The totally off-topic thread

[rogerkambah]

Loving our solar system!

For the last qtr (Sept-Dec) our gross credit was $1386. After deducting actual power consumption the net credit was $765 Payback on the 7kw system is under three years.

The next bill will be even better since we've been away for a month so consumption will be way down. The only thing gobbling the power while we were away was the pool which is a super energy efficient pump anyway

So I'm guessing that your feed-in tariff is much higher than the price the electricity supplier charges you?

 

[Mal]

The solar panel rebates IMHO was one of the biggest wastes of money within Australia recently. There should have never been feed in rebates, especially as the time when the power is being fed back into the network does not match peak usage.
Then there is the efficiency issue. Instead of many houses duplicating the same effort, if solar was an option then Massive solar farms should have been built.

 

[amaroo]

So I'm guessing that your feed-in tariff is much higher than the price the electricity supplier charges you?

Correct. QLD deal - Sell for $0.52/kw (incl $0.08 from AGL).....Buy for $0.2673/kw (off peak is even less at $0.1805/kw)

Seems crazy! This is the deal that the boffins in the old regime came up with. When the LNP won Gov they moved to scrap it pretty quickly.....they would love to remove it completely however, making a few hundred thousand households into haters and class action supporters isn't the best idea.

It's really quite stupid! Makes you wonder how these politicians and bureaucrats can be that dumb!

 

[Robbi]

Unfortunately where we live in ADL solar will never pay for itself otherwise it would have been installed years ago.

Why won't it?

 

[penegal]

The solar panel rebates IMHO was one of the biggest wastes of money within Australia recently. There should have never been feed in rebates, especially as the time when the power is being fed back into the network does not match peak usage.
Then there is the efficiency issue. Instead of many houses duplicating the same effort, if solar was an option then Massive solar farms should have been built.

I agree that the "early adopter" incentives were too generous... but the same issue with pink bats, etc.

 

[Pushka]

I agree that the "early adopter" incentives were too generous... but the same issue with pink bats, etc.

I think the systems themselves were much more expensive back then too so it probably all comes out in the wash. I'd install solar but don't plan on being here in five years time. This house, that is.

 

[penegal]

I think the systems themselves were much more expensive back then too so it probably all comes out in the wash. I'd install solar but don't plan on being here in five years time. This house, that is.

I am in the same boat... I am looking to move within the next 6-24 months. (although my bank balance / finance director may disagree).

I have been toying with the idea of leaving Australia, in which case there is limited value in purchasing a new property here, except for the tax advantages if it is leveraged.


That said, if I did move to a new place here, a solar system and water tanks would be high on the agenda.

 

[Buzzard]

Why won't it?

Too much shading. Our house has been assessed twice by different organisations and same result each time - not cost effective.

 

[cove]

Our system is 15kw so we don't qualify for rebates and we supply some excess into the State grid for free. We waited for the price crash from panel over production and that happened so we bought.

 

[amaroo]

Our system is 15kw so we don't qualify for rebates and we supply some excess into the State grid for free. We waited for the price crash from panel over production and that happened so we bought.

When I started looking the price for a 7kw was around $35k......held off until the very last day to sign up for the $0.52/kw FIT ($0.44 + $0.08) and ended up paying $13.5K for system.

The FIT for QLD is good until 2028 however, the way electricity prices are soaring the value in the FIT won't last anywhere near that. I'm happy - in less than one year I'm well over 1/3 of the way of getting my investment back and from there it's earning just like any other investment.

The trick with FIT is using as much of your daily power usage at night, maximising the sell of the generation - we sell about 80% of what we generate. When the FIT value is diluted due to rising power we will just change and use all the power during daylight hours.

 

[markis10]

There is a shell of a house next to Mcdonalds at 339 Ipswich Rd, Annerley where the inside has been gutted leaving the frames and roof, on which panels sit. I suspect the owner decided electricity generation was a better business than being a landlord.

 

[Pushka]

There is a shell of a house next to Mcdonalds at 339 Ipswich Rd, Annerley where the inside has been gutted leaving the frames and roof, on which panels sit. I suspect the owner decided electricity generation was a better business than being a landlord.

We have sheds dotted throughout country SA doing exactly the same. Where there's a will, or in this case, tax rebate, there's a way.

 

[Major]

There is a shell of a house next to Mcdonalds at 339 Ipswich Rd, Annerley where the inside has been gutted leaving the frames and roof, on which panels sit. I suspect the owner decided electricity generation was a better business than being a landlord.

Either that or he needs the extra power for growing stuff inside

 

[penegal]

Either that or he needs the extra power for growing stuff inside

Maybe there is a greenhouse in the basement?

 

[JohnK]

Landlord has offered to install air-conditioning if I accept the $10/week rent increase. Has a spare one sitting around somewhere. I guess that would be acceptable and saves me from having to move.

Also buying and installing a new fridge without wasting time trying to find out what is wrong with current fridge.

 

[TomVexille]

Landlord has offered to install air-conditioning if I accept the $10/week rent increase. Has a spare one sitting around somewhere. I guess that would be acceptable and saves me from having to move.

Also buying and installing a new fridge without wasting time trying to find out what is wrong with current fridge.

Not a bad result then

 

[TomVexille]

I'm moving house sometime in the next week. Am I right to assume that I have to tell Medicare and the ATO my new address?

 

[JohnK]

Not a bad result then

I think that is a good result although sometimes I think if I don't get too attached to a single place it would make a decision to move back home easier.

I'm moving house sometime in the next week. Am I right to assume that I have to tell Medicare and the ATO my new address?

Is that right? I thought they only worried about postal address. They certainly don't need to know I sometimes sleep in Brisbane.

 

[markis10]

Landlord has offered to install air-conditioning if I accept the $10/week rent increase. Has a spare one sitting around somewhere. I guess that would be acceptable and saves me from having to move.

Also buying and installing a new fridge without wasting time trying to find out what is wrong with current fridge.

Good outcome, just budget for the power bills.

 

[TomVexille]

Is that right? I thought they only worried about postal address. They certainly don't need to know I sometimes sleep in Brisbane.

So what you're saying is get a P.O. Box and give them that?