Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Jun 23, 2010 11:27 am After much researching we chose Orgin Energy for our 1.5kw solar power system. They werent the cheapest or most exensive but were the only ones who offered an interest free payment plan. Costs $2990. We paid a 10% deposit and now paying about $112 a month on a 24 month contract. Plus all the equipment is made from Sharp. All Japenese made. From the research I did this was the way to go. Unit was intalled on Saturday and electrical inspector was out yesterday to comission it. We are now generating solar power. Now gotta wait til the meter is changed which will happen in the next few weeks. Cant believe our house is only 12 months old and was supplied with an old style rotating disc meter! On Saturday the tech showed me the unit i action. It was a cloudy day and was producing 400 watts. Once the solar unit was turned on you could see the disc slow down by half! Looking forward to lower electricity bills!! Built The Huntley 290 with HomeXcellance / Cheviot Homes Re: We have gone solar!!! 4Jul 01, 2010 7:18 pm Bravo! Good on ya! I am still trying to convince the better half to go solar, but no go so far. I'd love to hear how the bills look after install compared to before. Cheers! Stefan Building the M3tr!con Liberty 42 at Stonecutters Ridge. The New Build Blog - "Life, In Progress." Stonecutters Ridge Community Website | My photos Re: We have gone solar!!! 5Jul 01, 2010 7:36 pm fredstar After much researching we chose Orgin Energy for our 1.5kw solar power system. They werent the cheapest or most exensive but were the only ones who offered an interest free payment plan. Costs $2990. We paid a 10% deposit and now paying about $112 a month on a 24 month contract. Plus all the equipment is made from Sharp. All Japenese made. From the research I did this was the way to go. Unit was intalled on Saturday and electrical inspector was out yesterday to comission it. We are now generating solar power. Now gotta wait til the meter is changed which will happen in the next few weeks. Cant believe our house is only 12 months old and was supplied with an old style rotating disc meter! On Saturday the tech showed me the unit i action. It was a cloudy day and was producing 400 watts. Once the solar unit was turned on you could see the disc slow down by half! Looking forward to lower electricity bills!! Good to hear Fredstar, please keep us posted on how it goes....we are just about to build and have also been told we will not be getting a smart meter!!!!! Doesn't make sense. Re: We have gone solar!!! 6Jul 02, 2010 1:31 pm Still no sign of meter swap yet. On Saturday the wife had a party at our house. She had 10 downlights on, ducted heater on n washing machine going (also fridge and freezer of course) and the meter was still spining backwards. The inverter showed it was producing about 1000watts. Saturday wasnt that sunny day at all. Not sure when next elec bill is but should be lower i hope! Will be good when summer hits. Panels are pointing Nth West Its 8 solar panels for producing electricity. Built The Huntley 290 with HomeXcellance / Cheviot Homes Re: We have gone solar!!! 7Jul 02, 2010 2:14 pm fredstar Once the solar unit was turned on you could see the disc slow down by half! Looking forward to lower electricity bills!! Did you select "net" instead of "Gross" feed-in systeam? I assume that is why the disc is slowing down. Wouldn't it be more benifitial to sell (@60) to the grid and buy the the electricity at 7-35 cents (depends on the time) - devank! Re: We have gone solar!!! 8Jul 03, 2010 3:05 pm devank fredstar Once the solar unit was turned on you could see the disc slow down by half! Looking forward to lower electricity bills!! Did you select "net" instead of "Gross" feed-in systeam? I assume that is why the disc is slowing down. Wouldn't it be more benifitial to sell (@60) to the grid and buy the the electricity at 7-35 cents (depends on the time) - devank! Devank, I was under the impression that the Gross/net feed in tariffs vary state to state... In Victoria we only have net feed in tariffs (unfortunately). Unless it's change recently, I hope I'm wrong. Re: We have gone solar!!! 10Jul 04, 2010 4:52 pm There is also the federal 'Green Loan Program" which is set up to help people install solar systems with loans of up to $10,000 including 4 years interest free. I googled it and it all seems legit, we wouldn't qualify though because you have to be living in your home for atleast 12 mths(dont ask me why) to qualify.. Re: We have gone solar!!! 11Jul 04, 2010 5:26 pm These loans are no longer in existance. The loans component of the Green Loans program was discontinued as of 22 March 2010. http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/gove ... about.aspx All you can get now is the RECs for the systems Re: We have gone solar!!! 14Jul 10, 2010 8:57 am Hi Fredstar Thankyou for the information as Mr B has just inquired also about this scheme from origin energy. We already have solar for our hot water but I cant work out why we didnt get it for power when we built...I think it was the cost at the time Was it easy to install? let us know how it works for you. mrs B Re: We have gone solar!!! 15Jul 12, 2010 8:27 am Mrs B Hi Fredstar Thankyou for the information as Mr B has just inquired also about this scheme from origin energy. We already have solar for our hot water but I cant work out why we didnt get it for power when we built...I think it was the cost at the time Was it easy to install? let us know how it works for you. mrs B Took the techs about 3hrs to install. Power was off for about 5 mins when they needed to connect the solar unit to the mains. Built The Huntley 290 with HomeXcellance / Cheviot Homes Re: We have gone solar!!! 16Jul 13, 2010 4:45 pm Hi We are renovating in the Newcastle area and were wondering if anyone has had any quotes for solar panels installed. and are the rebates still available? Re: We have gone solar!!! 17Jul 13, 2010 6:43 pm Shouldknowbetter Hi We are renovating in the Newcastle area and were wondering if anyone has had any quotes for solar panels installed. and are the rebates still available? They sure are! I was at the Home Show in Melbourne on the weekend and it was full of solar companies...some pretty reasonable prices too. I saw 1.5 kw systems for $2,500 and 2 kw systems for about $4,500 - $5,000. Google solarquotes.com to get some local quotes sent to you. Re: We have gone solar!!! 18Jul 13, 2010 9:58 pm Thankyou Handmick we are going to the Newcastle Home Show next weekend and will see if we can arrange some quotes. and hopefully get some great ideas along the way. Re: We have gone solar!!! 19Jul 28, 2010 9:06 am Got our first elec bill for period 22/4-22/7. Solar went live on 19/6. So about a month of solar power usage. Bill is $10 cheaper then last quarter. We used 2.3Kwh less this then this time last year. Still dont have a smart meter installed - due sart of august. I think thats a good start esp cause its winter and here is less sun around. Built The Huntley 290 with HomeXcellance / Cheviot Homes I looked into it a few years ago and my conclusion was to just build a carport that will support panels and get a system installed separately. The company I looked at had… 1 6482 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39735 Hi All, I just wanted to close this topic out with an update. So we ended up agreeing to a number with the insurance company, and after an extensive amount of hand… 8 23404 |