All things Solar (merged threads)

[homegrown]

Have to apologise for the poor spelling never check my posts before sending,
Since the end of June we have been dead, just working solo with my boss for the time being.
Great to hear you guys working together to create work for each other.
If you have the new feed to the shed might be a good idea to put solar panels on there. My boss always tries to insist on it. He's a bit sceptical of 5 to 10Amps of DC going through the roof of your house. Though I've heard they're trying to eliminate that by putting a smaller inverter closer to the panels so it'll be mostly AC.

[stevejg33]

That's what we did when we had our solar put in, the house was pointing the wrong way & was in shade from the 2 storey house next door. Put it all on the shed, no shade except for very late in the day (in winter only) & when generation is almost finished.
Our shed has a 10% pitch, we are running a 6kw SMA inverter with 56 110 watt Kaneka panels. System maxes out at 6007w at it's peak in summer. Inverter is also in the shed, next to the shed's fuse box & pumps power back to the house fusebox & meter.





these photos were taken late in the day from the balcony of the house next door.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by homegrown

Have to apologise for the poor spelling never check my posts before sending,
Since the end of June we have been dead, just working solo with my boss for the time being.
Great to hear you guys working together to create work for each other.
If you have the new feed to the shed might be a good idea to put solar panels on there. My boss always tries to insist on it. He's a bit sceptical of 5 to 10Amps of DC going through the roof of your house. Though I've heard they're trying to eliminate that by putting a smaller inverter closer to the panels so it'll be mostly AC.

we are a relatively small community here so we regularly "scratch" each others backs, those that dont are not around long

my solar is on the shed, I didn't want it on the house roof,

(1) it looks horrible and

(2) it wouldn't physically fit

sorry to hear about your downturn.....not good

the wiring upgrade was supposed to take place at the same time as the solar went in but time and materials were short (no carrier wire for the cable on site) so that job was put off for a weekend but hasn't eventuated yet

I had the main house meter placed and upgraded outside in a new box and upgraded the sheds fuse panel at the same time as the solar install

[rancidpunx]

Just read QLDers put in 110000 applications in the 2 weeks after the FIT was announced to be dropping to 8c. Crazy.

[poppa smurf]

I've asked a few folks around here whether they would still have solar if the tariff dropped to zero......the answer has been a resounding yes

like me they are sick of paying all our money into overseas conglomerates

water is on my radar next

[supershifty]

What I'm about to say has probably already been said on this thread before. This thread is massive, so haven't read thru everything since my last post in May. I have a 2.3kw system with a 2kw inverter. The inverter can handle a max of 2.5kw, but will only "give up" 2kw. This setup generates 3 times the power I use per day. (ie: I use 3kw per day, the system generates around 10kw on a normal sunny day) I've never seen the display on the inverter show more than 1.9kw power generation - that's all good! My point is: Having more panels (subject to your inverters max capacity) is not a bad thing, on days where the sunlight is low, your "extra" panels help capture more power than available to a "matched" system. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious folks - just trying to help out.

Cheers!

[ute83]

Originally Posted by supershifty

What I'm about to say has probably already been said on this thread before. This thread is massive, so haven't read thru everything since my last post in May. I have a 2.3kw system with a 2kw inverter. The inverter can handle a max of 2.5kw, but will only "give up" 2kw. This setup generates 3 times the power I use per day. (ie: I use 3kw per day, the system generates around 10kw on a normal sunny day) I've never seen the display on the inverter show more than 1.9kw power generation - that's all good! My point is: Having more panels (subject to your inverters max capacity) is not a bad thing, on days where the sunlight is low, your "extra" panels help capture more power than available to a "matched" system. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious folks - just trying to help out.

Cheers!

Three kw a day? My fridge uses 3.4 kw a day.

[supershifty]

Originally Posted by ute83

Three kw a day? My fridge uses 3.4 kw a day.

I live alone in a small house, gas hot water, run a 280L fridge, 160L freezer, TV for a few hours, and switch off lights when I'm not in the room. Things get way different when you have a Mrs and kids though!

3.4kw a day from a fridge - are you running a morgue! - lol!

Cheers!

[poppa smurf]

my old neighbour uses much the same.....he's got a little chinese setup on his roof, 1.5 kw I reckon

lumo owes him money!

[davenl5l]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

I've asked a few folks around here whether they would still have solar if the tariff dropped to zero......the answer has been a resounding yes

like me they are sick of paying all our money into overseas conglomerates

water is on my radar next

im on rainwater only. had to buy 2 truck loads in 7 years because of the drought 5200 ltrs cost $385 delivered. but if sa water goes past you have to pay even if you dont use it which sucks big ones luckily for me they dont come near me.....yet!!

