raging Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Thinking about installing solar at home. Anyone have recommendations for companies in Sydney? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Sorry I can’t help with acontact, the one I used dissapeared but I’d think the job was fine., there was plenty of crap ones at there . I’m a builder and we have worked on one house in particular with a dodgy install. Of course that company had dissapeared too. Everything was live the frame, the sarking, the fascia and gutter. That’s how we noticed it a contractor got a jolt. So I can’t help you with a contact. I have a 5kw system and it has worked out for me. Even when power went up recently so did the rebate. I produce roughly the same amount that I use so the only reason I have a bill is because the power you buy is around 4 times what you put in the grid. In my case I have a pool so I have the Pool system working during the middle of the day so I am using a lot of the power I produce. I think it’s important to have an idea of when you use the most power and what on to assess if it’s worthwhile. My pool uses around 3.5kw/hr if the 3 pumps are running. So it is a good offset. Also if it’s warming up and I’m home I put the AC on early preferably when the Pool isn’t on. It uses about 8.0kw I think. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ranger Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 7 hours ago, Welster said: . Also if it’s warming up and I’m home I put the AC on early preferably when the Pool isn’t on. It uses about 8.0kw I think. Jason Hi Jason My wife is keen to install solar to offset aircon use during the day. An 8kw aircon is pretty big. Our old non efficient one is 3.5kw and the new one in the bedroom is 1.5kw. How does your inverter handle the 8kw? Or is your aircon on the grid only? Do you save money in the end with the cost of the install vs power bills? Bear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berleyguts Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 We recently installed a 6.5kw system and have it on a payment plan. We paid a lot more than I see advertised on TV afterwards! Too early to say yet if I made the right decision but I think we did. We got our first bill last week and it’s about $600 less but they have yet to install the analytics mechanism so I can check on my phone/PC exactly when we are using power. Will be chasing them on that today. We are heavy users... wife works from home and son and mother-in-law all home during day too. Fairly large pool, ducted air, multiple computers running all the time, 2 fridges, large upright freezer, wine fridge, 2 or 3 loads of washing per day. Hardest thing to get used to is not putting the dishwasher on when I go to bed and waiting until morning when the sun’s up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I am not sure it is worth it at all really. It has not saved us much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berleyguts Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 19 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said: I am not sure it is worth it at all really. It has not saved us much. I think it all depends on how you use the power. If you’re home during the day and run as much as you can then while the sun’s shining, you get the best benefit. Our hot water’s a twin element off peak system (315 litres), so we still use power at night but our usage from the grid is down by a fair bit across the peak, shoulder and off-peak periods. Our feed in tariff is 11c per kw and we got a small credit of around $20 so I guess we are using most of what we produce, many days more than we produce. I’m sure we’ll improve as we understand it better. The salesman told me with the payment plan we’d be paying about the same until it’s paid off. It’s not quite like that so far but I think it will balance out. When the price of Tesla batteries come down, we’ll install one so we can store power generated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest123456789 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Price of batteries has to come down. $10k with a 10 year life span is $250 per quarter before you even consider panels, wiring and maintenance. we have a solar hot water system and that’s worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 8 hours ago, Noo2OzFish said: Hi Jason My wife is keen to install solar to offset aircon use during the day. An 8kw aircon is pretty big. Our old non efficient one is 3.5kw and the new one in the bedroom is 1.5kw. How does your inverter handle the 8kw? Or is your aircon on the grid only? Do you save money in the end with the cost of the install vs power bills? Bear My aircon is a ducted 22kw version three phase. The aircon guy tells me a 22kw cooling AC uses roughly a third of that. ( I don’t realky understand that though!) I upgraded to a three phase inverter. The system is a 5kw system 20 panels. I installed mine when I got divorced 5 years ago so it’s hard to compare bills. But they were between 800 and 1800 per quarter . They are now between 200 and 600 ( in summer using the AC). I calculated over summer the pool was costing around 450 per quarter. I am happy and think it paid off well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) I manage projects for my clients and can tell you with some level of certainty that in most situations solar panels are a waste of time. The only time i would recommend you install solar panels is if the government has offered a funding scheme. Even then the suppliers and installers just up their prices even further and you dont pocket the full saving ?