Which One Of These Statements About Solar Power Is False?
- The Hotter it is the More Energy Your Solar Panels Will Produce
- If Your Roof is Shaded, You Should Simply Buy Shade-Tolerant Panels
- You Should Never Touch A Solar Panel Made In China
Give up?
They’re all false.
I didn’t ask you that question to make you feel uninformed (or to show off how smart I am). I asked you that question because all three of those (seemingly true) statements are spouted every day by shonky solar salespeople trying to hoodwink honest Australian homeowners like you.
Those are 3 of their go-to myths.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I love solar power, and I think it is a great investment for most homeowners right now. In fact I consider it my personal quest to clear up the BS and give you the truth about solar energy.
So, I’ve put together this list for you:
Six Things You’ve Heard About Solar That Are Mostly Bulls&*t
Solar Power BS #1: “The profit margins in solar power combined with the government rebate make it a money-printing scam for all installers.” It does, but only for some installers.
The Truth: The profit margins in solar power make it a money-printing scam for the WORST installers.
The Truth explained: For solar power installers who are in it for the long run – the reputable, honest, hard-working ones who know what they are doing – the margins are not astronomical by any means.
The good guys have to do things that all REAL business do: hire staff, train staff, buy the latest technology and equipment, pay 10% GST, put aside money for warranty claims, and buy quality solar panels, inverters, and mounting rails from manufacturers who maintain Australian offices.
All of these things cut deeply into their markup. Of course, they are making a profit or they wouldn’t be able to stay in business, but the ones who do it right are not ‘cranking out hundred dollar notes like counterfeiters’.
I’ve made it my personal quest to separate the solar energy wheat from the chaff. It’s my thing. If you use my service I only refer you to installers on my books whom I trust to look after you. If I wouldn’t recommend them to my mum, I won’t recommend them to you.
If you want to get 3 quotes from installers I trust who serve your area, just click here.
Solar Power BS#2: “Solar Power is Free Energy”
With the government rebates you can often get “cash flow positive” fast, but let’s be clear – it is not free. You do have to pay the upfront (or finance) costs of a quality system to get the benefit of electricity from the sun.
When I hear anyone say something is free…or that the government is paying for some of it…alarms and whistles and sirens and bells starting screeching in my head, and nightmare visions with titles like “The Next Home Insulation Fiasco” start to run through my brain.
The Truth: Most homeowners, even after rebates, will need to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,000-7,000 out of pocket to get a GOOD 5kW system installed by a reputable installer.
The Truth Explained: The “free” part happens later. Depending on how much electricity you use and when you use it, you can often be cashflow positive very quickly. And you can have a substantially lower cost of living in a few years by hugely reducing your reliance on the electricity companies.
For an example of cash flows, just go here
It’s not free, but for many people it IS a good investment. Especially over time. That’s the key. The really big benefits come the longer you have solar power. That’s why it’s so important to choose a good installer and get a system that will last long enough to pay for itself over and over again.
If you go with a “cowboy”, you might actually start out with a “so cheap it’s almost free” system. Then, if it falls apart in less than 3 years, you’ll be out thousands of dollars.
Listen, I don’t trust the government any farther than I can throw them. But whether you trust them or not…why not claim thousands in rebates while they are still available if you believe solar power is right for you and family?
If you want to get 3 quotes and see how to claim your solar rebate just click here.
Solar Power BS#3: “You should never buy Chinese panels…they all suck.”
There’s a lot of anti-Chinese sentiment out there these days. And frankly, I think a lot of it is downright racist. But the fact that China churns out a lot of products that do not require highly-skilled labor, does not mean that all their products are crap. That’s just ridiculous.
Want a few examples?
My iPhone: Made in China.
My Macbook Pro: Made in China
And the same is true with solar panels. There are solar factories in China that deliver some of the highest quality panels available. Trina and JA Solar are just a couple of panel brands with impeccable reputations for quality.
