{"id":47101,"date":"2021-02-15T11:59:20","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T01:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=47101"},"modified":"2021-03-01T12:36:01","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T02:06:01","slug":"upgrade-replace-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/upgrade-replace-solar\/","title":{"rendered":"Scrap Your Old Solar System & High Feed-in Tariff For A Bigger & Better Return"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Replacing

If you have a small, old system, replacing it with a bigger, more efficient modern system is worth serious consideration. Even if it means losing that premium feed-in-tariff you’ve enjoyed for all these years.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Do you have a faithful, old, 1.5 kilowatt solar system installed?<\/p>\r\n

Has it sat on your roof churning photons into electrical energy for 10 years or more?<\/p>\r\n

Has it earned you a heap of money because it gets an old, premium feed-in tariff far higher than anything available now? <\/p>\r\n

If so, congratulations!\u00a0 It’s been a loyal and valuable addition to your household and has likely earned you much more than the massive amount you probably paid for it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

But, if you want to make more money, odds are you should scrap that small old system and replace it with a new larger installation.\u00a0 In Adelaide and Darwin, you’re almost certain to come out ahead, while in Canberra, Brisbane, and Melbourne it can still pay – provided your solar self-consumption and daytime electricity use is average or higher. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

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The usual ways to get a large annual credit on your electricity bills is to either have a reasonably large solar system or small system and a locked-in large feed-in tariff.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

2 kW is the magic number for premium feed-in-tariffs<\/h2>\r\n

If a solar system is over 2 kilowatts and receiving a high feed-in tariff, then replacing it is unlikely to save money unless your daytime electricity consumption is high or you are willing to make an effort to shift your electricity consumption to the day.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

But even if your electricity consumption isn’t high, if you consider the atmosphere’s energy balance<\/a> to be more important than your bank balance, you may want to get a larger system anyway.<\/p>\r\n

Where Are The Remaining High Feed-In Tariffs?<\/h2>\r\n

Three years ago I wrote about<\/a> if replacing small old solar power systems receiving high feed-in tariffs made financial sense and concluded it often didn’t.\u00a0 But times have changed and an up-to-date article is called for.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Since I wrote my previous article the high feed-in tariffs<\/a> have come to an end in NSW and Tasmania.\u00a0 This leaves three states and two territories where they’re still around.\u00a0 Western Australia’s has already mostly finished and will be completely over by July.\u00a0 As far as this article is concerned, I’m going to regard their jacked-up tariff as over.<\/p>\r\n

The remaining locations where old solar systems are still receiving big fat, locked-in, feed-in tariffs are:<\/p>\r\n