Solar Power

[t_revz]

hey who has gone solar and has any tips or recommendations on who to use or what to get etc. i wanted to do it last financial year but couldnt. thinking about 3kw is a good size as it gets pricey above that. what are people saving now on their bills. i heard $100 a month for average bills

[Boss-zilla]

Go big or go home thats what i have been told.

Depends on what you want out of it, ie: reduce your bill or produce enough so you get a $0 or -ve bill.

The old man got a 3kw system but has the extra capacity to double it by just adding the extra pannels. start at the 3 but make sure it can handle more by just adding the extra panels.

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Yes, got for a larger inverter than you need, or one that can support multiple phases, will give you room to grow if you need to.

[t_revz]

had a call back from true value solar today, they quoted 8500 for 3kw on sat and today 7400 due to changes by the government? still waiting on other quotes.

thinking about getting it put on the patio so it helps reduce temp underneath plus it will be near impossible to see it.

5kw systems are around the 12k mark but i havent asked about 5kw invertor with 3kw worth of panels

[Boss-zilla]

also if youre not in a rush find out what pannels they use. I am told this can make a difference but in saying that i couldnt tell you who/what is better sorry.

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Trev, For that kind of investment, its worth taking the time to investigate further. I'm sure there are some dedicated forums which have alot of info. Also, to pay back $7k, you'd have to stay in your current place for about 5-10years.

[GWP021]

we used solar harness for our system and are verry happy with it

they were far from the cheapest but they use some of the best pannels and inverters available

we have 1.6kwh of pannels with a 3.4 inverter and havnt had a power bill since the middle of last summer

for us we calculated it as a 4-5 year break even

the main sugestion i can give is do your research especially on pannel and inverter types

some of the systems available use pretty ordinary gear that only produce power in full sun and then drop dramatically or even switch off with just a little shade

GWP

[t_revz]

cheers guys, ive had a sydney rep from true value calling me regularly but i said im not in a rush. some companys i requested a rep to call never rang back

in regards to panels etc i noticed on one site they have 2 types of panel. bigger one that are from taiwan and assembled in china. smaller type are aussie and have been around for 10 plus years. lot more expensive for bigger ones so why would ya.

good idea on the solar forum paulie! using recent bills and solar calculator about $1700 can be saved a year with 3kw system. need to find out a bit more about the inverters

[heller44]

Have a read about the changes to the infeed tarrifs here Office of Energy - Residential.

Will take a lot longer to pay off the investment than it used to.

Heaps of info on the Whirlpool.net.au forums about solar installations.

[Pal]

You used to get 46c per kw, now you only get about 20c per kw. Personally I think they are a waste of time unless you pay for it fully then write it off and then look at the savings. If you need to take a loan, don't do it.

[t_revz]

naa i dont need a loan or i wouldnt do it... i didnt want to commit to it last fin year as we were going overseas for a month but turns out the trip nearly cost us nothing so i can do it now.

i know i wont be as good off as others but just want my bills as close to zero or under if possible.

was warned yesterday about a few companys who they couldnt name, that some places will likely shut up shop in the next year or two as business winds down so take my time choosing who and what exactly i want...

i cant see us leaving this house in the foreseable future so it should pay itself off and then some