{"id":363,"date":"2010-12-14T16:11:18","date_gmt":"2010-12-14T06:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=363"},"modified":"2017-05-03T13:48:58","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T03:18:58","slug":"dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Install Solar…Until You’ve Read This"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had a cracking couple of days at Narnu farm, 1hr south of Adelaide, a coupla weeks ago.<\/p>\n

We go there with the kids who love it. It’s a hobby farm where the kids can feed the animals and go horse riding and all that good stuff.<\/p>\n

As soon as you drive in, you can’t help but notice their 2kW Solar System made up of about 30 60W Kaneka Solar Panels on the roof of the office building.<\/p>\n

So is this blog post going to be singing the owners’ praises for getting solar and doing their bit for the planet?<\/p>\n

Short answer: no.<\/p>\n

Being the grumpy old contrarian that I am, I’ve got 2 big problems with this particular install.<\/p>\n

Here’s the first error with this install:<\/p>\n

This photo of the solar system (see the panels on the roof on mounting frames) was taken at 10:30 in the morning. Can you spot the problem?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Solar panel shading<\/p><\/div>\n

The tree on the right is casting a bloody huge shadow across almost all the panels! Ouch!<\/p>\n

That’s bad. However my real problem with the install is this:<\/p>\n

They have made zero attempt at energy efficiency before or after installing solar.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is about five times cheaper to perform energy efficiency than it is to install solar to save the same amount of electricity.<\/p>\n

So, although solar is a wonderful thing, you should always do everything you can to maximise the energy efficiency of your home or business first.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples of really bad energy wastage that could have been addressed with minimal time or investment:<\/p>\n

1) They are still using incandescent bulbs! Check out the photo – I haven’t seen these old things in years.<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a><\/p>\n

I counted about 16 of these energy guzzling devices of satan. Let’s do some really simple sums:<\/p>\n

Assume each one is on for 4 hours per night (a conservative assumption – I saw lots of them left on all day).<\/p>\n

The amount of energy they will consume in 1 year is: 60W x 4 hours x 365 = 87.6kwh per year per bulb = 1401.6kwh per year total.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A CFL bulb will use about one tenth of the electricity of the incandescents, so they are wasting about 1250kWh per year, for the sake of spending about $60 on new bulbs.<\/p>\n

That energy that is being wasted is probably close to the amount of electricity generated by 1kW of solar panels – half of their solar system!<\/p>\n

Next: Check out the fridges…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>They have at least 6 of these antiques.<\/p>\n

A modern fridge of a similar size can be had for about $500 and will use a quarter of the electricity!<\/p>\n

So for about $3,000 they could be saving about 3000kWh per year. That combined with the bulbs should easily give them energy savings greater than the output of their entire solar system (which probably cost them about $20,000 when they bought it).<\/p>\n

Other shockers which should have been replaced are the antique window rattler Air Conditioners and the electric storage hot water systems. The latter is especially crazy for accommodation that is most likely empty for many weeks a year, because you get hot water whether the place if fully occupied or not.<\/p>\n

The moral of the story is: Yes – solar is fantastic. But before you get that solar system at least do the most basic energy efficiency measures: i.e. bulbs, appliances, hot water, draft sealing, window shading… Otherwise you are getting a much bigger system than you really need.<\/p>\n

A good solar installer will talk you through all this before selling you a system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don’t buy that solar system until you have at least done the most basic energy efficiency upgrades…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[112,42],"class_list":["post-363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-solar-installation","tag-buyers-guide","tag-energy-efficiency","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon't Install Solar...Until You've Read This - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Although solar is a wonderful thing, you should always do everything you can to maximise the energy efficiency of your home or business first.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don't Install Solar...Until You've Read This\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although solar is a wonderful thing, you should always do everything you can to maximise the energy efficiency of your home or business first.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-14T06:41:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-03T03:18:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Finn Peacock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FinnPeacock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Finn Peacock\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/495c35fb3086e6ef93220dcf2472b178\"},\"headline\":\"Don’t Install Solar…Until You’ve Read This\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-14T06:41:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-03T03:18:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"buyers guide\",\"Energy Efficiency\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Solar Installation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/\",\"name\":\"Don't Install Solar...Until You've Read This - SolarQuotes Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-14T06:41:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-03T03:18:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Although solar is a wonderful thing, you should always do everything you can to maximise the energy efficiency of your home or business first.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Solar Installation\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Don’t Install Solar…Until You’ve Read This\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/495c35fb3086e6ef93220dcf2472b178\",\"name\":\"Finn Peacock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6416cde752d8e0b695acfadb239ba7b7026ae219306ca29f9eb28780087cbcbf?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6416cde752d8e0b695acfadb239ba7b7026ae219306ca29f9eb28780087cbcbf?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6416cde752d8e0b695acfadb239ba7b7026ae219306ca29f9eb28780087cbcbf?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Finn Peacock\"},\"description\":\"I'm a Chartered Electrical Engineer, Solar and Energy Efficiency nut, dad, and the founder of SolarQuotes.com.au. I started SolarQuotes in 2009 and the SolarQuotes blog in 2013 with the belief that it\u2019s more important to be truthful and objective than popular. My last \\\"real job\\\" was working for the CSIRO in their renewable energy division. Since 2009, I\u2019ve helped over 800,000 Aussies get quotes for solar from installers I trust. Read my full bio.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/FinnPeacock\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Don't Install Solar...Until You've Read This - SolarQuotes Blog","description":"Although solar is a wonderful thing, you should always do everything you can to maximise the energy efficiency of your home or business first.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Don't Install Solar...Until You've Read This","og_description":"Although solar is a wonderful thing, you should always do everything you can to maximise the energy efficiency of your home or business first.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2010-12-14T06:41:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-05-03T03:18:58+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Finn Peacock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FinnPeacock","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/"},"author":{"name":"Finn Peacock","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/495c35fb3086e6ef93220dcf2472b178"},"headline":"Don’t Install Solar…Until You’ve Read This","datePublished":"2010-12-14T06:41:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-03T03:18:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/"},"wordCount":609,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg","keywords":["buyers guide","Energy Efficiency"],"articleSection":["Solar Installation"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/","name":"Don't Install Solar...Until You've Read This - SolarQuotes Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg","datePublished":"2010-12-14T06:41:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-03T03:18:58+00:00","description":"Although solar is a wonderful thing, you should always do everything you can to maximise the energy efficiency of your home or business first.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/narnu_solar_system-300x182.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-install-solar-until-youve-read-this\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Solar Installation","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Don’t Install Solar…Until You’ve Read This"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/495c35fb3086e6ef93220dcf2472b178","name":"Finn Peacock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6416cde752d8e0b695acfadb239ba7b7026ae219306ca29f9eb28780087cbcbf?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6416cde752d8e0b695acfadb239ba7b7026ae219306ca29f9eb28780087cbcbf?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6416cde752d8e0b695acfadb239ba7b7026ae219306ca29f9eb28780087cbcbf?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Finn Peacock"},"description":"I'm a Chartered Electrical Engineer, Solar and Energy Efficiency nut, dad, and the founder of SolarQuotes.com.au. I started SolarQuotes in 2009 and the SolarQuotes blog in 2013 with the belief that it\u2019s more important to be truthful and objective than popular. My last \"real job\" was working for the CSIRO in their renewable energy division. Since 2009, I\u2019ve helped over 800,000 Aussies get quotes for solar from installers I trust. Read my full bio.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/","https:\/\/x.com\/FinnPeacock"],"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-5R","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54827,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/landscape-solar-panels\/","url_meta":{"origin":363,"position":0},"title":"Why Landscape Solar Panels Can Be Better (But More Expensive)","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"October 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever noticed that most solar panels installed on Australian roofs are mounted in portrait orientation? Portrait is more popular because solar panels are cheaper and quicker to install this way. This post will explain why panel orientation can matter, and why you may be better off with landscape\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Installation"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Installation","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar panels - portrait or landscape?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/installers-choice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/installers-choice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/installers-choice.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/installers-choice.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/installers-choice.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30823,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/","url_meta":{"origin":363,"position":1},"title":"6.6 kW Solar System: How Many Solar Panels?","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"June 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"If someone casually asks me how much solar they should install, I may simply tell them they should fill their roof with as much capacity as they reasonably can.\u00a0 But after learning the details, I often recommend installing as close to 6.66 kilowatts as possible. The reason why is fairly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Installation"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Installation","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar panels - 6.6kW system","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1796,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-tilt-frames-are-they-worth-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":363,"position":2},"title":"Solar Panel Tilt Frames: Are they worth it?","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"July 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"To tilt or not to tilt your solar panels. That is the question.","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Installation"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Installation","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"tilt frames for solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/tilt-frames1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":725,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/the-problems-with-thin-film-solar-panels\/","url_meta":{"origin":363,"position":3},"title":"The Problems With Thin Film Solar Panels","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"December 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are looking to buy a solar power system and have done any kind of research on the web, then you have probably \u00a0come across lots of people \u00a0arguing over the pros and cons of Thin Film Solar Panels compared to the more common monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panels.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Panels"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Thin Film Solar Panels in a solar farm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/thin_film_solar_panels_web.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":588,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/how-to-spot-a-solar-cowboy\/","url_meta":{"origin":363,"position":4},"title":"How to Spot a Solar Cowboy","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"August 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"By Rich Bowden OK so you\u2019re almost ready to make that big decision to install solar panels to save on your sky rocketing power bills while doing your bit for the environment. But, mindful of recent poorly-regulated installation disasters (who remembers the Pink Batts saga?) you\u2019re leery of the same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Installation"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Installation","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1108,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-size-is-bigger-better\/","url_meta":{"origin":363,"position":5},"title":"Solar Panel Size: Is Bigger Better?","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"February 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Size of Solar panels is definitely increasing, there's no denying it. A couple of years ago the average solar panel was 165W.\u00a0Today the average is about 240W. The biggest one approved for installation in Australia at the time of writing is the whopping\u00a0Topsun\u00a0TS-S410. This giant amongst solar panels has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Panels"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a 410W solar panel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/big-solar-panel.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11004,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions\/11004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}