SolarQuotes Vodcast Episode 14 – Stupid Solar Rules

Finn and Ronald discuss highlights from the SolarQuotes blog from the previous week, plus a few other news items for good measure.

0:38 – Finn and Ronald chat about Tesla’s plan to improve its performance in the U.S. home solar market by slashing system pricing. From an Australian point of view, the new pricing is less than impressive – however, that’s a situation not confined to Tesla. Residential solar power is far more expensive in the USA, partly due to the very high costs of customer acquisition.

Still, Tesla should not be underestimated says Finn given their products and marketing prowess (for better or worse) and Ronald states anything Tesla says should be taken with a few kilos of salt.

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3:12 – Finn explains why owners of solar power systems with a Fronius inverter should use Solar Analytics instead of Fronius Smart Meter – it’s all down to depth of information provided and ease of use.

Finn is big on solar monitoring, while Ronald opines there are many people who simply wouldn’t use it.

“Unless it’s a cat video, my mother isn’t going to look at it on the Internet and my father doesn’t Internet,” he says.

But it does seem many Australians are interested in consumption monitoring. Our latest auSSII report indicates nearly two-thirds of those who submitted for quotes in April indicated interest in consumption monitoring features for their system.

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6:03 – Labor’s recent pledge to splurge a bundle of bucks on solar power + battery storage systems for 4,000 schools across the country drew mixed reactions from Ronald and Finn. Ronald thinks the cash could be better spent on solar only, while Finn has concerns schools could be ripped off by unethical providers if the program isn’t properly managed.

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9:11 – Best and worst reviews as chosen by SQ team member Ned. We toot our own horn about a review of the SolarQuotes service – a very happy user even offered us a donation (that we politely declined)!

On the flip side, and a little embarrassing for us – a SolarQuotes installation partner is sledged for dropping the ball. Given the company’s solid history, Finn is confident the firm will resolve the issue quickly. We’ve used this review as an example showing we don’t hide or bury bad reviews of SolarQuotes recommended installers.

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12:52 – The recent news of IPART lifting the benchmark rate for feed in tariffs is discussed. Finn points out while many retailers offer above what IPART recommends, often these high feed-in rates are accompanied by high usage tariffs – so it’s really important solar owners shop around for the best electricity deal.

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15:28 – Again a little bit of cynicism about a Federal Labor pledge to declare a Renewable Energy Zone in South Australia. While welcoming most plans that improve renewable energy’s position in Australia, Finn and Ronald try to figure out if the decision regarding the zone’s location was based on expert engineering advice or just potential votes.

“Designing the grid by press release,” says Finn and a “nothing burger” says Ronald.

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16:53 – A new rule introduced by the Queensland Government that kicks in soon forbids anyone but electricians from even mechanically installing solar panels on 100kW+ projects in Queensland. As we understand it, this includes taking a solar panel off a pallet, placing it on a rack and bolting it down – but not performing any electrical connection. The rushed rule has been widely criticised by the industry and will have a particularly significant impact on the state’s commercial solar power sector.

“A whole other level of stupid,” says Finn. “It’s almost like there’s a conspiracy to make solar farms more expensive than they need to be”.

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20:39 – Ronald explains the difference between 60 and 72 cell modules and whether you should install 72-cell solar panels on your home.

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