It’s only two months now since I wrote an article telling everyone in the world the product warranty for LG Solar’s NeON 2 panel was being extended from 12 years to 15. But if you were looking forward to to getting some NeON 2 solar panels and enjoying that sweet 15 year warranty, I’m afraid you’re out of luck because it’s no longer available. Instead you’ll just have to enjoy a massive 25 year product warranty as it has been extended by another 10 years. [Read more…]
Solar Payback Time For Each Australian Capital
The cost of rooftop solar continues to fall despite the fact that the Australian dollar has been falling too. It has been a while since I’ve harped on about how cost effective rooftop solar is, so I stayed up all night to make beautiful graphs of the simple solar payback time in every capital city. In other words I will show you how many years it will take the savings on your electricity bills to cover the cost of your solar power system. [Read more…]
Am I Breaking The Law If My Electricity Meter Runs Backwards?
Are you allowed to use newly installed solar to run your meter backwards?
If you have a very old electricity meter, a new rooftop solar installation can make that meter run backwards. But only if the solar power system is switched on before a new compatible meter is installed. [Read more…]
Huawei Inverter Review: There’s No Spying Going On Here!
Huawei were not allowed to bid for the NBN due to spying concerns. But their solar inverters look pretty good.
Huawei is a giant Chinese company and the world’s largest producer of solar inverters going by gigawatts of capacity. [Read more…]
Asking Origin How Long It Takes Them To Change An Electricity Meter: An 11 Step Process
Electricity meters are low cost, reliable devices that measure how much grid your home uses. Traditional meters need someone to come around and read them, but all new meter installations now have to be smart meters that transmit information wirelessly, making your human meter reader redundant. [Read more…]
Tesla Increases Cost Of Powerwall 2 To $9,600 — Not Including Installation
And you thought batteries were meant to be getting cheaper every year?
Sorry I’ve been slow in reporting this, but back in February Tesla raised the price of a Powerwall 2 in the United States by 400 Mickey Mouse dollars; an increase from US$5,500 to US$5,900. We’ve also copped it sweet here in Australia and the price has increased by $600 to $9,600 before installation. The only mitigating circumstance I can see is that all Tesla Powerwall 2 battery systems now come with full backup capability. It’s no longer an optional feature. [Read more…]
Powershop Removes Mystery About Reposit GridCredits
Powershop Reveals Dollar Value Of Reposit Payments For Exporting Battery Power To Grid During ‘Critical Peaks’
Reposit is a smart controller that helps households make more effective use of battery systems. One advantage Reposit provides is during certain — very limited — periods of time, you can be paid $1 for each kilowatt-hour of electricity your battery exports to the grid. Reposit calls these payments GridCredits. [Read more…]
Ronald Checks Out Electric Cars Part 2 — Range, Charging, And Trivia
Nine days ago I attended the Charge Together electric car event in Adelaide and scored some sweet electric rides. Last week I wrote about 5 specific electric cars and today I’ll describe what I learned about driving electric cars in general from their owners. I’ll cover range anxiety and how it’s not really a problem provided you get an electric car that suits your needs. I cover charging at home, at public charging stations, and even what to do when out-the-back-of-Burke and desperately seeking a charge. I’ll even cover a little bit of electric car history. [Read more…]
Jinko Maxim Panels With Cell String Optimization Will Not Be Sold In Australia
Bad news for fans of cheap panel level optimisation. Jinko MX solar panels are not coming to Australia.
Last Tuesday I went to Sydney to attend the Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition. I learned many things, one being that Jinko Maxim panels that use use cell string optimization — described in this article — will not be sold in Australia because they were unable to stop them interfering with television reception. [Read more…]
Ronald Checks Out 5 Electric Cars On The Streets Of Adelaide
Ronald attended the Charge Together electric vehicle event In Adelaide. Here’s what happened…
I attended an electric car event here in Adelaide on Sunday. I thought it was a reasonable thing to do as I’d recently written about how electric cars don’t result in more CO2 emissions than the typical petrol car. Because some people have made apples to oranges comparisons between the greenhouse gas emissions produced by, lower performance petrol cars and larger, higher performance electric cars when charged from the grid, it seemed like a good idea to see with my own eyes that these people aren’t being fair dinkum. [Read more…]
Currently Raging Debates: