inverter to 2.5kw but that might be ok for your roof size and requirements. Also remember that 1.65kw is the max the panels can produce and will only do that for a short period on a very sunny day. If your folks can afford and have more roof space then add more panels up to or even possibly slightly more than 2.5kw. I believe 11 panels in total takes the system to 2.5kw. Ask how much for the extra panels. If this is a package they may not be interested in adding extra panels as they only order to suit a package. For a small extra cost you could have a sooooo much better system.
German inverters have the best reputations and generally warranties too. Thats not to say your Sunna wont last.
Hope this helps, good luck in the solar minefield. I used this site for my info http://www.solarquotes.com.au/ and Finn has a list of 10 golden rules to follow as well which I found very helpful.

[poppa smurf]

as stated you can only upgrade to the size of the inverter..... better to buy a larger setup first up......

to constantly produce 14 - 18 KW (depending on where you are) then a 3.5 kilowatt would be minimum

then the output varies greatly day to day, season to season.......I'm down to a daily 15kw at the moment

I reckon there are better deals out there......take a quick look at EM SOLAR'S website for the specials

[ute83]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

as stated you can only upgrade to the size of the inverter..... better to buy a larger setup first up......

to constantly produce 14 - 18 KW (depending on where you are) then a 3.5 kilowatt would be minimum

then the output varies greatly day to day, season to season.......I'm down to a daily 15kw at the moment

I reckon there are better deals out there......take a quick look at EM SOLAR'S website for the specials

Some gray days with no sun i'm down to less than 1 kw per hour from a 5 kw system.

[poppa smurf]

just finished cleaning my solar array.......very surprised at the outcome.....hasn't rained for about a month here

before I started the panels had a thin layer of dust and a small amount of debris on them ....output was around the 1.5kw - 2kw per hour mark varying

after the clean and as the panels dried the output quickly climbed to 2.8kw and peaked a couple of times around 3.2kw and holding high

the day here is mild, low thirties, light cloud with a slight breeze from the north

output was halved simply by having dirty panels

didn't think a film of dust could cause so much restriction.....living where I do I think this will have to be a consistent job, probably every couple of months

[deesun]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

as stated you can only upgrade to the size of the inverter..... better to buy a larger setup first up......

to constantly produce 14 - 18 KW (depending on where you are) then a 3.5 kilowatt would be minimum

then the output varies greatly day to day, season to season.......I'm down to a daily 15kw at the moment

I reckon there are better deals out there......take a quick look at EM SOLAR'S website for the specials

They might be tight on roofspace as it says this Suited to 1 bedroom/retired couple low energy requirements in the quote.

[poppa smurf]

ah! okay I just assumed the "suited to 1 bedroom/retired couple" signified the power output needed to fulfil the power consumption requirements of the residents and not the physical size

if you can take a quick measurement of the available roof space then that will tell you the number of panels you can get up there

I have 15 panels on my workshop roof and it takes up an area of 30 feet long by 10 feet wide or thereabouts

I have the "physical panel size" here somewhere and if I can find it I will post it, but it eludes me just now

generally speaking, and I'm leaving myself open to the nasty's here, anything under 3 KW will not cover the average bill.....it may under certain circumstances and on good days but not all the time

there are exceptions to this and many people will fall well below this mark, others above it, but if you use around 10 - 15 KW'S per day and factor in the "low production times" then 3KW would be MINIMUM to what is needed

I'm finding 3.5kw to be just right FOR US!

[EgoFG]

NSW 2.1 kW system producing 8.1 kWh/day over the last month.
Given the season, I would guess this to be typical for the year.

Now that I have some real numbers (courtesy of a wattson meter), I can see, that with a net feed system, at current NSW prices and a 60% north, 40% east facing, the sweet spot is about 2kW for our usage, every additional 2.1W panel above that will take about 10 years to pay for itself - the 2.1kW system will take about 4.3 years to pay for itself.

[poppa smurf]

good figures!.....I thought NSW axed the feed in tariffs?

[EgoFG]

NSW Feed in is 6c per kWh
We use the Wattson to find the spots in each day when we generate more that we use, and set the dishwasher/washingmachine/poolpump to come on consecutively during this time.

Net feed in is a challenge, but until now we could not cost-justify solar.

[poppa smurf]

you've just had some big storms go through haven't you!......that would knock production for a six