The best way to heat your home is with a reverse cycle air conditioner. This is true whether your goal is to save money or save the planet. In this article, I’ll explain no matter how crap your air conditioner is, you’re likely to be financially better off using it for heat instead of gas. [Read more…]
I’ve been given a mission. It’s to determine how much money a home can save using a battery with a time-of-use tariff in every Australian capital. Â
This isn’t easy to do. [Read more…]
The ACT’s Sustainable Household Scheme will soon be in full operation. It makes zero-interest, zero-fee loans available to households for rooftop solar, batteries, electric car chargers and energy efficiency measures such as replacing gas appliances. In the future, it will be available for new and used electric vehicles. [Read more…]
On October 1st, Australia’s National Electricity Market is changing from 30-minute to 5-minute settlement.
In this article, I’ll explain exactly what Australian households need to do to prepare for this event. [Read more…]
At the moment we’re locked down in Adelaide. Because I’m no longer able to smuggle badgers across the border in my beard as I’d planned, I’m catching up on stuff I should have written about weeks or months ago.Â
One of these things is the PVEL 2021 Module Reliability Scorecard report that came out in May. While I’ve been tardy bringing it to your attention, it’s far too interesting to let slip by. [Read more…]
If you have a home battery, a time-of-use tariff can save you money.Â
How much depends on…
SA homes are not required to have a time-of-use retail electricity tariff when getting solar
Last week I heard from a South Australian concerned they’d be forced onto a time-of-use tariff after installing solar panels.Â
Since this was at the start of the new financial year, my initial response was, “Oh god! What are the electricity retailers doing now?”
Ninety-eight percent of the world’s solar cells are made from silicon. This is thanks to its suitability as a PV material and its low cost compared to alternatives. While the price of solar silicon has its ups and downs, the overall trend has been downwards. It reached a record low in June 2020. After taking inflation into account, it was around one-thirteenth of its 2007 price.Â
But the record low didn’t last, and over the past 12 months it has gone from under $7 US per kilogram to over $28 US. In relative terms, this has been the largest solar silicon price increase in history.   [Read more…]
New aircon energy rating labels! Are you excited? You should be…
The most energy-efficient and cost-effective way to heat your home is to use your reverse-cycle air conditioner. Even the least efficient aircon uses far less energy than electric resistance heating. But buying the least efficient air conditioner is a bad idea. You’ll be better off with a highly efficient one — or at least the most efficient one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. [Read more…]
Texas provides a great example of how not to treat electricity consumers during a heatwave.
Last week Texas suffered through a stinking hot heatwave.
And just like the polar vortex five months ago, we saw an excellent example of villainous electricity retailer behaviour we must never allow in Australia. [Read more…]
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