Posts By Anthony Bennett On SolarQuotes

Your EV Has A 12 Volt Battery – It Can Stop You Dead

very old battery charger for a car

Some standards live forever. That’s a 100-year-old battery charger with a glowing valve rectifier maintaining an EV.

Running late on the morning school run? That’s when problems tend to hit. Even with two EVs and a PHEV in the driveway, I’ve learned flat 12v batteries are still a problem, and keeping a few tools handy can save the day. Let me show you why charging a flat 12v battery can be quicker than shifting the kids’ car seats into a new car.
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Nerd Alert! Crunching the Numbers on the New 1000V Solar Standard

40kW solar array on a house roof

Whilst we usually try to make our blog posts understandable to almost anyone, this post will get technical, as I show, with numbers, why the new 1000-volt limit for residential solar makes life better for installers and homeowners alike.
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Why Solar Tilt Frames Can Still Make Sense In 2024

angled frame for solar panels

We’re headed back to the future, despite the stamp, this was a frame for 1kW in December 2007

When the Earth was young, feed-in tariffs were 44 cents, and solar panels were $5 per watt, we spent lots of time building angled frames, facing them in exactly the right direction for maximum yield. These days, with bargain panels wholesaling for under $0.25 per watt, you just buy more of them. So, are angled frames dead? I think not, but let’s explore why. [Read more…]

AS4777.1 Updated! A Thousand Reasons To Love New Standards

AS/NZS Standard 4777.1

Australian Standards are too expensive, so we buy them from across the dutch.

Solar installers have a love hate relationship with the Australian standards. But with this week’s update of the solar inverter standard AS4777.1 there’s reasons to celebrate. Read on as I explain how raising the residential solar voltage limit to 1000 Volts DC helps put more solar on your roof and more AC power into your switchboard.

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Moving House? Best Leave The Battery Behind

battery moving house

While it’s not a hard and fast rule, my advice for home battery owners who are moving house is this: once they’re installed, batteries are better value staying put. While batteries are expensive, moving them is doubly so. [Read more…]

SA Newsflash – They’re Messing With Solar Today

SA Power Networks Notice

An Industry update from SA Power Networks – That Should Go To Customers

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Tesla’s EV Charger Problems Have Been Sorted in SA

Tin Man peering at an EV charger lead

Some weeks ago, I was asked a simple question; Can the cheap, simple, popular Tesla Wall Connector home EV charger still be installed in South Australia? It turns out the answer is yes, but read on, and we’ll explain why we had serious doubts.

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Battery Ready in 2024: The Good The Bad & The Obsolete

tesa powerwall, gateway and 2 sungrow inverters

It’s been eight years since SolarQuotes first talked about what to look for in “battery-ready” solar power systems. A lot has changed since then, and many of you have been asking for an update. [Read more…]

Corrosion Alert: Why Solar Panels On Galvanised Roofs Are Bad News

galvanic corrosion of a roof caused by solar

Galvanised roofs with aluminium-framed solar panels attached will rust. Read on, and I’ll explain why this happens, what to do if you already have a galvanised roof, and how to buy a shiny metal roof that won’t rust when you add solar panels.
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How To End The CEC’s Monopoly On Solar Approvals

For many years, the Clean Energy Council (CEC) has been the gatekeeper approving which solar products can connect to the grid in Australia. As an installer, I assure you many of my boots-on-the-roof colleagues are keen to remove that responsibility from the CEC. Strap in while I explain why.
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