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…]
“Direct Action” is nothing more than a sideshow. Do you agree?
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…]
The World Solar Challenge ended in my hometown of Adelaide on Sunday. So I took the kids into town for a close up look at the weird and wonderful solar cars:
Unfortunately the team I had gone to barrack for (from my old stomping ground, Cambridge University Engineering Dept), managed to roll the car on the first day so they had to withdraw. Bummer!
Cambridge University’s entry was a little unstable.
Is your roof good for solar?
Imagine you walk in a shoe store and the shop assistant immediately starts measuring your head with a tape measure. You’d think she was mad, wouldn’t you? And you’d be right, of course. Sometimes the basics are just self-evident.
If you need shoes, all the information you need is right there at the bottom of your legs. Same with solar power.  No reason to start anywhere but right up there on your roof.
And there are 3 questions about your roof that you have to answer right away before we move on to anything more advanced. And you’ll soon see why…
JFK talking about the space effort at Rice University in 1962 Pic: jfklibrary.org
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American to the moon and back before the end of the decade. No one had any idea if it was even possible. The technology needed had yet to be invented. Now that’s what I call visionary leadership.
Next month will be the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination. What a stark contrast JFK is to the current crop of pollies in Australia (and most of the world for that matter).
If we are to have any hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change in our children’s lifetimes we desperately need a politician or two with JFK’s vision to take charge. [Read more…]
Are Munchen Panels German or Chinese or Both?
Recently I’ve been getting a lot of emails along the lines of:
Hey Finn, Have you ever heard of Munchen Solar Panels? Are they any good? I really want “German Engineered” Panels and these look better than any of that Chinese engineered rubbish!
Well, the short answer is this: “Munchen Solar? Never heard of them. (and btw there are some great Chinese panels out there..)”
But after the quadzillionth email asking the same thing, I thought I’d do some digging to try and discover why there is a sudden spike in interest for these I’ve-never-heard-of-them-before German sounding solar panels. [Read more…]
Customer ratings from over 11,000 reviews revealed!
Since I started this humble website back in 2009 (when solar panels cost $1000 each!), over 11,000 solar powered Aussies have kindly left reviews of their solar installation experience online for all to see.
At the time of writing SolarQuotes.com.au has 11,341 reviews of 875 different solar companies online.
So I thought it was about time we had some fun, and do some analysis to discover the top-rated solar companies (as rated by their customers).
Our American friends may get dirt cheap Nike runners, Levis jeans and iTunes downloads compared to us Aussies, but at least we can get some comfort from the fact that our solar systems are a helluva lot cheaper than theirs!
This infographic from those nice people at US site lineshapespace.com does a great job of spruiking the benefits of solar power, but also gives an insight into just how cheap Aussie solar is.
A big part of the price discrepancy is that the permit system for solar power is a bureaucratic nightmare in America. If you buy a 3kW solar system in the US you could pay $12,000 for it, of which $3,000 is permit paperwork! Compare that to about $5,000 in Australia of which about $0 is permit paperwork. In most states in Oz your installer simply fills in a 2 minute form online and gets ‘permission to connect’ within a day or so.
Here;’s the lovely infographic in all its glory – just be aware that the prices only apply to the US! [Read more…]
If you’ve opened any South Australian newspapers recently you’ve probably seen adverts from solar power installers screaming about the “IMMINENT REDUCTION IN THE SOUTH AUSTRALIA FEED IN TARIFF!!!”.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m not one to bombard you with pushy sales spiel, or use impending rebate cuts to pressure anyone into buying solar.
But what I will do is calmly go through the facts about the looming SA Feed In tariff reduction, and crunch a few numbers, so you can decide if you want to get in on the SA solar action before the 30 September 2013 deadline that a lot of solar companies are getting all worked up about.
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