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Samil Power Inverters: The Hyundai of the Solar Industry?

June 29, 2012 by 6 Comments
a list of inverter and car brands

Solar Infographic : If Inverters were Cars…

The current edition of industry bible “Photon Magazine” (June 2012 issue) has a glowing review of the Chinese made Samil Power Solar Lake 15kW inverter.

A couple of years ago if you were investing in a 15kW solar system your default choice would have been a European inverter – think SMA, Aurora or Delta. It would have been a very brave engineer that specced a Chinese inverter on such a big system!

However in a few short years the Chinese have learned from any mistakes made and are producing some world class solar inverter hardware.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters Tagged With: ,

Solar Quote of the Week!

June 26, 2012 by 3 Comments

Filed Under: Solar Quote of The Week

Solar brings down electricity prices says report

June 25, 2012 by 1 Comment
pylons

Without solar – wholesale electricity would be more expensive.

Last week we here at SolarQuotes HQ we were thrilled to bring you news of a major CSIRO report which found that solar energy intermittency — defined as when cloud cover causes a reduction in the efficiency of energy drawn from the sun — can be successfully managed.

To the great consternation of solar critics and the delight of solar fans, the major study found that, not only could proper management techniques limit the problem of solar intermittency, but it could also contribute to solar energy taking its rightful role as a major energy source in Australia.

This week we’d like to follow up that with another cracker study: this time from the REC Agents Association (RAA). According to this report, the increased takeup of solar by Australian consumers has contributed to a reduction in power consumption and a lowering of wholesale electricity prices across the National Electricity Market. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Electricity Prices Tagged With: ,

Solar intermittency can be managed: CSIRO report

June 18, 2012 by 1 Comment
Sun and clouds

Do those pesky clouds mean we can’t use solar as base load power?

One of the chief criticisms fossil fuel narks level against solar power is its alleged inability to provide baseload power. This is defined as the minimum amount of energy needed over a 24 hour period to satisfy the utility’s customers. What about cloud cover? This is the critics’ plaintive cry and rallying point as they call for further subsidies for their beloved, earth-destroying coal and oil fuelled energy sources.

They have a point though, what of cloud cover (known as solar intermittency) reducing solar’s effectiveness? According to the aforementioned narks, solar power is unable to provide energy reliability due to this factor preventing the full exploitation of the sun’s energy potential and therefore cannot be considered a reliable form of energy. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Australia Tagged With: , ,

How to work out if your solar system is performing properly.

June 12, 2012 by 10 Comments
a ruler

Stop guessing, start measuring!

I got an email from Dec in Melbourne this week who is very worried that his solar installers have sold him a lemon:

Hi Finn, Since my last email, my 4.0kw solar has been independently checked and I have been told it was found to be installed correctly. At this time it is producing only 1800w on a clear sunny day. It seems that no one has an answer as to why the production is low as the system is only producing an average of 7.2kwh/day. Do you have any idea as to what I can do to try and resolve this as I am really struggling with getting this sorted out.

So has Dec been sold a heap of junk? Is his solar system producing enough power for its size, location and the time of year (June) ? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Solar Power

Using social media to sell solar

June 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
liking solar on social media

We 'like' solar!

Solar fans who spend a lot of time on Facebook may have noticed how the number of pages with a solar energy theme have mushroomed over the past year or so. Whatever the concerns that may exist over Facebook’s looseness with personal security, and apparent inability to conduct a well-organised IPO, solar companies and other renewable organisations obviously feel it provides an excellent platform to promote the game changing qualities of renewable energy.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Solar Marketing Tagged With: ,

Can Aussie solar soar despite sorry policy options?

June 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment
a graph showing 94% vs 6%

Most Aussies Seem To Like Solar Power

A couple of renewable energy reports released recently have shown how important solar power is to the country and outlined (again) its major potential as an energy source. Unfortunately the studies also reveal how much our politicians still have a lot of catching up to do to reach the general consensus held by most Australians.

Firstly the results of the 100 Percent Renewable poll in which over 40 groups canvassed the opinions of around 12,000 Australians over renewable energy. The results were an extraordinary 94 percent of those polled believe that the government should do more to assist the construction of big solar plants in the country. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With:

RIP Ukki 1921-2012 (The most sustainable bloke I knew)

June 2, 2012 by 3 Comments
Ukki and Me in Finland

My Grandad (Ukki) and me in May 2011

This blog post is a tribute to my Finnish Grandad: Alvi Juppi (AKA Ukki) who died last month just short of his 91st birthday in Jormua, somewhere close to the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland.

What on earth has it got to do with Solar Power?

Glad you asked! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency