Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am looking at the pros and cons of going solar at the moment. This would attract the $8000 Gov rebate which is going to be replaced in July I believe. I don't think it will be quite the same value, fairly close and it is not meant to be means tested.

The company that I am talking with at present use the Kaneka panels that are a 60 watt thin film. They claim they are the best in shade and are the most efficient in high temperatures.

My roof faces due north and has an 18 degree pitch, so I have no extra costs with mounting. The system would cost about $18,800, but I would be out of pocket for $8200 (after rebate, renewable energy certificates and company rebate, got to query that one) plus a smart meter. I imagine I would also pick up the added 10% investment tax deduction. The WA Gov is expected to pay back 60c per unit until the capital cost is of the investment is reached, then revert back to the nominal tariff.

This requires some number crunching, but the impression I get is that if the cost of borrowing money is not too high, or selling shares that are going to take time to recover , then one should be going into it in a big way

Believe stand alone systems a 50% rebate available till the end of year on these systems, there is no max cap on what you spend. My system at Coffs is great added a 500w turbine while staying over chrissy but chinese reg and rectifier was crap replaced with an aussie built unit my systen runs 12 x 80w panels and 1500w inverter with deep cycle batteries at 24v. Definately will go again the much hyped credit crunch isnt that bad for anybody in a safe job cheeper fuel and best interest rates for a long time. I am seriously considering building my container home that i have been planning for years even though i wont be living there for another few years.

Hey Rick,
We are looking at getting solar panels on the roof of our house too. Only had 1 quote so far and for 1kw of panels (6) plus a 3kw inverter would cost us about $7000.00. This is a Conenergy system but would not see us totally supported, but my thoughts are we can add on later and as time goes on the children will leave home reducing our costs expenencially.
Does anyone have any other recommendations of companies that have provided good service and price?

I bought a 1.5kw system a year or so ago and haven't had to pay an electricity bill since...

We have been in credit with synergy for the last 6-9 months. Perhaps we'll have a big party sometime and turn on all of our lights etc. to use up the credit

The system cost us $4.500 after the government rebates. It produces around 7 kwh during summer and 3-4 kwh during winter. There is only two of us in the house, we use around 4kwh per day on average...

If you've got the money I'd definitely recommend it...esp. while the rebates are on offer.

G'day Faye,
The company I am talking with at present is Solarshop.com.au. The rep from Bunbury (maybe only rural) seems to be very thorough with his info.

Gibo, do you recall the company that did your installation? What type of panels did they use?

I went through solarshop. They did an excellent job.

The Bunbury rep negotiated a bulk purchase down this way which saved us another couple of $k in addition to the federal rebate.

I think they were the Kaneka panels...18 of them in total although you can only see 12 in the photo - the other six are on a different section of the roof.

We got the larger inverter too (the blue thing on the veranda) so we have the option of adding another six panels if we wish...dont need them at this stage though!

That should be $4,500 for the system btw...

Also is hail a worry? Is insurance an option?

insurance an option for sure lot of dollars up there but saying that they are tuff buggars had hail punch holes through laserlite on roof of my shack but didnt hurt panels also people we sold horses to had their ED falcon wagon badly damaged windscreen smashed an headlight also with carpet underlay over it and solar panel survived unscathed. Theft is problem local solar shop lost 20 panels off their premises. I busted the theif when he tried to sell me a couple. Careful of your policy as they wernt covered for theft.

Here goes with a rant on my thoughts as far as money goes.

A 1.5 kw system will cost me $8000 out of pocket after rebates, discounts etc. This will typically produce about 7 units of electricity per day average. This would be about half of my consumption, but changing over to a smart meter would alter these figures as I would be making power at the expensive rate and consuming it at the cheaper rate.

Let’s say that I get smart with power consumption and also use a smart meter, and only consume what I use. (That's because I'm so good at Maths!!) Gibo's 1.5 kw system keeps him in credit, so it must be possible.

So $8000 outlay will save me 5,110 units @ 13.94 c/unit = $712 pa.
Therefore $8000 div $712 = 11 years to pay off no interest, tax etc.

This equates to almost 9% in the first year, a bit better than interest at present and a bit worse than the historical value of shares, but better than shares currently.

If you are running a small business then you can claim an additional 10% deduction (need to spend $10000) and there is another 30% deduction my accountant told me about today. However, my small business runs at a loss most years so any amount of deductions doesn't help me.

Now midyear, yet to be formally announced, will be a payment of excess power generated being bought by the electricity company of up to 60 cents a unit, until you recoup your initial capital outlay. The wording of this announcement will be very important, as Gov's do very funny things as we all know.

So that would mean 5110 units at 60 c/unit = $3066, ie less than three years. This equates to 38% on an investment of $8000 for the first 3 years. After the three years is up, electricity may well cost close to 60 cents per unit, so the investment continues to pay dividends.

This is a very basic set of figures and needs to have other influences such as tax, interest, depreciation, etc included in. Everyone will be a little bit different, but the biggest influence will be Gov’ conditions yet to be announced.

Gibo, it would be interesting to hear more about your system and the sort of power appliances that you run.

...and if power goes up 50% - 100% the 11years turns into 4-5
I want 3k

I had a 1KW system installed last September. It has generated in excess of 750KWH so far and I expect it to generate in excess of 1MWH in a full year.

Solar Unlimited was the supplier. My cost was $2K plus $600 for the meter changeover (3 phase)

There are 6 panels, mounted flat on my roof (steel roof sheets - extra cost for tiled roofs). The inverter is located adjacent to my load centre (fuse panel).

I also have a stand alone solar system which provides most of our electricity, but which allows us to select mains if the batteries are at a low state of charge. If the batteries are low on charge, I will switch to mains power overnight (off peak power), so that the batteries are not discharged further overnight. During the day we can supply our needs on all but the most overcast days, as well as supplying gharge to the battery bank.

The grid connected system allows us to offset the costs of running our 3 phase pumps which supply our water (no mains water here) the electric oven and the evaporative air conditioner. We also have an electric water booster on the solar water system, but it is mainly boosted by the wood fired space heater, so the electric booster is rarely turned on.

Our "normal" power bill was around $50 per bill (2 months), but this dropped to $5 when the Grid tie solar system was turned on.

I am hoping that we can generate enough power, in a full year, to offset all of our electricity needs from the grid.

Best wishes,
Tony

Tony, If I had a bill of only $50 bucks I would consider that awsome! Mine could reach $300 in Summer but rarely drops below $75 in the winter. Since losing the pool to a storm and installing compact flouresent bulbs I cut it by 1/3. I may try to take advantage of a state tax rebate of 30% of cost of making an older home energy efficient. But it has to cut energy bill by 30 %. Replacing windows and doors with energy star stuff and blowing insulation in attic, as well as energy star appliances. I probably should apply before installing solar system. You have a wind genny also don't you?