Solar Power BS#4: “Shading can be assessed by someone sitting in an office staring at your roof on Google Maps.”
If you have anything at all shading your roof, you have a shade problem that needs to be properly assessed.
There are three ways an installer can judge the shade on your roof and let you know what’s best for you.
Two ways are BS and one is the mark of a professional installer. Let’s see if you can tell which is which…
METHOD ONE: Installer looks up at your roof and says “Yep, you have a very shaded roof. You need shade tolerant panels”
METHOD TWO: Installer looks up at your roof and says “Yep, looks good. Those branches won’t cause much of a problem”.
METHOD THREE: Installer goes up on your roof and does a full solar site analysis, including snapping a photo with a special fish eye lens camera that automatically analyzes your roof shade and provides you with data about how much sunlight your roof will receive over the course of a year.
To see an example of this fish eye lens camera, the photos it takes, and how it crunches the numbers, go here.
As I say in the blog, if you think you have shading issues and your installer does anything short of this full analysis, he’s making a “Wild Ass Guess”. Another word for that is “Bulls&*t”.
Even with the government incentives, a solar power system is still a major purchase and you should evaluate all the evidence you can before deciding.
Solar Power BS#5: Solar Power Will Save the Planet
I suppose some would call me a “Greenie”. Hey, I call myself that sometimes.
Like most Aussies, I love the outdoors, the sunshine and the surf. I’m deeply grateful for the beauty and majesty of our planet. It pains me when I see it being brutalised, plundered or wasted in the name of laziness or greed.
And I do believe that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the earth’s resources. I believe that a lot of the political and economic tension that our world currently faces could be reduced with more responsible use of the limited resources we have at our disposal.
And I believe solar power will play a central role in an improving the relationships with our political neighbors and our natural world.
But, I don’t believe solar electricity is the answer to all of our problems. I don’t believe solar power is the great savior of our planet. I don’t believe solar energy is right for everyone. I don’t believe we should make too big a deal of solar power.
Why not? Because it’s too easy.
And easy answers are usually a cop-out. The refuge of the lazy and the uninspired.
Solar power is a large part of the answer. It might be part of the answer for your home. But it is not the WHOLE answer. When solar electricity is combined with other energy-saving strategies, its power is multiplied and magnified. If not, it simply becomes a “let’s throw money at it and hope it goes away” solution.
In fact, as I pointed out in my series of energy saving tips, most homeowners could cut their energy consumption by 30-40% by doing simple things around their home WITHOUT even installing solar power. Things that don’t cost thousands of dollars to implement. When these practical, simple steps that address how we live day to day are combined with solar electricity, then you get the HUGE benefits that really make a difference and might actually save the planet.
Solar power is a great idea for many Australian homeowners and businesses and the government (yes, the Liberal government!) is making it very attractive for you right now, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a cure-all for the world’s energy ills. Solar energy has a very important role to play, but it is only PART of the solution.
Solar Power BS#6: The hotter it is, the more energy your solar panels with produce.
This is a very common misconception.
It is true that warmer, sunnier climates are better for solar power. Australians live in one of the solar-friendliest nations on the planet. We are a blessed people when it comes to good old sunshine.
SUBTLE SOLAR POWER SECRET:
But too much sun, and excessive heat, can actually reduce the amount of power produced by your panels. It all has to do with what’s known in the solar power industry as the “Max Power Temperature Coefficient”.
That sounds high tech and geeky, but it’s actually very simple, and the coefficient can be found on every panel’s specification sheet.
In simplest terms, for each degree above 25C, solar panels lose a small percentage of their energy-generating capability. Some panels lose more than others.
If you are considering solar panels and would like to know the MPTC of the panels you’re looking at, just go here. I’ve listed over 150 models.
And that’s the 6 solar lies I promised you. I hope they help clear up some of the BS surrounding solar power so you can utilise solar electricity in your home with confidence.
Happy solar hunting!
Finn Peacock – Founder: SolarQuotes.com.au
Questions or concerns? Contact me here