Hello folks,
My name is Max Opray, and I’ve just started in the new role of SolarQuotes editor. For over a decade I’ve been covering green energy as a journalist, and I’m thrilled to be enlisting with an organisation that has played such a key role in Australia’s solar revolution.
Across my career, I’ve reported on everything from how to phase out gas the same way we cut CFCs, to the homes with batteries hosting “blackout parties” in country Australia, to why home electrification doesn’t mean banning the barbeque, to the best ways to eliminate your sense of climate doom.
My appointment is part of a push by SolarQuotes to expand coverage to all things home electrification. As feed-in rates continue to fall, self-consumption is more important than ever to getting value out of rooftop solar, and we’ll be detailing how readers can soak up all that sun and use it to eliminate their gas and petrol bills entirely.
It’s a goal that resonates with me as I’m personally on something of a similar trajectory. After buying my first solar-appropriate home last year I went to SolarQuotes to get connected to three vetted installers in Adelaide, and opted in the end for DQ Electrical, who did a terrific job setting up my northwest-facing 10.4kW REC solar panel system (which has worked hand-in-glove with my Nissan Leaf EV to cut our electricity and transport expenses down nearly to zero).
All that’s left is my gas bill from hot water and cooking, so heat pumps and induction cooktops are next on the agenda. Finn’s latest video on hot water heat pumps is a great place to start if you’re on a similar mission.
I’ll be working with Finn and the rest of the team to refine our coverage without losing any of the rigour, technical expertise and colourful personality that has defined SolarQuotes to date. If you don’t believe me, see Ronald’s latest on the Dutch “meticulously torturing” solar panels — which for most of the edit made me feel like I’d slipped into a rather educational lucid dream.
If you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see SolarQuotes cover more of (or thinly veiled threats regarding what you don’t want to see changed at all), do let me know in the comments below.
Take care,
Max Opray
About Max Opray
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One of the best and simplest changes we made 25yrs ago was in our then new energy efficient solar orientated house was get an induction cooktop. We bought a couple of high quality fry pans (Scanpan) and a new induction compatible kettle so we could straight away start using our new cooktop.
We eliminated gas fumes in the kitchen and reduced bench top clutter. Our next house will certainly have an induction cooktop.A simple cost effective move to protect ourselves from gas fumes.
Heating and cooling mainly comes from air conditioning, also better than gas heating.
Welcome and good luck in the role. You have some very well informed readers and the not so well informed who are here to learn. Some can be tough customers even if well motivated. But by and large we are respectful and all focussed on the challenges we all face in the shift of our energy use to more renewable resources as well as reducing harm to the planet we share.
I guess the thing I value most is independence – which comes from a combination of experience, knowledge, character and focus. Too many sites are driven by money, influencers and influencing, glossy brochures, blinded by the shiny and new, government or company rules and regulations or PR campaigns. They often have a lack of courage to ask the tough questions and stand their ground when challenged – or for that matter, to admit it when they stand corrected. Not SolarQuotes.
Congratulations to Finn and the team on bringing SolarQuotes to the position it is in now. They have done an excellent job and deserve great credit as well as the many recommendations I have passed on to others. I trust you will continue the high standards they have established. And will continue the sometimes strange and well placed humour that adds a touch of lightness to the website.
Hi Max, welcome aboard. Don’t forget the old fashioned resistance HWS. Its much cheaper to buy and much more durable than a heat pump and perfectly legal in SA. (As such it is not something many in the industry push.) We turn ours on when our solar output is greater than 3.6kW (the input of the Rheem 315L unit) and even in winter it returns to maximum heated water capacity in under an hour.
The problem with resistance HWS is that it uses at least triple the energy of heat pumps, and in southern states Winter already has a much higher demand and solar generation is half that of summer. Once we electrify all of heating as well, winter demand will increase even further so we want to make the most of available efficiencies such as heat pumps.
Andrew J – I think Matthew B’s comment was made int he context of having solar resources on his roof that and a timer/controller that allows him to heat water when he can make use of excess solar.
I am also in that position and I don’t see the problem with resistive hot water if you have such a setup.
So if you have a big PV system then 3600W is no issue and on balance you’ll hit it most days.
However, for those not so lucky to hve a big system pull out the 3600W element and ask for a 10A 2400W alternate or even an 1800W element. It will be same physical size and fit in the same place and take 1/2 as long (or more with the 1800W element) again to heat, but for PV systems it means that you’ll hit the level needed to support the element much earlier, have spare PV for other things around the home when using it. No real advantage in using your PV system to run your water heater if when you flick the Kettle on for a brew, or do anything requiring electricity in the house and you then immediately pull from Grid. On ebay these are available for $30 or thereabouts.
I have a 15Yr old 6.5Kw system that now produces only 5.5kw due age related panel reductions and it has no issue providing PV heating and enough for pretty much everything else we do in the day.
If it takes all day to heat the water tank at 1800W then so what?
Andy
Thats a good point Andy. I hadn’t thought of that. Given that I should be thoughtful about when I use other high draw appliances in combination with the resistive heater, even though I have 9kw of panels on a 7.1kw inverter.
Cheers
Patrick
I’ve got a green catch diverter that I set on solar only and it sends All excess power instead of it going back to the grid for peanuts to the resistive hot water service even as little as 200 watts until the it heats up and the thermostat shuts it off hence its only costing you what you WOULD have got for sending it back to the grid in my case peanuts !!
I do think it is a state based thing. At this point, in Queensland with solar I couldn’t see a compelling reason to change to Heat Pump system as I have ample solar energy to heat a 2 restive element hot water systems.
“As feed-in rates continue to fall, self-consumption is more important than ever to getting value out of rooftop solar, and we’ll be detailing how readers can soak up all that sun and use it to eliminate their gas and petrol bills entirely.”
Smart adaptive Automation is the only way you can do that in a away that will absolutely lead to lower grid consumption and greater self consumption. Automation at a single appliance level can do things like time shifting loads but that might lead to lower impacts CO2 wise but with the tariff shenanigans in play as they are you wont/cant save money that way.
So, to me dealing with Smart Adaptive Automation like Home Assistant and its equivalents is essential if you want to tie together all your in home appliances, the PV system and in the future a Battery and an EV charger. Such approaches generally don’t require a lock in to brand X for everything and that’s good because as far as I know no single OEM covers that breadth. As such you need something that can see the big picture in your home (like Home Assistant or an equivalent alternate) and make the smart automated decisions needed at an appliance level to enable lower grid usage and greater self consumption.
However learning how to use and apply something like Home Assistant is scary and needs a great deal of your time and brain effort. That’s a unfortunate fact!
As such the people that will know it exists is high, and the number of people who have taught themselves and implemented it will be unfortunately low.
Articles and pointers to internet resources that can help people transition from simply knowing it exists in passing, to being able to implement and use imho would be useful.
I would also guess that the number of current licensed electricians who are an Essential part of this picture because they need to physically install some of this mains powered stuff is pretty low. I don’t know if its even taught to apprentice electricians currently.
Home Assistant is great.
I think blog posts/review on using technology to maximise self consumption is a great idea. Everything from Hot Water systems, Heating/Cooling, clothes dryers and dishwashers. Even optimising charging cycles for EVs and home batteries.
Hi Max and welcome to SolarQuotes!
I have been a keen follower of Finn’s work for many years now – I have heard his talks to the Alternative Technology Association – ATA – on two occasions. We were ATA members and supporters for many years.
We were early adopters for solar PV – well over 15 years ago I think. I have also been a strong supporter of sensible use of solar energy, going back to the late 1960’s in WA, when I used to help sell “Small’s Sola Heeta” at the Perth Royal Show!
We had Beasley solar HWS on two of our homes.
In our new 6-star home in the Clare Valley, we have a 5kW bank of PV panels charging a 12kWh bank of batteries, and are currently getting this updated to improve charge rate and storage.
New Idea:
We take delivery tomorrow of a 32kWh Radiant Heating Heatwave heat bank – which will be “charged” by excess solar energy instead of selling it for 4.5 cents per unit.
We believe this will greatly benefit us by reducing the need for wood usage in our slow-combustion heater.
Has this idea been adopted by other users? If not, I think it deserves serious consideration – a “heat-bank” is just another energy store – like a battery – much the same as a heat-pump HWS is.
I welcome your thoughts.
Cheers for now,
Peter
Gudday Max, and welcome to Solar Quotes.
As the new owner of a house that is the contender for ‘most difficult solar install’ award I’m considering a battery + inverter system, sans panels. I’ve signed up with Amber Energy and have been following their live pricing far too closely. (Don’t worry, the novelty is starting to wear off.) Seems there’s a case for buying cheap electricity between 08:00 and 15:00hrs and charging a battery bank for self-consumption the rest of the time.
Along the way I’ll be working towards a gas-free household like yourself and many others. (At this point I’m keeping my diesel 4WD as it has years of life left in it.)
I have an older friend who has recently moved into a retirement home. He’s since found the home won’t let him install solar panels so I expect there are plenty of people out there who could install batteries to possibly save on power bills?
So, this is my suggestion/request for a future article. “Battery installs without panels.”
Cheers,
Clive.
Hi Max,
A fresh message bearer can only help energise the program. With +1.5°C in 2023, +1.6°C in 2024, trending to +2°C by 2030, the bees in my bonnet say “Go for resilience first.” In my experience, that seems to maximise CO₂ emission reduction while minimising risk exposure. (See p74 of Jan 2025 Renew magazine.) And insulating and ditching gas have health benefits on top of economy and risk reduction.
Taking to heart, Tony Seba’s “Dimension renewable production for the trough”, a corollary of Finn’s “Fill the roof”, I find that even off-grid, with a 65 km shopping trip, a BEV can be 100% fossil-free photon propelled – all year round. (Only 8,000 km done so far, but when a million 2-car families ditch one fossil burner for a BEV, then it’s 8 Billion km p.a.. The EU will soon stop incentives for PHEVs, fortunately.)
HWS heat pumps are great on-grid, especially while we still burn coal, but on solar-only, some of us opt for the reliability of a simple heating element, as panels are cheaper, and there’s no CO₂ emission involved. On reflection, grid-connected heat pumps will reduce winter grid demand, easing the load on renewables/batteries, so they’re even a long term great asset.
As the roof provides all domestic water here, I went for Pb-free REC Alpha Pure panels and bird netting. (Anthony’s photos of grotty roofs are indelibly etched on my mind.) The REC yield in overcast is all I could ask for.
A (cheap Aldi) plug-in countertop induction cooktop is the fastest way off gas, I figure. (I omitted gas from my first OB, nearly 40 years ago. What’s that saved in service fees alone?) And ditching non-stick pans for induction-compatible stainless steel avoids risk of Teflon flu.
A round-up on imminent/current grid-scale batteries would be cheering. (I hope) Renewables firming is essential for hastening coal’s demise. All speed to exponential growth, ‘cos it’s still not fast enough to avoid a testing future.
SOMETIMES with the low fit a resistive is better than a heat pump half the cost of unit and installation lasts twice as long practically no maintenance no noise,hotter water and BOTH use FREE solar.
I do concede that the heat pump runs cheaper but you’ve gotta buy a new one twice the cost twice as quick !! Speaking from my experience !!
Advice please:
113 a year old house has kitchen with chimney that has a stove with electric oven and gas top burners. How can we put a portable induction cooking device on top of stove, as currently we are using Electric fry pan for cooking. Can you recommend the suitable tops and suppliers?
We have solar panels since 2019 and hot water from a Sanden 300 L stainless steel unit replacing our gas hot water storage system.
Hi Max,
My suggestion for content is on solar and hot water options for apartments and renters. This is the next wave of homes in the energy transition and there are still a lot of obstacles. For example:
– Will we see any individual heat pump hot water systems that could easily replace a gas instantaneous system, especially for units with limited space or above ground level?
– Will solar farms ever really kick off as a viable alternative/investment option for renters and apartment owners? They are few and far between at present.
– EV charging in apartments and rentals is possible, but can still face a lot of challenges.
Welcome, Max,
You’ve large pants to fill to keep us interested and continually informed as we’ve become used to here.
My hope is that rather than ‘merely’ recommending solar installers, you may evolve towards also listing solar home efficiency advisors. None of the SQs recommended installers that have visited my home have done/known anything more than solar installations. Perhaps that’s a NW Tasmania, thing, with your nearest solar installers being based 100km+ away from here, but I doubt that.
It seems to me that without initially considering where any system may be aimed at, e.g. solar alone, solar & heat pumps, solar & battery, solar & EV charging, how can the advice of a solar installer who knows little else be the right place to start?
I’m a retired motor-mechanic & know how most complex modern systems/devices need to begin life; defining end-goals, budgets and marketplaces. Cars start life by decisions around purpose and tyre sizing.
Where can I actually go in 2025 to discuss with someone who knows the home-energy domain well enough to not need to become my own best expert in what to actually do with/to my home/life energy needs?
I trust that your experiences and new opportunities will continue the role that SQ has held in Australia’s recent CO2 reduction history.
Perhaps it would also be useful to include articles that touch on what the 2 likely outcomes of our upcoming federal election will likely mean for home solar/efficiency gains & investments! The recent US outcome shows us that lots of people can actually decide against their own society’s best interests when poorly informed.
There are those of us out here who do believe in global warming as a real thing, and not only saving our own money. One of those 2 likely outcomes still appears not to believe, in much truth about any such complex science based areas of modern life. You could help counter some of that disinformation.
Best of luck!
Hi Max and welcome,
I note you have a Nissan Leaf so you might have special knowledge about, and interest in, the question: ‘why is it taking so long to have V-to-G? According tot he AEMO schedule, it still seems some years away. Is Tesla holding it back so that it can sell more batteries? Or are they worried that it will substantially shorten the life of batteries, so be bad for EVs? Or do the grid operators think it will take away too much demand from them?
Steve
Hi Max good to hear you’re on board,
Things to do please for 25 and beyond:
Report on the Sig energy unit Finn installed there.
Bidirectional news which Autos, wall mount units?
What will trend, how to blend existing solar, house batts, EV charge with a bidirectional trend possibly forming. (do we need a house batt, if you go with Bidirectional in the future?)
So many moving parts: explore over time, build data and settle nominal options, plan forward for cost effective infrastructure that meets the expectations of the grid locked Aussie household.
THANKS FOR WHAT YOU DO.
While mostly not a suggestion for what to cover, or not change, it’s worth noting that Australia is a very diverse country, though the current SQ audience is less so. Thus it may be worth considering whether articles should go deep i.e. be written for the true believers here, or wide i.e. written for all and try to increase the audience base.
There are a lot here for instance who absolutely believe in climate change, anthropogenic warming, that solar power and wind power are essential, and that no sacrifice is too great for ‘The Cause’.
Then you have those in the middle who don’t know what to think about climate change, don’t know what to think about anthropogenic warming, and don’t really understand the nuclear, coal, baseline power v wind, solar, are battery farm debates. They do however understand that their costs of living are killing them.
And then you have those skeptical about the climate change claims, absolutely reject anthropogenic warming fantasies, and are skeptical at best of wind or solar power given the history of cheap reliable coal and nuclear baseline energy – obviously I’m talking globally not just locally. The science they read opposes the beliefs of the first group, and likewise the costs and demands the first group consider acceptable are completely unacceptable to this last group.
As to how the audience here divides amongst the 3 groups, I’ve no idea, though most likely fall into the first. If you want to reach those in the other two however …
On a completely different note, I’d suggest off grid material be given more consideration. With Victoria proposing a FiT of 0.04c, exports effectively become nil meaning breaking even on bills ceases to be possible even with large solar. Going off grid then becomes far more plausible. How long ’til there’s a mass exodus from the grid, and what impact would such a change have? It’s speculative but something that should be kept in mind!
George – a very well thought out post and I agree with you about the three different audiences. I expect there is a considerable preaching to the choir here but that doesn’t mean that the choir can’t improve repertoire and make a greater contribution to the cause.
Of course, if you don’t mind me extending the metaphor, there will also be plenty of people here who aren’t members of the choir but have come along to listen and learn and may also be singing a bit at home. I think that is just as important function for SQ, if not more so.
And then there are the people who have made a decision, conscious or not, to dislike singing and only listen to other stuff. Now, I doubt if SQ is for them and I cannot see that a significant amount of effort expended on those people would result in much of a shift towards the choral stuff from them.
I suspect the greatest reward for effort may come from a solid focus on increasing effort on group 2 while maintaining the cause for group 1. I think a different approach for group 3 is required – time, more continuing government information campaigns and support for practical efforts eg tightening emissions standards for vehicles and industry, electrifying household (see a Federal Government announcement today about that) and a broader carrot and stick approach. Plus, perhaps, the LNP growing up and remembering their history – when liberal had some real meaning in their ranks.
Good luck Max. I am sure we all wish you well. And you know we will be watching…. 🙂
Hi Max,
Configuration of solar systems depends on the availability of off-the-shelf controllers. Which raises the question of what controllers are available.
1. Basic system is PV panels + inverter. If the mains power goes off, the system stops, even if the panels are generating more power than I need.
2. If I have a battery it can go on powering my home through the dusk and dark hours until my battery runs flat. Then if I have a power fail I have no backup.
3. Commonly, I can specify that a certain fraction of my battery capacity is not used unless there is a power fail. But this may be only a small percent of my battery capacity. If strong winds and storms are forecast, I might like to increase the fraction of my battery storage that is reserved for mains failures. Do available control systems allow for dynamic change of the reserve? What warning am i given that a power fail has occurred, so I can turn off power hungry appliances?
4. Some systems work with a special circuit(s) for things I want to work through a power fail. Refrigerator, Freezer, Communication, Basic low power lights. This is quite complicated, and several alternatives are possible. Again it may work with a battery that runs down during dusk and evening hours but reserves some power to cover mains failures.
HEAT PUMPS
HEAT PUMPS
HEAT PUMPS
Hot water systems please- heat pumps and anything else (the monitors etc)
Love to have this as a regular like the panels with tests/ awards / TV
I just want to build my knowledge like you have allowed me to do with solar
Good luck – we are a loyal but loud bunch
Here’s a good start recently published by us on HW Heat Pumps:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/hot-water/heat-pump/
More to come (including ‘get quotes for a heat pump’ in late Feb)…
Please start testing panels to be used in RVs, such as caravans and camper trailers.
Hi Tim,
There is some crossover between camping gear and home electrification, for instance Bluetti batteries offer products in both markets.
Victron are also well known for off grid hardware.
However solar camping gear is in volume a tiny fraction of production & sales volume.
This means it’s poisonously expensive in dollar per watt terms and can be dubious quality.
We would hardly know where to begin.
My advice for caravanners is to get rid of all the vents, windows, aerials, flues & crap on the roof.
Then cover the whole thing with Sunman semi-rigid PV solar modules. Wire them to an AERL or Victron 48v DC charge controller & PowerPlus batteries.
Use a 3kW(?) Victron or 5kW Selectronic SpPro inverter to power everything & get rid of the gas appliances.
I wonder if expectation management is a required element here.
I read yesterday (cant remember where) that the average family of 5 uses 25kwhr of electricity in their house per day. When that same 5 ends up in the caravan and I assume that a 3kw system is about as big as you can put on a van, but likely less due star-link dish, TV antennas and the other roof crap that Anthony spoke of, then the best you’ll see in a winter day is I assume about 10kwhrs best circumstances and likely much less most days if there is any shading involved. Being in a van you don’t expect or need the same as home but a reduction to between 1/3 and 1/4 might be a tough ask especially if ditching all the gas appliances.
Andy
Thank you for you reply and suggestions.
I have a few concerns about your ideas. No aerial: no tv. No vent: boiling hot caravan. No windows: dark caravan. Big inverter: massive and heavy batteries. No flue/extracter vent: smoke alarm goes off when making toast.
Many caravans have normal solar panels on the roof. I was asking for advice on panels capable of handling vibration and dust and, ideally, able to cope with partial shade.
But thank you again for your ideas
Hi just a thought.
When wholesale electricity prices go negative due us solar generators, retailers make a killing getting paid to sell electricity at their retail price.
The question then is can they manipulate things in their favour. I noticed in SA even with negative prices during the day, we still import electricity from interstate.
I think the big ones like AGL own generating plant. Who requests the interstate imports.
Maybe some insider trading going on so to speak.
I was going to suggest SQ do an article about why retailers don’t really make a killing from rooftop solar, but found this excellent, well-written piece from Reposit. It nicely explains why our cheap solar often costs retailers money.
https://repositpower.com/blog/solar-feedin-freefall
Welcome Max,
I second the request for articles that help a lay person procure and implement home automation. I’m old school computing (COBOL, FORTRAN etc..), but I lose the will to live each time I try to self-learn Home Assistant using web resources.
In addition, could Solarquotes become a vocal advocate for market / regulatory change ? e.g lobby AEMO to mandate generators / retailers enable controlled load / low or zero tariffs during daytime peak household rooftop generation to help protect the grid ?
I hope we don’t all drive you nuts 🙂
We’re hunting for our first BEV, and are looking for car manufacturers with bidirectional charging for V2H. Please help us sift through the offerings.
I believe that the Nissan Leaf is the only one, so far, in Australia.
However, depending on where you are (not yet stocked in Perth, WA), you might want to consider a Chery Omoda E5 BX, which is one of the few BEV cars that includes a spare wheel, and,it has V2L, which, in conjunction with this (https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/hoem-review/), which, whilst it is not full V2H, could be useful.
Welcome to your new role and good luck.
The industry looks forward to factual information from trusted and respected sources.
With the electrification of homes, and the need to expand the electrical supply to existing properties, it would be useful to provide information, or at least an overview, regarding switchboards and expansion options and expected prices.
We added a “sub-board” to our home about 2 years ago to install an Induction Cooktop and to provide an allowance for future appliances. I felt that this is one activity that seems to be overly high priced. However, as a layman, I am not in a position to make that judgment.
Having an objective review by a qualified person from Solar Quotes will help people determine what to consider with expanding their home electrical system, and help with reviews of any quotes obtained for the work.
I thank you in anticipation of your positive contributions to the Solar Quotes.
Kind Regards
Fred
Hi Fred,
The first two articles under this link may be a good start for you. Let us know if that helps.
Cheers
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/search/?addsearch=switchboard
Hello Max.
Am interested to find out what the team thinks about going with a standard electric water heater – as it seems it will last much longer than a heat pump model, there is basically no maintenance and the upfront cost is low compared to heat pump versions.
Re heat pumps there is very little comparisons on the various models so difficult to determine which ones to go for.
Also interested in how to best set up to have an EV as the house ‘battery’.
Would also be good to have a review of existing solar installers on your ‘approved’ list – as I had a poor experience
All the best in your new position.