Solar Panels

[Hvr]

Got word from Momentum (current energy provider) today they've sent me the authorisation form.
After having to reinstall my printer I was able to print off and then scan the completed form and return it via email.

Here's hoping it's quick. And then I can play the comparison game to get the best rate for both the FIT (high) and consumption (low).

 

[Quickstatus]

I’ve got a subscription to Adobe Acrobat which takes the printer out of the loop. Significantly it allows form filling and signatures to be superimposed on the PDF

Because of the NE aspect, my production peaks at 1100am and stops at 1600hrs. Significantly I start importing from the Grid around 2pm which is the start of the Peak tariff

As the off peak tariff is less than the FiT, most if not all of the night time off peak consumption is entirely covered by the FiT exported electricity. There is no reason to shift any load to the daytime.

Therefore the 1400-2200 period is not covered by solar to any significant extent.

 

[serfty]

After having to reinstall my printer I was able to print off and then scan the completed form and return it via email.

Interesting - with Windows 10 you can "print" directly to "PDF" if desired.

 

[Quickstatus]

Interesting - with Windows 10 you can "print" directly to "PDF" if desired.

Only if the forms originate in Windows Word. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required for acrobat form filling and superimposing an image of a signature. However I think if the acrobat form is not setup for form data you then need the Acrobat full version to add text.

 

[ozfflyer]

a quick summary of our experience, with a very arrogant solar seller, who spends a fortune advertising on TV who sponsored some dodgy afl club & seem to have phoenixed into another company but with almost identical ads.

We had the basic 1.5kw system installed on 2 houses in similar location, within days of each other. Paid $1500 each. Came with a 5 year warranty. At about 3 years, both invertors stopped turning on in the am, but found out by turning off system for a minute, the relay which seem to be at fault, kicked in. Called dodgy bros solar & same guy came to both houses & almost secretly pulled cover off invertor, while I was trying to watch & flicked something (a switch ?). He didn't want me to see & wouldn't tell me what he'd done. It took about 5 seconds.

Anyway, 2 years later noticed the same thing happened on both invertors. Called dodgy bros solar again & they said sorry out of warranty now. New invertors $2k each. After telling them to f..k off, I kept turning on invertors everyday, but also asked a auto electrician, what a new invertor should cost. He said " a good german one, not a cheap chinese one" $700 cash.

Kept turning them on manually & after a few months noticed they were both working again.

We get around $200-$250 off our 1/4ly power bill, depending on time of year. Our total power bills are $300-$350 a 1/4, so we end up paying around $100 to $150 a 1/4 to power co.

On a purely financial basis, systems paid themselves off after 2 years.

Both invertors are on 1 side of roof only & only get sun for 4-5 hours a day.

Get the impression, that many people looking at getting solar, don't factor in, how long the system will last or work for, maintenance & is the warranty given, worth anything.

PS. some of our neighbours trees starting to grow in front of solar system, so cut them back. They complained, so next time, I just poisoned the trees with poison I got from a farmer that kills everything.

 

[Hvr]

Interesting - with Windows 10 you can "print" directly to "PDF" if desired.

The form they sent me was a PDF that wasn't able to be filled in on the computer. I had to print it to paper, fill it out and then scan it to PDF to send back to the company.

I often use 'print to PDF' to save documents, emails etc.

My solar company provided me with an "Estimated Average Daily Energy Output by Month" using nearmap showing the panels in place taking into account anything that will cause shade over the proposed panel placement.

I used Essential Solar on the recommendation of a friend who used them and was very happy with their service. Based on what I have seen so far with them I'm happy.

 

[Quickstatus]

I avoid like the plague anyone who have to do lots of advertising.

Currently getting 4.7x the nameplate kW capacity in July. So a 1kW system is generating 4.7 KWh per day

 

[cove]

We had one inverter fail at one of our branches just after a quarterly account arrived. What that meant was we had almost 3 months of full cost. That branch now has a reporting system connected to a mobile phone.
Overall our 12 month power saving from the changes we made totaled about $120,000 compared with 4 years ago.
Working mostly sunlight hours made our multiple office/warehouses ideal for solar and LED lighting.
We have now done solar on more buildings this year and the results are pretty good for our tenants. A happy tenant is worth having these days.

 

[Quickstatus]

My tenants in Wagga are very happy with winter elec bill because they compare it with their Uni Friends who are tenants in similar house in same neighbourhood.

I told them that is possible that over a 12 month period , their annual elec bill will be equivalent to 2 quarterly accounts. Being millennials they think their house is saving the world and saving money. I’m just looking at the financials

 

[cove]

Yes Quickstatus financials come into most calculations. At work our petrol bills have started tumbling too as the Toyota Camry Hybrids are averaging 4.5 litres per 100 kms and we just have 3 to go for this year. They take 3 months to turn up from order date.
Our social housing projects have a slower payback as peak usage of power is when the sunlight is not there. We need the battery prices to halve and that will be a goer.

 

[Quickstatus]

Standard unleaded for the C-hybrid?

 

[cove]

Most are using 95 and some 98 rather than 91 which is the standard unleaded.
We run the 600hl and 450h Lexus models on 98 fuel.

 

[Quickstatus]

As the price 95 is about 10-12% more than 91 that would convert to the price of 5.0 L/100km for someone buying 91.

Still that’s excellent
As diesel is about par +/- with 91 on price it’s about the same as my Golf though C-hybrid is a bigger car

Can the hybrid be charged from a charging station?

Don’t know why I am getting this solar generation profile on a sunny cloudless day:

 

[Quickstatus]

A: The solar generation export to grid is causing an over voltage on the transformer outside on the street and is causing the Inverter to shut down.

Likely remedy is to ask the distributor to turn down the voltage a little at the transformer.

This was the cause of the initial refusal by distributor to allow a 25kW inverter.

Installer said he has dealt with this before and does not see a problem.

 

[JessicaTam]

I have been with Red Energy since before installing my system. I decided to stick with them until my first quarter after the installation to make it easier to trouble shoot any account troubles.

Now it is time to look around at other options. I am currently getting 12c FiT, and Origin are offering 15c. Anything better than that?

 

[RB]

I have been with Red Energy since before installing my system. I decided to stick with them until my first quarter after the installation to make it easier to trouble shoot any account troubles.

Now it is time to look around at other options. I am currently getting 12c FiT, and Origin are offering 15c. Anything better than that?

I am with Origin. I am on 20c FIT but only get 3% off usage-the alternative was 8c FIT & 26% off. Our pattern meant I went for the larger FIT. Not sure what current offers are, I went this way in Jan.

 

[Quickstatus]

For my service address
Origin offers:
21c Fit (incl GST) which is actually 19.09c ex GST But the tariffs are higher
54.88c summer peak (1Nov-31Mar 1400-2000hrs and then 1Jun-31Aug 1700-2100hrs)
14.93c off peak
24.63c shoulder
100.27 c daily supply charge DSC

Tariffs are incl GST


My current EA plan:
12.5c Fit (ex GST)
43.93 peak
12.1935 off peak
19.973 shoulder
102.85c DSC
My plan is not seasonal.

im about to jump to the EA seasonal plan which is this despite the lower FiT offer:
12.5c Fit (ex GST)
47.44 summer/winter peak (1Nov-31Mar, and 1Jun-31Aug)
24.82c non summer/non winter peak
15.14c off peak
24.82 shoulder
84.50c DSC


The only way to compare is to take a quarterly bill and apply the competing tariffs and see what happens.

 

[cove]

Quickstatus my last 98 fuel purchase was Monday at $1.52 less 10% less 4 cents and the Myer One kicker so often I get this fuel at what others pay for 91 fuel.
98 fuel can be $1.80 if you try Tuesday in Perth after 6am......no need to rip yourself off with the Perth fuel cycle.
Overloading the transformer outside our WA premises is why we were only approved for 2 lots of 30 Kilowatts on our two buildings.
In QLD we were ok for a 36 kW system straight up.

 

[Quickstatus]

It’s not so much an overload of the transformer but the distributor imposes limits on the line voltage going to houses.

Often they push the voltage close to limit to ensure that the house furthest away does not have low voltage under load.

The closer the solar is to the transformer the closer the export voltage is to the limit.

Some transformers have dynamic voltage regulation. Others need manual intervention and then there are some where the line voltage is not adjustable. I hope I’m not in the last category.

When an inverter senses the line voltage to be such the export voltage is too high it will shut down. The export voltage needs to be higher than line voltage to ensure the electrons go out rather than come in.

 

[Hvr]

Just got the text to say my electricity/solar connection has been activated.