Help me understand how Solar is cheaper at home.

[Kippie]

I only have single phase available to me so I can only feed in a max of 5kw. The reason I still decided to run with a 10kw system is because the modelling ( if it is correct) shows a payback for a 6 and a10 to be roughly the same so it is only a short term additional layout but then my power bills will be lower ongoing

OK. In that case I think you'll have heaps of power. Our experience is that on average you'd get about 2-3 times the PV generating capacity in a day. So I reckon with 10kW PVs you'd be looking at around 20-30kWhr/day as a yearly average. I am sure that's going to make a huge difference in your power bill, even without feed in.

 

[boobook]

Kippie's on the money.

My advice is get as much solar as you can afford.

Inverters usually have 2 or more strings. These allow panels to be grouped. East West, North etc.

With 5kw of export you will hit that between about 10.30 and 2 on good sunny days. I faced some panels east, some west and some north. That needs 3 or more strings. I'm lucky to have 10kw export per phase. And I hit that between about 8am and 4.30 pm because the east west panels spread the time. It is a good way to get more export, for longer. Having panels facing east or west takes about 10% off the theoretical output but the longer generation period is worth it.

My record export in a day is 128 kwh and I'm getting 90 to 100 most days.

Edit. Correction. That's my generation. My peak export is 95kwh and I get about 80 most days.

 

[smitty_r51]

Yeah we split ours to, means we get coverage from sunrise to Sunset which covers the daily use... Winter bill was 132, most of that was night running and the service charges.

 

[Albynsw]

I was planning on putting all 28 panels on the same side of the machinery shed which faces north

 

[Toyasaurus]

I don`t have strings on mine I used panel inverters, slight loss at peak.
On the best days mine produces a bit over 60Kw/h, 8.25kw of panels facing 350 deg.
Last quarter I got $268 back.

 

[Petunia]

panels facing 350 deg

Damn, that must work at night then? Cool

 

[Toyasaurus]

Not quite that good, they do there job very well.
My only bitch would be that the panel inverters do throttle the output by a small amount,
Also the company I paid for the job ( not the installers ) is a bit crappy on there customer service.
Enphase ( inverters ) is much worse at customer service.

 

[Lost1?]

The place I brought recently has panels. Being Melbourne we don't see much sun in winter. But since we have had some sunlight in summer my bill has dropped to under $10 a month. Not sure of the output of the system though.

 

[Toyasaurus]

Hey guy`s, for those of you still worried about the price of LFpo4 batteries.
This battery bank is 5.12kwh at $2100 aud works out to be about $420per KWh
A bank of 6 gives you 30kwh which should be more than enough for most.
All that you need to do is hook it up to DC power source, eg Selectronic`s or Victron.
The BMS and temp monitor are built in.
Warranty is good 15yrs I think, 30kwh for less than 13k.
Shipping would probably be quite steep, still I paid 25k for 27kwh.
Hope this helps someone.
Check this out.

48V 100AH LiFePower4 Battery by EG4

ADD-ON CHARGER DEAL Get the 25A 48v LIFEPO4 Charger for 33% off in cart DESCRIPTION SPECS & MANUAL VIDEOS SHIPPING 48V EG4-Lifepower4 Signature Solar’s premier lithium battery, GYLL, has been rebranded to EG4. You can expect the same great battery with the same top-of-the-line, Tier One, A+ Cell...

www.signaturesolar.com

 

[Albynsw]

I was planning on putting all 28 panels on the same side of the machinery shed which faces north

Had my 10kw system installed today. I ended up splitting the panels so have two strings now with 14 panels to pick up the western sun as well as 14 for the north
Will see how it goes. Off to Harvey Normans now to buy some more electrical products to use up the free power

The installer told me of a service provider who gives 15c feed in tariff but are a bit dearer to buy back.

 

[Toyasaurus]

That is impressive Alby.
I was contacting local Tesla suppliers today for a friend up the street.
So much for things getting cheaper, 2x Tesla`s and the gateway ( computerised gut`s of the Tesla ).
Now you won`t get much change out of 30k.

 

[boobook]

Had my 10kw system installed today. I ended up splitting the panels so have two strings now with 14 panels to pick up the western sun as well as 14 for the north
Will see how it goes. Off to Harvey Normans now to buy some more electrical products to use up the free power

The installer told me of a service provider who gives 15c feed in tariff but are a bit dearer to buy back.

View attachment 73052

Nice set up.

Nicer property.

 

[Mick_Marsh]

When choosing to go with solar, you need to think about the installation to avoid future issues.

At this stage, I would consider salt batteries in a remote cabinet and isolate from the grid.
As the policy stands today, when there is a power outage, the energy company shuts your solar system down to prevent islanding.

As household solar stresses the grid, WA and South Australia will have the power to turn it off

Authorities are moving to gain more control over rooftop solar panels amid a ballooning number of installations that are threatening to overload the grid at certain times.

www.abc.net.au

Warning about maintaining solar panel batteries after Adelaide house badly damaged in fire

A fire that started in a solar panel battery badly damages a house in Adelaide's northern suburbs, in what the Metropolitan Fire Service says is a growing problem across Australia.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Kippie]

When choosing to go with solar, you need to think about the installation to avoid future issues.

At this stage, I would consider salt batteries in a remote cabinet and isolate from the grid.
As the policy stands today, when there is a power outage, the energy company shuts your solar system down to prevent islanding.

As household solar stresses the grid, WA and South Australia will have the power to turn it off

Authorities are moving to gain more control over rooftop solar panels amid a ballooning number of installations that are threatening to overload the grid at certain times.

www.abc.net.au

Warning about maintaining solar panel batteries after Adelaide house badly damaged in fire

A fire that started in a solar panel battery badly damages a house in Adelaide's northern suburbs, in what the Metropolitan Fire Service says is a growing problem across Australia.

www.abc.net.au

It gets worse. I believe that in SA and soon WA the power company can switch off your solar system remotely to ensure stability in the network. It will be better to go off grid.

 

[Toyasaurus]

Mick.
That`s one of the reasons I went with the Tesla`s.
No blackouts, the batteries take over as soon as the power goes out, it completely cut`s my place off the grid.
All you need is the isolation system to keep you running in a blackout.
It only works if you have batteries on a genset.

 

[Mick_Marsh]

It gets worse. I believe that in SA and soon WA the power company can switch off your solar system remotely to ensure stability in the network. It will be better to go off grid.

That is what the article I linked to said.

 

[Albynsw]

Mick.
That`s one of the reasons I went with the Tesla`s.
No blackouts, the batteries take over as soon as the power goes out, it completely cut`s my place off the grid.
All you need is the isolation system to keep you running in a blackout.
It only works if you have batteries on a genset.

Realistically how long would you be able to run off your batteries before you need the genset?

 

[RBJET]

Had my 10kw system installed today. I ended up splitting the panels so have two strings now with 14 panels to pick up the western sun as well as 14 for the north
Will see how it goes. Off to Harvey Normans now to buy some more electrical products to use up the free power

The installer told me of a service provider who gives 15c feed in tariff but are a bit dearer to buy back.

Nice set up.
Out of interest, how do you mow that hill?
I have a similar one and it's a pain by hand.
Sorry to go off topic.

 

[Albynsw]

Nice set up.
Out of interest, how do you mow that hill?
I have a similar one and it's a pain by hand.
Sorry to go off topic.

I have hired help

I have a 4 wd tractor as well and slash it twice a year. It is due now but has been too wet to risk driving on it in the tractor

 

[RBJET]

Well that certainly makes life easier.
Unfortunately hired help is off the cards for me without fencing.