{"id":1467,"date":"2012-04-19T17:15:19","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T07:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=1467"},"modified":"2023-12-21T17:03:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T07:33:17","slug":"hybrid-solar-part-2-how-to-future-proof-your-solar-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/hybrid-solar-part-2-how-to-future-proof-your-solar-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Hybrid Solar Part 2: How To Future Proof Your Solar System"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hybrid<\/a>

Hybrid Solar Too?<\/p><\/div>\n

Please note<\/strong>: this post was written in 2012 and is way out of date.<\/p>\n

>>> Please visit this page on solar batteries<\/a>, which is constantly updated. <<<<\/p>\n

\n

In my previous blog post<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

As I said in the previous post, your motivation for spending more on a hybrid solar system<\/a> will likely be either:<\/p>\n

1) You want backup power when the grid goes down.<\/p>\n

2) You want to minimise your electricity exports due to a painfully low or non-existent Feed In Tariff<\/a> in your state.<\/p>\n

3) You may want to maximise your electricity exports due to a very generous FIT in your state (Hello Queenslanders!)<\/p>\n

4) You may want to “shift” the peaks in your grid electricity usage due to a Time-Of-Use electricity tariff. This would involve charging your batteries at a low tariff and using your battery power + solar at peak times to avoid paying the peak electricity rate.<\/p>\n

(And even if number 4 is not relevant to you know, I’d bet my mountain-bike that sooner or later everyone will be forced onto a time-of-use tariff.)<\/p>\n

Now, I could go through every possible combination of hardware for every possible combination of the 4 requirements above. But the post would be so long and repetitive that even the hardiest solar geek would probably tune out.<\/p>\n

So instead I’ll present for your delectation a system that can be configured to do all the above. Which I would argue is the most future proof solution anyway. Because recent history in NSW has shown us that we can’t trust the State governments to keep their word on Feed In Tariffs and it seems obvious that time-of-use electricity charging (you pay more for your electricity at peak times of the day) will become the norm very soon.<\/p>\n

Hardware Required for a future proof, super-duper mega, mega configurable \u00a0Hybrid Solar System:<\/strong><\/p>\n

First let’s look at what goes into a standard grid connect system:<\/p>\n

1) Solar Panels<\/p>\n

2) Inverter<\/p>\n

3) Everything else: Wires, Racking, Disconnect Switches, fuses etc.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Hybrid Solar System needs all the above and more. The extra hardware needed is:<\/p>\n

Power management unit (box of electronics)<\/p>\n

Inverter that can talk to the power management unit (or is integrated into it)<\/p>\n

Bank of Batteries<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An example of a “power management unit” that will do the job and has all the configuration options you’ll probably ever need is the 5kW\u00a0Rich Electric SuperCombi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Rich<\/a>

Makes the coffee too?<\/p><\/div>\n

This sucker can be configured to:<\/p>\n