Another 5,000 rebates are available for eligible apartment, unit and townhouse residents to install solar power systems under the third round of Victoria’s $32 million Solar for Apartments program. [Read more…]
Australia’s 2035 Emissions Target: Home Electrification
A 2035 emissions target range has been set for Australia and plans to achieve it unveiled. So, what’s on the cards for home electrification? [Read more…]
Sticker Overload: When Safety Theatre Kills Productivity
A battery covered in stickers.
Last month, the Government hosted a Productivity Summit. Tristan Edis summed it up in one brutal line:
“If introducing a road user charge for electric vehicles is the best we can do out of the Productivity Summit, then God help this country.”
New Solar Victoria Warranty Requirement Kicking In
When the calendar flips over to the new month next week, there’s an added warranty requirement for solar power and hot water systems installed under Victoria’s Solar Homes Program. [Read more…]
Myth-Busting Australia’s Solar Panel Rebate
Learn how Australia’s solar panel rebate works and how to avoid heartache, headaches and hip pocket pain by recognising shonky ads. [Read more…]
Post-Election Home Electrification: Solar Batteries And Beyond
Democracy sausages have been devoured, ballots cast and (mostly) counted, and the people have spoken. Discover what’s ahead for home electrification support in Australia under another round of Labor. [Read more…]
Phase Shift: This Election, The Energy Story Was All Wrong
As an ex-pommie, compulsory voting still feels a bit odd to me.
Skip it and you’ll cop a $20 fine — more than it costs to fill your EV on off-peak electricity.
What’s really strange, though, isn’t the voting. It’s the energy policies on offer — and how little they match what the major parties claim to believe.
[Read more…]
Federal Election: The Coalition’s Plan For Cuts
While Labor banked on battery incentives, on the eve of the election the Coalition announced plans for cuts to a range of home electrification programs. Here’s what was facing the axe.
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.
[Read more…]
How To Kill Friends And Electrocute People: Wiring Without An Electrical Licence
So you’d like to be an electrician? Here’s half your required reading…
Australia’s conservative electrical licencing laws mean there’s really not much a homeowner can DIY, beyond changing light globes or rewiring a ceramic fuse (if your switchboard hasn’t been upgraded since the the 1960s). Some people decry this as ‘the nanny state gone mad’, but I have to point out the law isn’t as silly as some of the wiring I’ve encountered. [Read more…]
Currently Raging Debates: