Search Results for: nsw

What Should You Buy First? Solar Hot Water or Solar PV?

September 21, 2012 2013-08-05T14:47:28 by 4 Comments

Solar Hot Water is fast becoming the poor cousin of Solar PV (AKA Solar Electricity). Consumers just seem to prefer solar PV to solar hot water these days. In fact solar hot water has gone from almost zero to 1,000,000 roofs in about 30 years, whereas PV has gone from almost zero to 1,000,000 roofs in less than 6 years. There is now more PV than Solar HW out there! Unbelievable.

It doesn’t help that retailers prefer to sell PV over hot water – for a whole bunch of reasons that I’ll go into in a future blog post.

Here’s a video where I answer the question posed in the title: Should you buy Solar Hot Water or PV first?, But first I answer a much more fundamental question that creates an enormous amount of confusion out there:

And here’t the transcript for the video-phobes amongst you: [Read more…]

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What is a Solar Feed In Tariff (Video).

September 6, 2012 2017-07-24T15:10:11 by 4 Comments

I’ve been busy making videos that answer some common solar questions. Here I talk about Feed In Tariffs and what to do if your nasty energy retailer wants to punish you for going solar…

Transcription below for those who prefer to read: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: ,

Where should your solar inverter go and should you worry about voltage drops?

August 17, 2012 2017-01-16T12:11:49 by 83 Comments

I got a great email the other day:

“One solar installer has told me that it is best for the inverter to be as close as possible to the panels and NOT to the meter box as your checklist indicates. Is he crazy?”

Short answer. Yes – he’s crazy.

Longer answer:

As close as possible to the panels? Whatcha gonna do put it on the roof?

I get a lot of stick for this advice in one of my solar installation videos:

Solar Inverter Position

Sometimes I get heat for recommending that you put your solar inverter as close to your fusebox as possible.

[Read more…]

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Solar brings down electricity prices says report

June 25, 2012 2017-10-25T10:25:49 by 1 Comment
pylons

Without solar – wholesale electricity would be more expensive.

Last week we here at SolarQuotes HQ we were thrilled to bring you news of a major CSIRO report which found that solar energy intermittency — defined as when cloud cover causes a reduction in the efficiency of energy drawn from the sun — can be successfully managed.

To the great consternation of solar critics and the delight of solar fans, the major study found that, not only could proper management techniques limit the problem of solar intermittency, but it could also contribute to solar energy taking its rightful role as a major energy source in Australia.

This week we’d like to follow up that with another cracker study: this time from the REC Agents Association (RAA). According to this report, the increased takeup of solar by Australian consumers has contributed to a reduction in power consumption and a lowering of wholesale electricity prices across the National Electricity Market. [Read more…]

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How to work out if your solar system is performing properly.

June 12, 2012 2024-07-03T11:20:04 by 72 Comments
a ruler

Stop guessing, start measuring!

I got an email from Dec in Melbourne this week who is very worried that his solar installers have sold him a lemon:

Hi Finn, Since my last email, my 4.0kw solar has been independently checked and I have been told it was found to be installed correctly. At this time it is producing only 1800w on a clear sunny day. It seems that no one has an answer as to why the production is low as the system is only producing an average of 7.2kwh/day. Do you have any idea as to what I can do to try and resolve this as I am really struggling with getting this sorted out.

So has Dec been sold a heap of junk? Is his solar power system producing enough power for its size, location and the time of year (June) ? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: ,

Solar Panel Orientation: Is West the new North?

May 23, 2012 2019-12-10T14:19:19 by 53 Comments

The following is a very common question that comes in to SQ HQ.

“My roofline is North/South, so my largest roof areas face either East or West. I have been told that North Facing is ideal, but I  have a tiny North facing roof! Can I put some solar panels on the East or West Facing roof (or both) ?”

Short Answer: Stick some (perhaps all) on the West!

Longer Answer: In terms of the amount of power produced, facing your panels East will produce exactly the same amount of power as facing them West.  In either case you’ll generally take a 10-15% power hit compared to having them facing the ideal direction (North).

Compass

Is North always the best direction for solar panels?

So why do I say “probably West” as the short answer to the question?

Well, the reason I err on the West facing roof is because that part of your roof will get the sun later in the day. An East Facing solar array will generally produce its peak power at 10-11am. A West Facing array will produce its peak at closer to 2pm.

Most people use more energy later in the day. And most people want to use as much of their solar energy as possible, without exporting it. Why? Because at the time of writing most Feed In Tariffs give you less per kWh if you export the electricity than you pay for imported electricity. So most people will pay off their solar system quicker if they minimise exports.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With: , ,

Hybrid Solar Systems Part 3: Costs and Payback

April 27, 2012 2023-12-21T16:59:47 by 13 Comments
solar panels and a dollar sign

What’s the payback?

Note: This post was written in 2012 and is way out of date. For the latest payback figures  please read this page which is kept up to date >>> Are Solar Batteries Worth It

In my previous 2 posts I looked at the concept and design of Hybrid Solar systems.

The main conclusion of those 2 articles was that

a) Hybrid solar rocks!

b) But you gotta pay for it!

So the question this post will try to answer is:

How Much Extra Does Hybrid Solar Cost?

and bearing in mind the extra costs:

What is the payback of Hybrid Solar Compared To Regular Grid Connect Solar?

So let’s look at the cost of a quality 5kW system and then see what it costs to upgrade it to “Hybrid”. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: , ,

Hybrid Solar Part 2: How To Future Proof Your Solar System

April 19, 2012 2023-12-21T17:03:17 by 42 Comments
Hybrid badge

Hybrid Solar Too?

Please note: this post was written in 2012 and is way out of date.

>>> Please visit this page on solar batteries, which is constantly updated. <<<

In my previous blog post on hybrid solar systems (aka grid connect with battery backup) I promised to follow up with a post that went into more detail on the costs and give examples of inverter hardware that can be used to make such a beast.

I’ve realised that if I go into the costs and paybacks then this blog post may be longer than War and Peace. So in this post I’ll cover the hardware and I’ll save the financials for next time.

As I said in the previous post, your motivation for spending more on a hybrid solar system will likely be either: [Read more…]

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The inflated STC Price Scam : The Solar Cowboy’s Favourite Trick?

April 12, 2012 2017-05-02T10:39:51 by 27 Comments
a cowboy

Don’t fall for it!

I’m angry.

I get a lot of emails asking for me to look over quotes. I try to answer every one. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks to reply, but generally I manage to reply.

Tonight I got 3 emails in a row with quotes from 3 separate companies which all appeared to be trying the same trick. They appear to be deceiving the customer into thinking they are getting a great deal and then hitting them with a bill for thousands more than the quoted price when the system is installed.

I love the solar industry, and to see these guys operating like this makes me so freaking angry I want to scream! [Read more…]

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Dubbo: Solar Power Capital of Australia!

April 10, 2012 2017-10-25T10:28:23 by Leave a Comment

Well done Dubbo solar power installers!

dubbo library clock tower without solar panels

Sunny in Dubbo

If you read the mainstream press in Australia,  you’d think the towns and suburbs with the biggest average take up of solar panels would be the well-to-do inner city suburbs of our major cities. Perhaps Vaucluse, Toorak or the leafy eastern suburbs of Adelaide?

Obviously they’d be more likely where wealth is concentrated right?

Wrong (as you may have guessed by the headline!). In a sign that solar energy is becoming more accessible to mainstream Aussie folk, a recent survey by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) found the central-west NSW city of Dubbo to have the highest average percentage of houses with solar panels.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With:
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