Posts By SolarQuotes Founder Finn Peacock

Looking for a Tier 1 Solar Inverter? Sorry, no such beast!

April 22, 2015 2020-12-11T05:18:04 by 7 Comments
sma inverter

A good inverter is essential in the Australian sun.

Picking great inverters; Tier 1, 2 or 3?

Savvy solar customers are quickly realising that there is a very real difference between the quality of products and services you can find in the solar industry.

As a general rule, the old adage “you get what you pay for” generally holds true but the plethora of offers and solar companies can make selection tricky. Here at SolarQuotes I’ve helped make this choice a little easier by developing its own ranking system for installation companies.

But how do you choose a great inverter? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters Tagged With: ,

Abbott accepts gift of Coal Seam Gas well at Kirribilli House

April 1, 2015 2017-04-19T14:38:47 by 6 Comments
csg well at kirribilli house

Artists impression of the proposed well

1 April 2015: Tony Abbott announced today that he has accepted the ‘very kind’ gift of a free Coal Seam Gas Well to be installed on the front lawn of Kirribilli House.

The offer from the ‘Concerned Oil, Diesel & Gas Executives Rejecting Solar” (CODGERS) to come and frack every last molecule of gas from beneath his official Sydney residence was confirmed by the PM at a press conference this morning:

“Yes – I can confirm that I have accepted this very kind offer from the CODGERS.  I look forward to watching the fracking commence and coming home every night to that sweet, sweet smell of fugitive methane”

This comes just 2 weeks after Abbott rejected the offer of free solar panels + installation from a group of concerned Christians citing security concerns and cleaning costs (of $4 per panel per year).

When asked what he will do with all the fracked gas that the well will generate the PM responded:

“Great Question! It will be used to incinerate all the reams of paperwork lying around the place that aren’t needed any more. Like the RET & Carbon Tax legislation, the Kyoto Protocol and 80% of last year’s budget papers. I also want to get rid of the few remaining copies of the UN Convention on Human Rights that Scott Morrison couldn’t fit in the skip”.

 

Filed Under: Solar Policy

Why Are Solar Owners Charged GST On Money They Never Spent?

March 4, 2015 2017-04-19T14:41:26 by 25 Comments

I have a 6kW (24 panel) solar system on my roof.

My last quarterly electricity bill is here. The good news is that it was for only $33.60.

electricity bill including GST

My latest electricity bill. Notice how the GST is way more than 10%

The interesting thing is the breakdown of the $33.60. If you look at the bottom of the bill, I paid $12.68 in electricity charges but a whopping $20.92 in GST (highlighted in blue on the bill).

You don’t have to be great at maths to know that 10% of $12.68 is $1.27 not $20.92 [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With:

Fairfax Article Beating Up The Solar Industry is Scaremongering (but Greg Hunt still fell for it)

February 24, 2015 2017-04-19T14:42:12 by Leave a Comment
article screenshot

The Fairfax article published on 22 Feb 2015

The Fairfax papers’ coverage of the solar industry is usually spot on. But I think the latest article by Political Reporter Heath Aston is way off mark.

Greg Hunt must have salivated all over his iPad as he read the article yesterday morning. I can see him dribbling with delight at the rampant tales of rorted rebates and shonky solar systems.  And surprise, surprise: within a few hours of the article going live, Hunt announced:

“The poor installation of solar PV or installation of substandard solar PV has the potential to lead to fires with risks to property and human life. I’m sure you would agree that it is absolutely imperative that all panels installed must be of high quality and pose absolutely no threat to safety.”

I would like to ask Hunt how he thinks that it is possible to mandate that a piece of electrical equipment must “pose absolutely no threat to safety”. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: , , , , ,

How I got a $33 power bill with solar – even with a crappy 8c buy back rate

February 5, 2015 2019-09-16T11:35:08 by 173 Comments

Update: This post was written in 2015. It is still worth a read to understand how solar affects your bill – but if you want to browse all my recent bills you can do so here.

I got my quarterly electricity bill last week. It was $33. I was so happy that I tweeted AGL.

