Pop quiz! What’s more important when it comes to buying an air conditioner?
- (a) Cooling efficiency
- (b) Heating efficiency
- (c) Purple monkey dishwasher
About Ronald BrakelsJoining SolarQuotes in 2015, Ronald has a knack for reading those tediously long documents put out by solar manufacturers and translating their contents into something consumers might find interesting. Master of heavily researched deep-dive blog posts, his relentless consumer advocacy has ruffled more than a few manufacturer's feathers over the years. Read Ronald's full bio.
The Air Con Efficiency Rating You Should Really Care About
Fact Check: No, Smart Meters Won’t Cook You With Radiation
You can find plenty of claims online that smart meters are a health hazard or part of a sinister government conspiracy. I’ve had a look and found these claims to be false.
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Want Three Hours Of Free Power? You’ll Need A Smart Meter
Many Australians will have access to plans with three hours of free power from July, but there’s a catch: you’ll need a smart meter. This means there will be a stampede of people after them in a few months time. Here’s why getting your old analog meter upgraded now is a good idea.
Free Daytime Electricity Will Save Everyone Money — Including Renters
The government’s Solar Sharer Offer will make free electricity available for three or more hours around midday.
I’ve heard this called a dumb policy that won’t lower costs because it will just shift them around, causing people to pay more at other times and in other ways to make up for what they get for free. But this isn’t true!
Revealed: How Home Batteries Cut Over Ten Times The Emissions They Create
A Sungrow battery installed by I Want Energy.
Here are two facts about home batteries:
- Using a home battery reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
- Making and installing a home battery increases greenhouse gas emissions.
The good news is the first effect is much larger than the second. Pinning down how much home batteries reduce emissions isn’t easy, but I’m going to take a stab at it. Hopefully, by the time you get to the end of this post, you won’t want to take a stab at me.
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How Home Batteries Slash Carbon Emissions
A Sigenergy home battery installed by Stag Electrical Solar and Refrigeration ACT.
Home batteries lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Unless, of course, you’re a complete nutter and use a battery to deliberately raise them in an attempt to cook the planet. But this ruins the savings, so only a complete loony would try it.
Tesla Full Self Driving Is Terrifying & Exciting
I don’t mind admitting that I was recently taken for a ride — by a robot car. Tesla Full Self Driving (Supervised) has arrived in Australia, and it took me for a spin.
Hang Up For Good On Solar Telemarketers Interrupting Dinner
While I don’t consider myself particularly wicked, I still get little rest. For example, on Friday night, I was relaxing with my family in sub-tropical Queensland when we were interrupted by a solar telemarketer who so blatantly breached industry standards I put the police onto him.
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VPPs Have Pros & Cons — But Watch Out For The Cons!
Thanks to the federal battery rebate and multiple state incentives, many new battery owners will soon be wondering if they should join a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). While the pros can make it worthwhile, you have to look out for a huge list of cons before signing up.
Should You Take The Battery Rebate Bait And Join A VPP?
Today’s a big day for Virtual Power Plants (VPPs): a federal rebate for VPP-capable batteries is coming online, while two states are offering incentives that require joining one. So why are multiple layers of government teaming up to tempt you into handing over control of your battery to a VPP operator, and should you take the bait?
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