♂️ Solar panels produce peak power at the time most people are at work, and therefore dont use the power produced. If you work from home then this might actually be a viable option. Additionally, the PV cells need constant maintenance in order to keep producing energy at the same rate as new. All this not even considering the orientation of your roof, mounting positions, obstructions to sunlight such as trees/neighbouring buildings etc One study i read some years ago on a 10 year life cycle analysis suggested that by the time you factor in upfront capital costs, ongoing maintenance/servicing then deduct savings made it becomes a cost neutral exercise. All that being said, there has been some serious technological leaps in the area of renewable energies and i think at some point we will find them in every household at an affordable price. Just not now Edited January 31, 2018 by GoingFishing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berleyguts Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 36 minutes ago, GoingFishing said: ...Solar panels produce peak power at the time most people are at work, and therefore dont use the power produced. If you work from home then this might actually be a viable option... This is the only reason we decided to install solar. We crunched the numbers before when we were living in Sydney and with the commute to the CBD for two of us and our son working long hours at his office, we just weren’t home home enough to justify it. Now that we live in paradise, with the wife working from home, m-in-law home all day, son based at home and me only working 4 days a week with a 5 minute commute, the numbers started to make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) Going fishing and Berley guts are pretty right in that you need a good offset. I think my pool does that in my case. I just looked mine up I got it in October 2013 and it cost me $6,800.00. It has produced 32MWH that’s 32000kw. If I use all of that power myself at the current rate (29c/kw)it’s 32000x0.29=$9280 saved If I feed all that power back into the grid at the current rate (11.1) it’s $3552.00 saved. There is another thing to to think about that is the removal and replacement cost if you decide to do anything to your home such as reroofing or extension. As a builder it can really push the cost of jobs up moving solar power, solar hot water, pool heating and the like. Edited January 31, 2018 by Welster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Hi We used Andrew Hanna Electrical. They were really good and did a good job. Looks like they may have a slightly new name now of AHEGroup. 7.2KW system when the rebate was 65 cents. Still get bills, i have no idea where all the power goes. Was thinking about the Tesla power wall, but the pay back is too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raging Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 Thanks for the input. Still deciding, we do have high energy bills with pool & air con etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 1 hour ago, antonywardle said: Hi We used Andrew Hanna Electrical. They were really good and did a good job. Looks like they may have a slightly new name now of AHEGroup. 7.2KW system when the rebate was 65 cents. Still get bills, i have no idea where all the power goes. Was thinking about the Tesla power wall, but the pay back is too long. After the 65c thing finished did they change your meters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 @Welster No, we got anew meter when the Solar went in, and now we are looking at changing suppliers so part of that means we will get a smart meter. We also have solar hot water, and we turned the electricity top up off about a month ago and have had plenty of hot water since then although, two of the kids being away might have had something to do with that. Given we are in for a cooler week, it will be interesting to see how we get on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 1 hour ago, antonywardle said: @Welster No, we got anew meter when the Solar went in, and now we are looking at changing suppliers so part of that means we will get a smart meter. We also have solar hot water, and we turned the electricity top up off about a month ago and have had plenty of hot water since then although, two of the kids being away might have had something to do with that. Given we are in for a cooler week, it will be interesting to see how we get on! My understanding is on the 60 cent scheme the meters put all of the power you produce into the grid. All of the power you use comes from the grid. The most sensible way when the rebate is higher than the cost of electricity. On later install when the rebate was only part of the cost of the power (like mine) the meters use all of the power produced in the house first and put the remaining power into the grid. What I am saying is you might be selling your power for a low rate and buying it back at the high rate. Where now you want to use the power you make first and buy the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Ok, thats quite likely whats happening. I wasn't aware that might be the case I'll have to do a bit of research and ask my mrs. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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