Solar Power

[Marcus]

Oh jeez...I'm now the proud owner of a Solar system for my house...

And now I know why those guys are in sales, they Know how to work it...

Still, I talked my way down to $10K plus a 25c/p k/w feedback price from first offer of $12,5K and 8c feedback...Woot...

6kw system so this should give me a $0 power bill, for the rest of my time in this house

Although somehow I'm left thinking I still got screwed

[Skip]

Yeah I'm sure you will still end up with power bills Marcus. The biggest part of your usage is after sundown. Heating, cooking, lighting etc. Your 25c feed in tariff is only a couple of cents more than you buy it back for. I'm thinking about it at the moment as well but not sure. However, with ever increasing costs of electricity it will become more beneficial as years go by.

[Marcus]

yeah that's my thinking as well... the power companies are only going to charge more as more people convert over. So I figured now's the time

Even if we still get a power bill, it should, in theory be next to nothing

[Yorkie]

yeah that's my thinking as well... the power companies are only going to charge more as more people convert over. So I figured now's the time

Even if we still get a power bill, it should, in theory be next to nothing

The only way to get a return on a system like that is to ensure nil power is used during daylight hours, thereby feeding back into the grid, what is used at night must be less. This is difficult to do with fridges and the like which need to run 24/7.

[Marcus]

My average daily K/w on the last bill was 24kw

[Skip]

My advise has been that with a moderate feed in tariff that is similar to or less than the cost you are buying it for from the grid, use maximum power while it is free, i.e. while you are generating power during the day. Washing, cooking, run pool pumps etc should be done as much as possible during daylight hours. However, if you have the 44c feed in tariff, then use at night as you earn 44c on the feed in but only costs 21 or 22c to buy back at night. I have had a monitor installed to track our usage. A great tool. this way you can adjust your usage habits to fit your particular circumstance.

[Bluey]

We (my wife and I) have a 3Kw system (total investment about $10K, but we have a 44c feed-in tariff). The dishwasher, clothes washer and any other high consumption items are always run either early in the morning, or after sunset and we make about $75 to $100 per quarter after having fully paid our bill. We also have solar hot water.

True, you can't do much about fridges or garage door openers, but where you can, it is in your interest to move consumption away from when you are generating the most power. My sister, in Canberra, is on a gross feed-in tariff and she is laughing all the way to the bank! In Qld, it is a net feed-in tariff - bummer!

[Biggles]

In Qld, it is a net feed-in tariff - bummer!

Which logically is the way it should be, after all.  You're selling what you can't use yourself.  The ACT model is "Greenism" gone mad.  It's richly rewarding people on a philosophical basis rather than an economic one.   

[Sabie]

We've got a 4.9 kw system with 22 panels on the roof of our shed (it was pointing in the best direction and in full sun)

We're on the 44 cent system. We're on an acreage with a bore for irrigation which runs around very 2nd day, the house is fully air conditioned which runs pretty much from late September to April while we're in the house due to the heat up here. Last quarter we received a cheque for $450.00. When it was installed it was suggested we would receive around $2,000 a year depending on our useage.

Make sure you clean the panels periodically as dust effects the efficiency of the cells.

But, good move Marcus. 

[StinkyPete]

We fitted a 2.6Kw system a couple of years ago, and my total power bill for the year is about $250 only paying at the quarter at the end of winter.  It was a good move for us.

[West Aussie Glen]

I have had my system for almost 3 years. 36 x 185W panels with one 2kw and one 2.8kw inverters. In WA 5kw is the max inverter capacity you can have. Mine was top dollar but also got an initial feed back tariff of 47c / unit while paying 20.82 cents import tariff. I kept daily records for almost 2 years and they showed I had a return of about 12% (tax free) on my investment. Feed back tariff for me is now 48.85c / unit and import tariff over 25.9 c / unit. Consequently try to use power at night.
My daughter has a recently install system of 12 x 250w panels with two x 2.5kw inverters at a cost of $7,500. Her feedback tariff is only about 8.85c / unit hence she trys to use her power during max daylight. Electric storage HWS is on a timer.
I haven't paid a power bill since installation and have received over $5,500 back. In 7 years my feedback tariff will reduce by 40c so I guess I may start paying but will have pool pump and HWS on solar by then.

[Marcus]

Consequently try to use power at night.

Wait

hence she trys to use her power during max daylight.

Which is it...

I don't know anything about solar, I just know I don't want a power bill....

What time at night is the best time...???

