Browse Forums Eco Living Re: Getting Solar power 21Sep 23, 2008 3:21 pm At work we have several hundred (to become a few thousand) PV panels at remote sites charging at 12v batteries used to run a wide scale telemetry system. Only maintenance required is an annual wash with a soapy squeegy....bird spikes keep the worst of the....er....detritus away. We are budgeting for a replacement life of 20 years....probably conservative but better safe than sorry.
Oh...and we don't make 'em....sell 'em....or make money off 'em. Re: Getting Solar power 22Sep 23, 2008 4:25 pm Thanks Knuckle. Your situation is similar to ours, I'm home all day with the kids but by the time we build, they may be at school/kindy. I don't expect what we can afford will make a huge difference to our power bill either, but every little bit helps. Hopefully they won't scrap the rebate, I think we will just scrape in, and maybe in a couple years when our building gets underway, prices might have come down (wishful thinking) Re: Getting Solar power 25Oct 17, 2008 9:31 am We just had Solar hot water installed. the system cost 4500 all up and with rebate we only pay 1600. This was a bargain I thought as we need to replace our system and to replace with the old system with the same one would have cost the same amount. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it. W.C. Fields Brought Established. ForeverYoung for Green Electricity in Sydney 26Oct 26, 2008 9:03 pm I thought about having these PV panels for generating electricity which in turn is connected back to the grid but the cost is prohibitive. It takes too long to amortise the investment so the rebate incentive needs to be improved, especially if it saves money to state power producers in reducing their capital investment.
Unfortunately, the new government did the opposite and actually limited the rebates to certain income groups. I found a claytons version to help reducing pollution; one of the electricity companies offers Certified Green Power where 20% Green Power in your supply costs you nothing extra. It just takes your request for the power company to shift 20% of your usage to Green Power. That's the easiest contribution you can make to help the environment (and switching appliances and PCs when you are not using them). Re: Getting Solar power 27Nov 11, 2008 7:46 pm ForeverYoung, don't reckon it's about saving money.
I'm just happy I just have to offset 3/4 of my emissions now rather than the whole lot, and have an added asset to the house when we offload it. I'm happy with the $4500 investment. Re: Getting Solar power 28Nov 15, 2008 11:34 pm In Brisbane an energy company had a special ending 30th Nov, after the rebate the cost was $4000 installed. (1kw system).
Even at $4500 it would take you 15 yrs to pay back the panels and are good for 25 + years life span so at the current prices you would have a min 10 yr saving In 15 yrs time electricity will be very expensive to buy so it is a viable option now at the approx 4k mark. If Gov could increase the rebate so the cost was $3000 installed it would repay in 10 yrs time and be a very attractive option indeed in my opinion. The prices are slowly coming down and as more are produced and sold it will get even cheaper, a 1 kw system on as many roofs as financially possible just makes sense with so much sunshine in this country. Re: Getting Solar power 29Nov 18, 2008 8:22 pm Reckon your on the money there OneBuild.
Keep in mind what Invertor you get though. If you get a 1KW system but a Invertor that supports a 2KW system, it might cost you an extra $500 or so, but in the future if you get more panels, you won't need to replace it at a cost of $2000+. Re: 30Mar 23, 2009 2:43 pm Yak_Chat Quote: For a 990w, 6 panel system fitted with an inverter (that could support 12 panels) they are asking approx $18,000 with about $10,000 to find after the rebate. Stone the maggots Casa's price is closer to the mark for a 1kva installed and ready to use with a feedback meter. $18k - they are having a lend of you. Do it post build. Steve Is this still relevant considering the Aussie dollar has gone down? I've just been quoted 21k for a 1kva system before rebate. Does anyone else have a better quote, Melbourne West area. Re: Getting Solar power 31Mar 23, 2009 2:55 pm http://www.beyondbuildingenergy.com/ Give these guys a calls. 495 after rebate for tin roof. Goes up to 1000 at the end of the month. Re: Getting Solar power 33May 13, 2009 12:25 am 9f - if you have to borrow to buy them then no - it's not worth it. Put the extra money against your mortgae and borrow less is a better option. As for current price - they are still available for $4k at present with the govt rebate from reputable companies with good quality panels and invertors etc Re: Getting Solar power 34May 18, 2009 1:44 pm guys, i will pre empt this reply by admitting i sell and install PV systems. I am not here to solicit any work, just inform on current pricing, or common pitfalls in the industry! anyhow, a 1kw system installed (metro, single storey) should not cost any more than $13k. anything more than that and some one is being greedy. You have all probably noticed the influx of television advertising re: free solar systems etc. but beware of companies promoting these deals, and check that the company you buy from holds BCSE Accredition personally. plenty of these companies are still to install one system, some dont even have stock yet, and some are currently scouting TAFE college's for new and green installers, as they are not qualified to do so themselves. some of these are mentioned above... Re: Getting Solar power 35May 25, 2009 7:14 pm Well said Marko. and then there is the issue of the the quality of the panels they offer, long term reliability of their invertors etc etc. It's the old story - you get what you pay for - most of the time. And if it sounds to good to be true - then perhaps it is. Steve Re: Getting Solar power 36May 25, 2009 7:32 pm I'm thinking of signing up to the below guys... http://www.beyondbuildingenergy.com/ they look like they are certified and I only pay $495 and I get that rebated.. so ends up being $0. Re: Getting Solar power 37May 27, 2009 4:16 am wakeboardandy I'm thinking of signing up to the below guys... http://www.beyondbuildingenergy.com/ they look like they are certified and I only pay $495 and I get that rebated.. so ends up being $0. I looked at them too - however www.clearsolar.com.au appears to be cheaper - I got quoted $2900 up front with tile roof - but then they give you $2500 back later - so it costs just $400 after rebates. They even give you $250 per person you refer down to zero amount....but I think the meter they install costs around $300 (so thats an extra). Checked them out, they have done hundreds (maybe thousands?) of installs in Victoria. Re: Getting Solar power 38May 27, 2009 7:26 am Stonecutter1119 I looked at them too - however http://www.clearsolar.com.au appears to be cheaper - I got quoted $2900 up front with tile roof - but then they give you $2500 back later - so it costs just $400 after rebates. They even give you $250 per person you refer down to zero amount....but I think the meter they install costs around $300 (so thats an extra). Checked them out, they have done hundreds (maybe thousands?) of installs in Victoria. But the one I mentioned you only pay $500 upfront and that gets rebated back... So ends up $0. Re: Getting Solar power 39May 27, 2009 11:43 pm Stonecutter1119 I looked at them too - however http://www.clearsolar.com.au appears to be cheaper The local councils are going through them for their bulk buy which my parents are thinking of getting. Council mention it can cost as little as $1200, not sure that type or spec. I am going to contact them for info. Re: Getting Solar power 40May 27, 2009 11:55 pm I went through this phase too and ended up getting an approximate figure of $4-5K own pocket expense after rebate. BUT i calculated my savings and i will ended up saving $200.00 per year on my energy bill. Not enough for me to shell out a few grands since i'm a bit hard pressed to spend that what's with building a house and everything. My energy bill per year is around $1000-$1200. So not too appealing in the short to medium run. I think i'll just put a bucket under me when i shower and water my garden with it as part of my environmentally conscious living. Use a product like Equisol's Vitalise to clean the deck then coat with a penetrating timber oil. It will look 10 years younger and add value to your home. Visit for… 1 15809 How much are you ahead in payments compared to where the build is at? Have you fully drawn down the loan? 5 11933 Mofflepop, Are you building around Qld Manly? 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