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.
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…]
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…]
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:
@Solar_Quotes Hi Finn, sorry to hear about this issue. Can we help? Pls call 131 245 (we’re open 24/7) & we’ll investigate ASAP. ~Gero
— AGL Energy (@aglenergy) January 19, 2015
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…]
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…]
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:
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…]
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…]
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…]
Sunpower & Solarbridge sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G
A lot of Aussie solar installers really dislike microinverters. In fact many refuse to install them.
The main reason is a fear of inverter failure. The reasoning goes something like this: [Read more…]
Innovation in solar never ceases to amaze me. But I can’t decide if this particular innovation is genius or totally nuts.
US solar panel manufacturer Lumeta Solar have announced a new 175W solar panel design that is super thin, with no frame, a junction box on top instead of underneath, and get this: double sided sticky tape on the back. The idea is that you simply peel the backing off the tape and stick the panel to the roof.
Lumeta Solar Panels stick on to the roof with adhesive. (Pic: Lumeta Solar)
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