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Would the solar industry be better off without government support?

January 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Sir Humphrey discusses the UK's Solar Feed In Tariff

Fascinating article this. The UK’s only Green MP, Caroline Lucas, takes to the pages of The Guardian to launch a broadside against the UK Government’s investment policy in relation to solar energy.

The UK Government this week lost an appeal in the High Court against a lower court’s ruling that its retrospective attempt to change the solar feed-in tariff rates imposed by the previous Labour Government was “legally flawed”. The Cameron Government had tried to reduce the rates before the agreed consultation period had expired.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Feed In Tariffs, Rich Bowden, Solar Panels, Solar Policy, UK Tagged With: , ,

Two Reasons You Must Look At Efficiency Curves When Choosing Your Solar Inverter

January 29, 2012 by 13 Comments

inverter with a trippy arrow

In my last blog post I explained how to find an inverter’s real-world efficiency instead of relying on the inverter manufacturer’s  numbers.

The CEC or European Efficiency numbers that I talked about are a much better number to use when comparing solar inverters. And for most people they will be all you need. However if you really want to understand how your solar system is going to perform then you should also look at the inverter’s “efficiency curve”.

Your inverter does not simply have one efficiency that it always operates at. The efficiency of your inverter will depend on two minor factors and one major factor.

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Filed Under: Efficiency, Solar Inverters Tagged With: , ,

Solar Inverter Efficiency: What you need to know before buying.

January 28, 2012 by 1 Comment

Everything goes through the inverter so its efficiency is critical.Solar inverter efficiency is a critical specification that directly affects the efficiency of your entire solar system. It is almost always a much more important consideration than solar panel efficiency.

All the power generated by your solar panels has to go through your inverter before you can either use the power in your home or export it to the grid (and get paid) so every percent of extra efficiency that you can squeeze out of your inverter will directly improve the performance and payback of your solar system.

So do you just need to pick the inverter with the highest “efficiency” number on the specification sheet? Well I’m afraid it isn’t quite that simple. (You guessed I was gonna say that didn’t you?!) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Efficiency, Solar Inverters, Solar Power Tagged With: ,

How you can save $2,000 when going Solar

January 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Thinking of buying a solar power system to kill your electricity bill?

Then this one simple action could shave a whole kW off the size of solar system that you need to buy to get that magical zero dollar electricity bill.

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Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Solar Power Tagged With: , , , ,

Innovative solar energy project to aid off-grid rural communities in Africa

January 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

IMG_4391
Creative Commons License photo credit: Nokero : The conventional way to charge your phone in Africa – Solar Aid are tying a different approach.

The British-based solar energy charity organisation SolarAid has teamed up with Cambridge-based solar technology company Eight19 to provide solar energy at affordable prices to poorer people in rural parts of Africa.

SolarAid are a charity group working in rural areas throughout eastern and southern Africa with a bunch of great ideas. According to their website they believe jobs and business opportunities for poorer people in the rural areas of Africa is important. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Developing Countries Tagged With: , ,

Your Solar Panel & Inverter Warranty And The Law: What You Need To Know

January 19, 2012 by 7 Comments

Person signing a solar system warranty

Your Solar Panel Warranty and Solar Inverter Warranty have tough new minimum standards by law. Changes to the Australian Consumer Law came into effect on 1 January 2012. These are good changes which help protect you as a solar consumer from toothless warranties when buying a solar system. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters, Solar Panels, Warranties, Warranties Tagged With: , , , ,

Three Solar Inverter Companies to watch out for in 2012

January 17, 2012 by 14 Comments

Solar Edge, Samil Power and SMA inverters

If, like me, you get turned on by Solar Inverters, then here are three companies doing very cool stuff that I think you should look out for in 2012:

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Filed Under: Solar Inverters, Solar Power Tagged With: , , , ,

Construction on Mildura solar system begins but what can taxpayers expect?

January 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Solar Farm
Creative Commons License photo credit: mcmees24

The announcement last month from R&D company Silex Systems that construction on Australia’s largest solar power station at Mildura, VIC, has begun gladdens the heart. And the hip pocket nerve. After all Victorian and federal taxpayers are helping to fund this venture to the tune of around $120 million.

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Filed Under: Australia, Efficiency, Electricity Grid, Electricity Prices, Energy Efficiency, Rich Bowden, solar installation, Solar Panels, Solar Power, Victoria

How Much Does Off Grid Solar Cost?

January 12, 2012 by 11 Comments

off grid solar system

I had a phone call from a mate today asking for advice on buying an off grid solar system for his new house in suburban Melbourne. He was pissed off about paying the daily grid connection charge when his solar system was easily going to produce more power than he used. A typical grid connection charge is about 50c per day.

So what is the extra cost of getting completely off the grid with your solar system in the city compared to a standard grid connect solar system?

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Filed Under: Off Grid Solar, Solar Panels

AC Solar Panels (microinverters) : The #1 Solar Trend to watch for in 2012?

January 10, 2012 by 11 Comments

Will 2012 be the year of the AC Solar Panel?

Before answering that question I should probably explain exactly what an AC Solar Panel is…

An AC Solar Panel converts sunlight to AC electricity at the solar panel.

 

What is an AC Solar Panel?

The short answer is: An AC Solar Panel is a solar panel that takes sunlight in and spits AC (Alternating Current) electricity out. This compares to a “conventional” DC Solar Panel which takes sunlight in and spits DC (Direct Current) electricity out.

AC Electricity is the type of electricity you need to power the appliances in your home. DC panels need a Solar Inverter to convert the DC electricity to AC. The big advantage of AC panels is that there is no need for an inverter to do that conversion, so you have a really simple design, a simpler installation, and adding extra panels becomes almost plug and play.

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Filed Under: Solar Inverters, Solar Panel Technology, Solar Panels Tagged With: , , , ,
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