AGL’s reply is priceless:

I’m guessing AGL don’t get a lot of compliments on Twitter! I also posted a scan of my bill on SolarQuotes’ Facebook page:
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With: , , ,

If you want a 5kW solar system in QLD – consider getting it before March 1 2015!

January 30, 2015 2017-06-28T11:28:32 by 26 Comments
QLD map

Rules for installing solar in QLD change on March 1

****UPDATE****

On 12th Feb 2015 Ergon and Energex announced that they are extending this deadline from 1 March out to 30 September 2015.

*****************

The Queensland electricity networks (hello Ergon and Energex!) are a fussy bunch. At the time of writing (Jan 2015) if you want to install a standard grid connect solar system bigger than 5kW, you need to jump through all sorts of technical hoops. And then the networks may also insist that you install a box of electronics that stops any of your excess energy being exported. That’s right you have to waste any excess clean energy instead of letting your neighbours use it! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With:

3 Phase Solar Wars : The Menace of Phantom Imports.

January 14, 2015 2017-04-19T14:49:08 by 36 Comments
soalr wars

May the (electromotive) force be with you!

 

I’m thinking of writing a screenplay. The movie’s name is “3-Phase Solar Wars : The Phantom Imports”. Here’s the opening scene:

“Quite soon in the future, in a suburb not very far away….

 

It is a period of civil war. Solar owners, striking from over a million rooftops, have won their first victory against the evil Electricity Empire.

 

During the battle, these plucky rebel homeowners managed to get their electricity bills down so low that they are on the cusp of destroying an entire electricity retail industry.

 

But now the Empire’s sinister agents have a plan:

 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters Tagged With: , , ,

SA Power Networks’ Shonky Voltages Causing Headaches For Adelaide Solar Owners

December 29, 2014 2017-04-19T14:50:50 by 10 Comments
Most solar inverters will shut down at 257V.

Most solar inverters will shut down at 257V.

I’m getting reports that lots of solar owners in Adelaide have seen their inverters shut down over Christmas.

No, the inverters are not taking a break to eat mince pies and open their presents – they are shutting down because the grid voltage seems to be regularly going higher than 257V. Many inverters are designed to shut down when the grid gets this high, in order to protect the inverter electronics.

According to the Australian Standard (AS 60038-2012), the grid should be kept at 230V -6% / + 10%. So the highest it should get is 253V. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters Tagged With: ,

Why connecting your solar system to the grid is harder in NSW

December 23, 2014 2017-04-20T10:31:27 by 11 Comments
grid connect solar

What are the rules for connecting to the grid in NSW?

Australians love their rooftop solar and believe it or not, despite our relatively small population we have collectively installed more household solar systems than almost any other country in the world.

For consumers, it’s a no brainer but the electricity companies seem to be making things more difficult as time goes by. Is this justified and are their technical issues we need to understand as solar owners, or are they just profiteering?

The grid is a complex beast and the electricity industry is even more complicated, so the answer is ‘a bit of both’. In fairness to the utilities, and because I’ve had a heap of emails from frustrated NSW folks, I thought I would highlight the New South Wales Service Rules as one example of how technical issues need to be considered. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: ,

Solarmax Inverter Bankruptcy: What it means for Solarmax owners.

December 17, 2014 2017-04-20T10:33:07 by 18 Comments
solarmax logo

Solarmax have gone bust.

Bad news for fans of Solarmax inverters as its parent company, Sputnik Engineering, has just filed for insolvency.

Solarmax are a 20 year old Swiss inverter manufacturer who made fantastic quality inverters at a great price. It seems, with hindsight, that the price was a little too great!

If you were considering buying a Solarmax, then you should probably change brands so that your warranty is with a solvent manufacturer. Go for a big brand like SMA, Fronius, Sungrow, ABB, Zeversolar, Delta, Enphase or Solarbridge (feel free to leave any big brands I’ve missed out in the comments!)

If you already have a Solarmax on your home, then don’t panic! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters Tagged With: , ,
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