Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Aug 20, 2013 4:39 pm Do you have solar panels? Type? Size? Cost of installation? Savings? Do you think its worth getting them? Build start April 2013 - Handover End July 2013. We are in love <3 - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64062&p=1002912#p1002912 Re: Solar Panels worth it? 2Aug 20, 2013 8:23 pm Yes. Unsure of type of panels, but Sunnyboy SMA inverters. 33 of the little babies, a little over 7.5kw worth, split east/west. Made 32kwh today on a partly cloudy day. Cost - well, the previous owners paid a lot, in the order of $15k, me, free! Not sure of savings yet, as we only settled yesterday. Would I buy them out of my own pocket? Nope. I'd go a solar hws first. I'd only ever buy a small system nowadays - purely matched to what can be offset during the day. Feed-in tariffs are rubbish now. Not worth buying to make money back from them from feeding back to the grid. 4 Beta Re: Solar Panels worth it? 3Aug 21, 2013 12:48 am Previous owners did well getting 7.5kw of panels for only 15 k 2 Re: Solar Panels worth it? 4Aug 21, 2013 6:50 am Not sure exactly what they paid, agent said it was around that, I thought it'd be pushing closer to 20k, given it doesn't look they skimped anywhere. Alas, that's a little off topic. I'd suggest working out your typical consumption, work out how much of that you can use during the day, and hence be offset by solar - I get a measley feed-in tariff of 8c/kWh but every one I can offset I save 39c/kWh so the savings are in what you offset. You also need to consider shading, orientation, and typical cloud cover. Maybe also have a look on pvoutput.org and see what others around you are getting from their systems. 4 Beta Re: Solar Panels worth it? 5Aug 21, 2013 8:06 am Solar HW is good - HW costs about 30% of the E bill. A 3/4KW Solar E system will cost well under $5k and will make a difference on your overall E bill . With both Solar HW and solar E (say 3KW) you will have a marked reduction in your E bill. Also - just saving E by turning off lights, using your appliances after 10 am (ie when the Solar E is really kicking in) - and using common sense will save quite a bit. Off peak is also good - but you need to realise it doesn't operate at crucial times - so if it is used with HW it might affect showers (depending on family size and habits) and if used on pool pump - might mean the pump has to run at non-perfect times. Solar E will off-set any pool pump costs though. IMO it's worth it. You'll recover costs in 2-5 years - depending on how you operate. NB - if you're on the 8cent return - it is best to operate in the day - ie use the power you generate - try not to just let it go to the grid. Set appliances - dishwasher / washing machine / dryer etc etc to operate after 10am - and before 6pm. Use your "free" power" - don't buy it !!! If you were getting the 44cent rebate you'd go the other way ! Re: Solar Panels worth it? 6Aug 23, 2013 11:15 am We had our system installed (NSW) Oct 2012, so nearly 1 year (3.5kw, about $6000). 8c FIT then and now 6c. If we were not home during the daylight hours I suspect it would be a bit of an excersize in futility. At least we can use the washer/dryer/dishwasher and Air during the productive daylight time. We are a 2 person household so not big users as you can see if you have a look at the "pvoutput" link in my signature. If noone is home during the daylight hours, a very questionable proposition....... Re: Solar Panels worth it? 7Sep 05, 2013 10:37 am Thanks for the feedback. We are only home during the day 3 days a week the rest is of an evening. Its so hard to know if it will be worth it, would be nice if we can trial it lol Build start April 2013 - Handover End July 2013. We are in love <3 - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64062&p=1002912#p1002912 Re: Solar Panels worth it? 8Sep 06, 2013 9:08 am You will need to look in to the tariffs in your state. EG for Queensland we now have an 8c feed in tariff- so you get 8c for each kWh you export. Re: Solar Panels worth it? 9Sep 06, 2013 9:24 am TinaG You will need to look in to the tariffs in your state. EG for Queensland we now have an 8c feed in tariff- so you get 8c for each kWh you export. Plus what he company give you - 6 or 8 cents more. So 14 or 16 cents. If you are not home during the day and you are on the lower rate - set the machines to go after - say - 10am. Set the stove to start cooking at 4pm - to be ready by 6pm. Use a slow cooker - for evening meals - set to go at 3 or 4 pm. Set the washing machine to do its thing during the day. Set the pool pumps etc to come on later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon. Solar hot water might be an answer too. They say it saves 80% of the HW bill - which is approximately 30% of the Electricity bill. So - saving around 25% of your E bill. Its all horses for courses - but you need to put the brain in gear and work out what's best ... If you're on 44 cents then try to export it all. BUT - ensure your timers can handle the load involved with each appliance. Re: Solar Panels worth it? 10Sep 17, 2013 10:12 pm We have 2 x 4kw systems so 8kw all up, we only get a measly 25c feed in tariff (we signed too late and missed the 54c). We have had it for 6 months and paid $15,000 so far we have been happy but will see what we get from it over summer. - now Free Jasmin Hickinbotham Belmont - modified Signed: February 2011 Slab should go down before 2012 My build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=52310&p=799483#p799483 Re: Solar Panels worth it? 11Oct 06, 2013 8:29 pm I think it depends on what state you're in.... We bought a 1.5kw system up in QLD and we expected to save about $100 on our bill however, every 3 months we had a bill adding $80 each quarter....so we were beside ourselves when our bill was in credit! I think you have to also be a real energy saver when you have solar power....I'm strict in terms of only having one light on (the room I am in), not using the dishwasher/washing machine during peak times, not leaving anything on stand-by, etc.... Otherwise, it's pointless having solar power, I don't think you can just buy it and then abuse the privilege. Apparently though, solar power benefits work different in NSW and since we just received our first bill for the rental we're in, I think electricity is more expensive too! But from our experience, it is definitely worth it hence why we'll be getting it again But we are loo Re: Solar Panels worth it? 12Oct 07, 2013 9:30 am http://www.google.com.au/url?q=http://w ... 59ZoG2mkNQ An excellent ROI calculator spreadsheet for solar panels Click the link above to download it. Just adjust the size of your system, feed in tariff etc. There are others out there as well of course some better, some a lot worse. Stewie Re: Solar Panels worth it? 13Oct 07, 2013 12:35 pm It's like trying to reduce your personal tax, you seem to have to spend money to make money.......... Re: Solar Panels worth it? 14Mar 23, 2014 10:53 am Are there any advantages of installing solar panels during house construction over retrofitting? http://www.housebythewater.wordpress.com From blank block to new home in Mandurah, Western Australia. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65564 Re: Solar Panels worth it? 15Mar 23, 2014 11:55 am Hard to imagine any advantages to doing during construction....the only connection to the building as such on our house at least is : - panels attached to frame through tiled roof. (have to lay roof first). - wiring from panels to inverter. (perhaps this wiring installed during construct. by sparkies might help) - Inverter attached to wall. (ours is beside meter box) - wiring from inverter to meter box. Re: Solar Panels worth it? 16Mar 23, 2014 8:47 pm If you can get in to your house, you can pre-wire the inverter so that it's in your garage, and out of the sun. Of course many building companies won't let you do anything before handover. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Solar Panels worth it? 17Mar 26, 2014 7:10 pm I am building in Victoria Park, small block but 2 storey house. I am looking at the solar panel option but not sure if anyone has used a provider in Perth. There are only 2 of us in the house and we work full time - any recommendations? Hello - we were hoping to apply laminate click lock panels to our concrete ceiling, but not too sure how to go about attaching the panels to the concrete. Any idea what… 0 1664 0 10917 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 20 73066 |