Browse Forums General Discussion Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 2Jan 07, 2012 11:00 pm The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 6Jan 08, 2012 6:39 pm Slab Down: 2/6/11 Moved in 13/3/2012 Current Status : Waiting for the garden to grow. My build thread : viewtopic.php?f=31&t=47031 Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 8Jan 09, 2012 12:57 am 13-08 Moved in 13-05 Build restart 13-04 VMIA compensation 12-08 Builder liquidation 12-03 Fixing 11-12 Lockup 11-11 Frame 11-09 Slab 11-09 Start 11-07 Contract 10-11 2K deposit 10-06 Titled land Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 10Jan 09, 2012 9:12 pm Crow To answer your question it depends on what your current usage is, what state you are in and what feed in tariff is available and what size system you are prepared to pay up front for. We had bills of $800 to $1,000 per quarter in our last house and have designed our new house to be more energy effecient. We have put on a 5.13 Kw system which has 27 north facing panels. This should go close to eliminating our bills leaving only a minimal amount each quarter however we do receive the 44c feed in tariff. The payback period should be between 4 and 5 years. After that we are in front irrespective of what happens with future prices. Meanwhile the panels were put on a couple of days before Christmas and we have earned $250 for the power we have fed back into the grid as no power is being consumed on site. I'm also in SA, we had a 4kw system installed on 21st December, havent arranged the import/export meter yet. Anyway, last week I received a letter from ETSA saying we do not qualify for the 44c FIT as we have not produced enough power over the past 12 months ( we are also building). I have written a letter to them to reconsider their denial of FIT. If they still refuse the FIT, guess I have to go to the ombudsman and my local MP. Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 11Jan 09, 2012 10:13 pm We have had SEG approval since July and have had the import/ export meter since September. Our panels went up on 21st December as well. I am aware that they are sending out letters to people who import ( ie use from the grid) less than 400 Kwh per year as they want to stop people using the FIT to produce a profit. eg some people with a meter for the house and a meter for a shed hook up solar to the shed ( which uses very little) and basically get the FIT for everything they produce rather than the net of what they produce less what they use. In ETSA's industry news bulletin of October 2010 it had this: "The NMI and meter your customer’s PV SEG system is connected to will be a critical factor for ETSA Utilities’ determination of a customer’s eligibility to receive the PV Feed-in Rebate Bonus Payments. Those customers wishing to connect a PV SEG system to a connection point that has very little or no energy consumption history in an attempt to maximise feed-in bonus payments may find their installation may be excluded from the new feed-in scheme, as it could fall into the classification of a generator installed for the dominate purpose of generating profit." "Customers that connect to either a new or existing network connection point that have no or very low energy consumption history, (i.e. an old disused shed or pump on a rural property), may be classified as an excluded generator for the reason that its dominate purpose is for generating into the grid for profit." I have not received a similar letter but I will certainly be fighting it if I do as our situation is not what ETSA are intending to stop. If they think earning $500 before we move in and consume everything we produce plus some more after spending $16k on the system is a profit making venture I look forward to the robust discussions.. Slab Down: 2/6/11 Moved in 13/3/2012 Current Status : Waiting for the garden to grow. My build thread : viewtopic.php?f=31&t=47031 Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 12Jan 11, 2012 1:22 pm Quote: I'm also in SA, we had a 4kw system installed on 21st December, haven't arranged the import/export meter yet. Anyway, last week I received a letter from ETSA saying we do not qualify for the 44c FIT I believe this to be correct as your meter was not installed before 1-1-12 cut off date for the 44c FIT and I think you have missed the boat. Quote: I have written a letter to them to reconsider their denial of FIT. If they still refuse the FIT, guess I have to go to the ombudsman and my local MP. Good luck and I think you will certainly need it. Overlooking the part about not producing enough power (as your system wasn't installed) I think they have you by the proverbials. It may pay you to Google SA legislation, and/or do a search on the Whirlpool website about SA FIT in the Green Tech forum, before contacting the Ombudsman or MP. Arfur Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 13Jan 11, 2012 5:55 pm Uncle Arfur Quote: I'm also in SA, we had a 4kw system installed on 21st December, haven't arranged the import/export meter yet. Anyway, last week I received a letter from ETSA saying we do not qualify for the 44c FIT I believe this to be correct as your meter was not installed before 1-1-12 cut off date for the 44c FIT and I think you have missed the boat. If you comply with the other requirements for the FIT (ie SEG approval prior to 30/9/11) then you have to have made a booking for the installation of the import/ export meter within 120 days after 1/10/11. Therefore if you have rung up and booked the installation of the import/export meter by 28/1/12 you still qualify for the 44c FIT even if