Posts By SolarQuotes Founder Finn Peacock

Is Solar Leasing a Better Option than Buying Outright?

usa and aussie flags

Should Aussies follow the American way when it comes to solar leasing?

Are Americans are getting their butts handed to them with long-term solar leasing? And what can us Aussies do to come out ahead?

It seems the suits perched in the top floor offices on Wall-Street are finally taking notice of solar energy.  And that could spell bad news for American consumers.

American energy firms like SolarCity, a growing solar-energy giant based out of California, have been offering long-term, relatively affordable leasing arrangements to consumers for years; either by financing the installation of panels or charging users by the kilowatt-hour and selling the remaining power back to the grid.

But those arrangements are about to get a whole lot more expensive now that they, and firms like them, are going public.  Why?  Because their shareholders, many of them massive hedge funds and banks, are demanding an American-sized profit which can only be attained through skyrocketing costs to consumers.    [Read more…]

New research shows most power bills are more than halved with solar.

Recent research by the Australian Solar Council shows that the average Aussie that has installed solar has seen an average 65% reduction in their power bills. And to pre-empt a gazillion comments – yes – this is achievable with a crappy Feed-In -Tariff too!  

They have produced a great infographic which sums up most of the benefits of solar that the anti solar brigade wish weren’t true. Here it is:

solar infographic

The joys of solar power. Cue solar nark’s teeth gnashing!

 

Discover How Micro Inverter Solar Panels Cope With Shade

As a true solar geek, I can’t think of anything better to do at 7:30 on a Friday evening, than log in to my solar panel monitoring system.  While most folks are settling down to Friday Night Footy, you’ll find me checking out how much power my 6kW of micro inverter solar panels are producing as the last rays of evening sun scatter across my roof.

As I logged in tonight to see a respectable 1.2kW being pumped out, I noticed that the monitoring system was providing a great example of one of the benefits of microinverter technology.

If you have a gander at the live monitoring screenshot below you’ll see that I’ve highlighted the position of my wood burner’s flue and the approximate shadow it casts as the sun goes down.

solar panel monitoring

The red circle is my flue. I’ve drawn on its 7:30pm shadow.

[Read more…]

Chinese Sopray, Risen and ET solar panels come top in German testing.

chinese panels and a trophy

China win #1 solar panel for 2013 (although US firm Sunpower was robbed!)

Note: this post was written in 2014 and is out-of-date. To get my latest recommended solar panel brands please read my constantly updated Solar 101 Guide.

Hot off the German Press: industry bible Photon Magazine has announced the winners of its 2013 solar panel test. Basically, a bunch of Germans in white coats mount a gazillion solar panels in a field in Germany and measure their power output over 12 months.

At this point, I must point out that 3 separate Sunpower models would have won all of the top 3 spots, but they had to remove them from the table due to a testing machine malfunction…so it is by no means a totally fair test. But it is useful to see which brands perform well despite this rare cock up from our German friends.

So here here are the top 20 for 2013: [Read more…]

If your Chinese solar panels are not on one of these lists, be careful!

chinese solar panels

Some Chinese panels are top quality. But which ones?

A lot of people are wary of Chinese solar panels. China doesn’t exactly cover itself in glory with some of the low quality junk it manufactures. But, as I have said many times before, China also produces some fantastic quality stuff.

Need examples? I bet the device you are reading this blog on was made in the People’s Republic. The Macbook Pro I am writing it on certainly was and it is impeccably put together (the laptop – not the blog!). [Read more…]

Micro Inverters vs. String Inverters [infographic]

I’ve had a lot of people ask me about the pros and cons of microinverters recently.  I have written a long and detailed description of microinverters, but for those who would rather learn about them without ploughing through 1000 words of my ramblings (and who can blame you!) I created this infographic about micro inverters vs string inverters. Hope you like it 🙂

microinverters pros and cons - infographic

Micro inverters vs. String Inverters (AKA Central Inverters)

 

 

Are Microinverters Worth It? Well, I’m loving mine so far…

tindo microinverter monitoring

On 26th Nov my microinverter monitoring showed 45kWh generated. Woo Hoo!

Microinverters… In my experience, Aussie solar installers either love ’em or hate ’em. Seriously! I honestly don’t think I’ve talked to an installer that is indifferent to them.

[Read more…]

8 things to look out for when buying cheap solar panels

There are a hell of a lot of companies offering cheap solar panels right now, and as with all free markets, that is driving down the prices and the margins of solar power installers and suppliers.

The question I get asked the most is this:

“How do I tell if this deal from XYZ solar (which is heaps cheaper than anyone who quoted through your site) is too good to be true?”

So here’s your answer: [Read more…]

Why the government’s direct action sideshow is a joke

An infographic showing why the government's direct action sideshow is a joke.

“Direct Action” is nothing more than a sideshow. Do you agree?

[Read more…]

How to unlock a great solar payback (even with crappy rebates).

solar panels and a key

The key to good solar payback is system sizing.

Occasionally I venture out of my straw-bale, solar passive eco-cave and meet real people, in person instead of over the interwebs. When they inevitably ask me the standard icebreaker “what do you do?” and hear that I’m in “solar power”, the usual response is: “Oh – that must be a tough industry, now that the rebates / buy back rates have all ended?”.

The reality seems to be that most people who don’t work in the solar industry seem to use the words “rebate” and “feed in tariff” interchangeably. And who can blame them? Both are essentially government cash handouts.

Of course the truth is that the Solar Rebate“, is actually still available through the Federal government. The government frowns upon anyone who calls it a rebate, preferring the term “Financial Incentive”. But all that really matters is that you can get about $700 off the upfront cost of every kW of solar you buy. For a typical 3kW, that’s a $2100 subsidy. [Read more…]

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