Also I though between 9-5 would have been the best time

[West Aussie Glen]

Marcus,
Output from your solar system will start low in the morning reaching a maximmum sometime in the middle of the day and then drop off in the late afternoon. Timing for max output till depend on the orientation of you panels.
There are two or maybe there systems in place depending where you live and when you installed your panels.
System 1. Export tariff is greater than import
System 2. Export tariff is less than import
System 3. Export tariff equals import tariff.

System 1.
Try to use power when solar system is not producing, maximising export

System 2.
Try to use power produced by the solar system, minimising import.

System 3.
When you use your power doesn't matter.

Highest power usage will come mainly from heating or cooling devices, stoves, HWS, air conditioners and dishwashers etc.
Obviously there is no one simple solution.
For my daughters case she has roof sections facing east, north and west. with each one capable of having 12 panels  so the question was where do you place the panels. Well this depends on whether you have system 1 or 2 tariffs, how you operate at home and what applinaces you have. For the environment. For my daughter we put the other 12 panels on the west. As we would expect max output probaly between 1pm and 3pm and she is on system 2, her storage HWS is on a timer to come on between 1pm and 3pm.
I am on system 1 so pool pump is set to run at night and if there is to be a big hotwater usage during the day the HWS is manually turned off and turned back on at night.

Hope this helps

[Marcus]

Thanks Glen that makes perfect sense...

Also found another post on Whirlpool.net forum which basically repeats what you've been saying

Generally the rules for solar PV are:

If you are on a high FIT (e.g. 60c) shift consumption to night so you maximise feed-in.
If you are on a low FIT (e.g. 8c), shift consumption to daytime when your system produces it for free.
If you are on a FIT equal to the cost of your power (e.g. 25-30c) it doesn't really matter when you use it.

Of course, TOU rates would also affect this maxim if you are on this type of tariff.

So since the OP is talking about a new solar installation in Victoria, it would be on a low 8c/kWh FIT, so they would need to use/shift as much during the daytime as possible.

But you also need to factor in what you can shift to the 8am to 5pm period. For instance if you currently run, say, an 800W pool pump overnight for five hours, that's 4kWh you could shift to daytime and run for nothing. Or a dishwasher run for an hour after dinner might be run next morning and shift a further kWh or so.

All this information is mind blowingly tough to work out....

I guess it's all theory until the system gets installed in a few weeks. And then start real world assessment.

[Sabie]

Marcus it can and will change from state to state and provider.

In Qld if your on tarrif 11 it doesn't matter what time you use the electricity at costs the same, however you can go to other tariffs which provide a lower rate "off peak" but a higher rate during "peak" hours.

You just need to do a little research with your provider....

[Bluey]

We found that the people who sold us the solar system were able to give us plenty of info and advice. Ask them, they should know.

[ST2UP]

Good topic Marcus  We have been considering for a while, have played around with solar camping for years but just not brought it to the house yet.


 

[IanB]

I've got six panels and a tiny invertor but still get a credit every quarter.
The system has been in place for a while and we're on the highest feed in tariff.
Biggles mentioned turning everything off but our fridge and a few other things run during the day - like the computer and the credits keep coming.
Only time we've got a bill is the one at the end of the wet and cloudy season and that's a massive $69  for the quarter this year.
Sparkie  across the road has just put up 20 panels on his place.

[Marcus]

Here's my list of appliances:
Plasma 60"
2x LCD tvs
Fridge
Washing machine
Dryer
two computers (one is on 24/7)
Amp and DVD
Kettle
Toaster (with a stepdown transformer attached)

Shed powered

Future (new shed powered)
Freezer

Biggest usage I'm thinking would be a ducked reverse cycle Air con/Heater (this bad boy is on from Lunch time onwards in the middle to winter and in the middle of summer, Some times all night. Weekends almost all day during those times)

so a 6KW system in theory should be able to handle all that without too much trouble...

I'm not sure who you guys can operate with smaller systems

I

[Marcus]

Woot... solar panels getting installed now... although flipping powercor denied me my 6KW system so now I have a 5KW

[Biggles]

Biggest usage I'm thinking would be a ducked...

That would be a big one like this, then?

[Marcus]

haha everyone's a comedian

[Sabie]

You can't have 6k system because the infrastructure can't accommodate it.

[Marcus]

You can't have 6k system because the infrastructure can't accommodate it.

Yeah apparently...sucks but the 5KW still should be enough to clear out my bill (well, almost)

here's the monster inverters

[Biggles]

"Powerful" looking set-up.  Neat looking the brown panel purpose built into the shed with all that electricky grid planned from way back it would appear.