it takes ETSA another 3 months to install it. Customer Group 3 http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/Water,+ene ... #Replacing Slab Down: 2/6/11 Moved in 13/3/2012 Current Status : Waiting for the garden to grow. My build thread : viewtopic.php?f=31&t=47031 Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 14Jan 11, 2012 7:08 pm Uncle Arfur Quote: I'm also in SA, we had a 4kw system installed on 21st December, haven't arranged the import/export meter yet. Anyway, last week I received a letter from ETSA saying we do not qualify for the 44c FIT I believe this to be correct as your meter was not installed before 1-1-12 cut off date for the 44c FIT and I think you have missed the boat. Quote: I have written a letter to them to reconsider their denial of FIT. If they still refuse the FIT, guess I have to go to the ombudsman and my local MP. Good luck and I think you will certainly need it. Overlooking the part about not producing enough power (as your system wasn't installed) I think they have you by the proverbials. It may pay you to Google SA legislation, and/or do a search on the Whirlpool website about SA FIT in the Green Tech forum, before contacting the Ombudsman or MP. SEG approval was given 28/9/11 - ETSA wrote to us 28/12/11 - 3 months after approval was given and 7 days after the panels were installed. I believe the installers have, on our behalf, applied for an import export meter. I believe we have fulfilled all requirements. Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 15Jan 11, 2012 8:59 pm Quote: I'm also in SA, we had a 4kw system installed on 21st December, havent arranged the import/export meter yet. Quote: I believe the installers have, on our behalf, applied for an import export meter. Oh well that's a different story to what you first posted. From the Whirlpool website I got the impression the cut off date for installation of import/export meters at the higher FIT was the 1-1-12. I think I would be checking rather than sitting back and causing strife by mischievous phone calls to MP's etc Arfur Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 16Jan 11, 2012 9:14 pm Uncle Arfur Quote: I'm also in SA, we had a 4kw system installed on 21st December, havent arranged the import/export meter yet. Quote: I believe the installers have, on our behalf, applied for an import export meter. Oh well that's a different story to what you first posted. From the Whirlpool website I got the impression the cut off date for installation of import/export meters at the higher FIT was the 1-1-12. I think I would be checking rather than sitting back and causing strife by mischievous phone calls to MP's etc not really. At the time of posting I hadnt arranged import/export meter. However speaking to the installer since, I was informed that the company that sold me the system would have arranged the paper work for the new meter (still to be verified) hence " I believe the installers have, on our behalf, applied for an import export meter" Quote: From the Whirlpool website I got the impression the cut off date for installation of import/export meters at the higher FIT was the 1-1-12. reading whirlpool is not quite reading gospel, if you read crows post above then I fit into category 3 and hence I have till 31/1/12 to have the application for a new meter and thus comply with my requirements. So, if ETSA decide I cannot get the 44c FIT because of low prior consumption and my perceived intent to profit from the FIT then I will make a huge song and dance about it. ETSA could have notified me about the low usage issue months ago yet it took them 3 months. Their letter was along the lines of " you may wish to reconsider the installation of a costly system based on the information provided" - well the system was already installed. Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 17Jan 12, 2012 10:45 am an update regarding import/export meters. The company that sold us the system has a date booked in for the installation on 8th Feb 2012. They just never told us about it. Now I wait for ETSA's response regarding the FIT Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 18Feb 21, 2012 8:35 pm Finally got a letter from ETSA today informing is that on review we are now provisionally eligible for the 44c FIT. This decision is to be reviewed in 12 months to ensure that we will be consuming power domestically and not attempting to profit from the installation Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 19Feb 21, 2012 9:39 pm I was talking to my solar-electrician recently who said customers are being refused FIT's on a lot of systems installed on shacks, sheds etc, where people dont live the majority of the time. These systems were installed solely as a money making scheme. Amgsl55 it might pay you to swap electricity retailers to AGL who currently pay 52c/Kwh FIT. Arfur Re: solar panels - are they worth it? 20Feb 21, 2012 9:41 pm Uncle Arfur I was talking to my solar-electrician recently who said customers are being refused FIT's on a lot of systems installed on shacks, sheds etc, where people dont live the majority of the time. These systems were installed solely as a money making scheme. Amgsl55 it might pay you to swap electricity retailers to AGL who currently pay 52c/Kwh FIT. thanks for that, I'll check what their rates are before I change over. The FIT is one thing but we'll be running 3 airconditioners and alot of AV equipment and under floor heating so the tariff is just as important as the FIT 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… 0 692 0 2992 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 57609 |