Posts By Ronald Brakels, Author & Fact-Checker At SolarQuotes

Solar For Renters? Landlords & Tenants Share The Benefits with ‘Matter’

July 11, 2017 2017-10-19T10:25:18 by 21 Comments
rental property without solar

Have you ever noticed that rental properties almost never have solar?

Australia has the lowest cost rooftop solar in the world, plenty of sunshine, and because we are heading towards having the most expensive pre-tax grid electricity in the world, solar is a must have for almost anyone who owns a roof.

But over the past 11 years Australian home ownership has fallen from 70% to around 66% and since it costs over a million bucks to buy a butterbox in Sydney, this figure isn’t likely to improve any time soon.  This means one-third of the Australian population is locked out of owning rooftop solar. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Innovations

Channel 9’s Battery BS

July 7, 2017 2018-05-09T08:13:42 by 29 Comments
9 news and batteries

Channel 9 recently aired a segment with some very wild claims about battery payback.

“Hey everybody!  Is your cornflake bill getting you down?  Tired of spending a fortune on flaked corn?  Want to slash your monthly cornflake bill down to zero?  Well now you can, with the new Ron-Man Cornflake Storage Device.  This compact unit is capable of fitting inside a single car garage and holds a 10 year supply of cornflakes.  We guarantee you will never have to pay for another cornflake again for 10 whole years.  That’s right!  Free cornflakes for a decade!  All you need to do is pay $12,000 up front for the unit and a $1 a day cornflake management fee.  Who would have guessed free cornflakes could cost so little?” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage

Clean Energy Council Accredited Installers, Approved Retailers, And Members: What’s The Difference?

July 4, 2017 2023-12-04T10:31:01 by 13 Comments
3 types of CEC affiliate

The CEC has 3 levels of affiliation, members, installers and approved retailer. What is the difference?

The Australian Clean Energy Council, or CEC, is Australia’s peak body for solar and other renewable energy. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With:

P-Type And N-Type Solar Cells’ Excellent Electron Adventure

June 29, 2017 2017-12-18T13:07:26 by 7 Comments
p-type and n-type

Do you know the difference between a P-Type and N-Type solar cell, duuuuuude?

When it comes to material for making solar cells, silicon is the most bodacious of all the elements.  Its market share is an excellent circa 97%1.  If you want solar PV, there is next to no choice other than silicon.  However, there is more than one type of silicon cell, which is fortunate for people who enjoy faffing about when deciding what to buy. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With: ,

China’s Plan For Solar World Domination: The ‘Top Runner’ Program

June 27, 2017 2017-06-27T14:37:47 by 6 Comments
Chinese dude holding a solar cell

China’s Solar Top Runner Program – What The Hell Is It?

China is the world leader when it comes to manufacturing and installing solar panels.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With: ,

SimpliPhi Battery Review: Highly Reliable Storage From The USA

June 20, 2017 2017-10-30T09:51:50 by 22 Comments

It is currently popular for all the cool kids to be down on the chances of the United States remaining a driving force in world history.  People are saying it has lost its way and only faces turmoil now Batman has passed away and Seinfeld has refused to hug Kesha.

But I have faith in the land that gave us Jim Henson and Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream.  I think America still has plenty to offer the world.  Sure, maybe nothing as good as Muppets and Chunky Monkey, but still some pretty neat stuff. For example, SimpliPhi batteries. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With:

Phono Introduces MWT Panels:  A Dotty Idea For Improving Efficiency

June 14, 2017 2017-06-23T15:42:52 by Leave a Comment
robin and a phono MWT solar panel

Phono Solar have only gone and drilled holes in their new solar panels…

If you want a solar cell to produce electricity then it’s important to let the sunshine in.  Specifically, into the solar cell.  Not letting the sunshine in is a bad idea.  Despite how very important this is, most solar cell manufacturers place a fine metal wire grid on top of their cells that blocks around 5% to 6% of sunlight falling on them, for no other reason than they don’t work without it.  It appears the metal grid is necessary to make electrical contacts required for current to flow. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With: , ,

Beware of Blended Payback: Solar Pays For Itself But Batteries Don’t Yet.

June 6, 2017 2017-06-23T15:44:05 by 57 Comments
a solar panel, a battery and a blender

We are seeing a lot of battery companies only quoting the payback of solar and batteries combined. But adding batteries makes payback worse. So always compare the payback of just solar.

I want you to know I have a great investment for you.  Believe me, it’s great.  I have all the best investments.  Trust me — it’s yuge!  If you invest in the Ronald Trump fund you will get an average return of over 4%.  I guarantee it!1  Just hand over your money and you’ll start making money!

What’s that?  You want me to actually explain what I will do with your money?  Trust me, you don’t want to worry your pretty little head about that!

What?  You do want to worry your pretty little head about that?  Alright then, what I will do is take your money and invest it in the Australian stock market.  Then each year I will take all the dividends and all the capital gains and I will reinvest half and I will take the other half in the form of $50 notes and burn them.  It will be great!  In 10 years you can have over a 50% return!

Wait a minute!  Calm down!  You say you don’t want me to burn half the money your investment makes?  I don’t understand why you are complaining.  You will still come out ahead! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With:

Does Rooftop Solar Hurt The Have Nots?

June 1, 2017 2023-01-31T11:42:29 by 12 Comments
a poor mother paying for a prince's solar

Do solar rebates result in the poor subsidising the rich?

If you spend a significant amount of time on the internet, which I can’t recommend as it is a silly place, then you may have come across people who claim rooftop solar is an enormous scam that depends on government subsidies unfairly taken from those who can’t install it, or choose not to. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: ,

When Electricity Price Hikes Don’t Improve The Economics Of Batteries

May 30, 2017 2017-11-01T19:43:26 by 16 Comments
batteries and bills

Do rising electricity prices always improve the economics of batteries? No. Read on to discover why. (And don’t stand on your roof without wearing an approved safety harness – especially if you are balancing giant golden scales on your head.)

I’ve already written on how electricity prices are set to rise substantially.

Because Australians will soon have to shell out like an evicted hermit crab when it comes to grid power, both the good and bad mainstream media are declaring that rising power costs make buying batteries more attractive.

Unfortunately for fans of shock boxes this is unlikely to be the case. Counter-intuitive I know. But bear with me. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Electricity Prices Tagged With: ,
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