[poppa smurf]

yep the multinationals built a desal plant down in the smoke, now they want their money back yesterday

we that are out here dont use the water that flows from it but we still must pay the extra

not fair humphrey bear

I'm trying to figure out a way of getting the crane in to my yard to lift the big tanks over my shed......cant find an operator that is willing to do it yet or a crane capable

when it is big enough it is too big to fit in the yard and when it fits it aint big enough

[sgt_doofey]

Bury it in the front yard. Plenty of underground tanks but they cost a bit more.

[ute83]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

water is on my radar next

I wouldn't bother as the water is cheap, it' all the charges that make it so expensive. We are on tank water only, no town water where we are and it's great.

[rancidpunx]

Im also only on tank water, its free and far better quality over town water.

[davenl5l]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

yep the multinationals built a desal plant down in the smoke, now they want their money back yesterday

we that are out here dont use the water that flows from it but we still must pay the extra

not fair humphrey bear

I'm trying to figure out a way of getting the crane in to my yard to lift the big tanks over my shed......cant find an operator that is willing to do it yet or a crane capable

when it is big enough it is too big to fit in the yard and when it fits it aint big enough

they can build anysize colourbond or galv tank you want in situ these days but i dont know the cost (diy?)

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by ute83

I wouldn't bother as the water is cheap, it' all the charges that make it so expensive. We are on tank water only, no town water where we are and it's great.

yep you are correct, the actual cost of the water is around 10% of the account, the rest is administrative but I don't water the lawns anymore ( I really miss the sprinklers on a hot summers evening, one of the best sounds ever heard by man and the smell is something else) I would love to just water when I wish

Originally Posted by rancidpunx

Im also only on tank water, its free and far better quality over town water.

nothing like rainwater.....no chemicals and as you say FREE

Originally Posted by davenl5l

they can build anysize colourbond or galv tank you want in situ these days but i dont know the cost (diy?)

I did a few years installing and repairing squatter tanks for a few stations, wouldn't mind one of those but I have in mind a couple of large fibreglass or maybe gal steel

solar is producing decently again I was going down by around $2 per day but yesterday I went in front by $0.80c

I still have about $480 in credit not counting the days I went down........interesting to see what my next account will be given the rise in power costs

[XD 351 Ute]

Well the sparkies arrived today and put the rest of my system in.
Very impressed with the quality of the gear, and the boys' quality of workmanship.
Have got a 4.3 kw system atm, not the full 5.0, but hoping to get the rest of my panels up if we can set up some tilt brackets.
I'd prefer to do that as I've already paid for the panels and would rather the extra capacity than the money back for them.
It was weird to see the meter racing backwards.....
So for the first half day the system generated 13.1 kw.

A very happy camper thus far.

Ed

[faircoupe]

Quote:
Originally Posted by supershifty
What I'm about to say has probably already been said on this thread before. This thread is massive, so haven't read thru everything since my last post in May. I have a 2.3kw system with a 2kw inverter. The inverter can handle a max of 2.5kw, but will only "give up" 2kw. This setup generates 3 times the power I use per day. (ie: I use 3kw per day, the system generates around 10kw on a normal sunny day) I've never seen the display on the inverter show more than 1.9kw power generation - that's all good! My point is: Having more panels (subject to your inverters max capacity) is not a bad thing, on days where the sunlight is low, your "extra" panels help capture more power than available to a "matched" system. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious folks - just trying to help out.

Cheers!

Three kw a day? My fridge uses 3.4 kw a day.

Dont want to get to technical but I think some are confused with power and energy,for eg your solar installations export in kilowatts(power) which is an instantanous reading at any given time expressed in kw,but over a day it is expressed as kilowatt-hours kwh(energy).

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by XD 351 Ute

Well the sparkies arrived today and put the rest of my system in.
Very impressed with the quality of the gear, and the boys' quality of workmanship.
Have got a 4.3 kw system atm, not the full 5.0, but hoping to get the rest of my panels up if we can set up some tilt brackets.
I'd prefer to do that as I've already paid for the panels and would rather the extra capacity than the money back for them.
It was weird to see the meter racing backwards.....
So for the first half day the system generated 13.1 kw.

A very happy camper thus far.

Ed

jeez gotta be happy with that......good feeling to get a bit back from the buggers.......those brackets are expensive aren't they!

I shot in front by $1.50 yesterday....about time it started to get it's nose up after so much cloud

got a letter from Lumo (our power supplier) letting us know that our power price will jump from $0.23c per KW to $0.34c per KW because of the carbon tax

not a bad rise.......I'll be on the phone come Monday......thieving mongrels

one other thing......has anybody had anything to do with the "hills" evacuated glass tube solar water heating system.......thinking of buying one as it's on special at the moment

currently $4,500 compared to $5,500 for 22 tubes........no sacrificial anode to replace and no tank up the top,.....I assume it works on a heat exchanger principal

[supershifty]

Hi members, just got my first power bill for the quarter since installing solar. I had solar installed not that long after my last power bill which was $101 for the previous quarter. Deciphering the b/s in charges and credits on my current bill will require a degree in mathematics to work out! Back to basics: I got a credit of $182. I'm pretty happy with that!

Cheers!

PS: My solar system shat itself today - not happy with that! It's under warranty though.

[poppa smurf]

well done......what happened with the system?

[supershifty]

Hey Poppa, I dunno what happened. I checked the inverter console this morning and it was dead. No display, no lights - nothing! My converter is located inside my house (I don't care for interior decor - I'm a very practicable person!) I followed the shutdown procedure as prescribed in the manual and reset everything, and reset everything to no avail! The only thing I can find is that the "solar DC array isolator" switch will not turn off, it's stuck to "on". Stuff happens mate - the installer I have is reputable. I'll see what happens on Monday. Shall keep y'all informed!

[poppa smurf]

well I feel for you.....all that missed generating capability.....I'm sure it's a simple thing and as you say your installer is good

[poppa smurf]

time to squeeze the energy retailers again......especially in South Australia

just got the letter from Lumo stating extravagant rises.......a quick phone call threatening to leave for another provider seen a drop of some 5 - 7 cents per kilowatt

it all adds up.....

to do a comparison go to www.escosa.sa.gov.au or call 1800 226 100

you don't have to pay the first price offered.....threaten to leave.....plenty of retailers out there

[LOCO XP]

Regarding rates, ended up doing some shopping around and ended up staying with the devil I know. Looking at the forecasted price rises, I stuck with Origin with a rates frozen for the next 2 years, decided to do that at the end of June. With our rather high energy consumption over winter, even with the big discounts offered by ever other companies, they all seemed to run with higher supply charges and MUCH higher off peak and as most of our usage is off peak, heating etc), meaning the net effect after a discount would have been far worse off. So stuck with Origin, rates frozen much the same as the pre-July rates. Will give some breathing space for us to work out the most economical way to fight the greens forced social agenda.

[poppa smurf]

I tried origin but found they only gave a discount (8% from memory) for the first 12 months, there were no supply charge discounts

their rates were well above anybody else's and they were unwilling to come down much at all

[EgoFG]

I just crunched the numbers, and it came down to Lumo at a 13% discount across the entire bill.
But then I rang Origin, and they come up with 1 14.4% on electricity consumption, and a lower daily connection rate than Lumo.

The advantage of the discount on usage was that it is done BEFORE Netting in my Solar production, Whereas Lomo discounted the Entire bill ie after netting)

That having been said - there was $4 per quarter in it.

[poppa smurf]

you mongrel ......you beat me!!!!!.....

well done.....good to see folks doing a bit of "squeezing"

dont let the buggers set the rates and we just continue to pay like sheep!

shop around folks and be prepared to up stakes and go to another company....

ask about "exit fees" first if you are on a contract

[prydey]

joining this thread

i haven't yet made the jump to solar which is sort of why i started another thread, hoping some of the guys that have made the jump already could point me in the right direction regarding brands etc.

solar is something i want to do but procrastinating is something i have down to a fine art.

long story short, i rang a mob called 'true value solar' today, apparently australia's largest installer of soler energy, and was very pleasantly surprised by their pricing. yes, their products are manufactured in china but they are part of the M+W Group which is german. their inverter and panels have the same warranty as more expensive quotes i've got. (10yrs on inverter, 25 on panels) they quoted me $4894 for a 5kw inverter with 16 panels. this gives me some room to add more in the future if 16 panels isn't up to the task.

this seems extraordinarily cheap. is it a case of 'get what you pay for'? or is there some fine print i'm missing?

i didn't catch the brand names but i figured if the warranties were the same it was worth the risk.

seems like a good deal to me.

[poppa smurf]

unfortunately mate it is a matter of getting what you paid for

the warranty may seem the same but output versus time is the killer here......most "reputable" systems will state something like 80% of original output guaranteed over 25 years

I strongly advise you to take a look at someone like EM solar.......they use better quality systems such as "REC" panels and SMA inverters

the price paid now may not be the highest of priorities in 10 - 15 years time