Has anybody installed a solar power system on their home

[the evil twin]

Basically the two systems work like this...

Off the Grid systems use a stand alone Inverter IE the Solar Cells (or wind genny or whatever) supply the Battery Bank and the Battery Bank supplies the Inverter which converts the DC into AC power for the house on demand.
Off the Grid systems need a Battery Bank because there is no grid to import elektrikery from.

Grid connect systems use a Grid Tie system IE there is no battery bank and the Solar cells supply the Inverter which runs at optimum power and "in phase" with the Grid.
Any 'extra' power available from the Inverter not consumed by the house is exported back to the Grid by a "smart meter".
When the power available from the Inverter drops off (as the Sun sets, the wind drops or your Nuclear Reactor Scrams) then the house needs more power than the Inverter can produce so the "smart meter" imports power from the Grid

[Forced Offroad]

With all the money you save with the power bill. Save the money for when it fails you will be up for some big bills.
Also another thing from the state government up to... is that there phasing out the electric hot water system, again save the you save for fixing the unit within 2 years when its out of warranty for pump replacements/ and all the over price bits in the system...

I would look into every thing in about 5 years,as it all still very new... But personally i'm avoiding the solar business at the the moment, and will be buying up a few large hot water units and keeping it on off peak.... And sure i'm most out there when the rebates finish next year, the customer wont be able to afford over $5000 for the supply and installation of a energy saving units.. Be that heat pump/solar... And gas prices are going up again.....




Being in a Trade that is being affected by this Im not convinced.....
It only great for the manufacture of all this trying to out do each other and now most of it come from china, but as they do they talk it up,

Im all up for saving money, but I'm in maintenance side of things...

[Splashback]

I installed solar power systems, mostly domestic, for 18 months. Feel free to swing us any questions you have.

Pretty much everything on this thread is about right excepting the repair costs for inverters. Some of the you beaut german ones cost a packet if something lets the smoke out. Avoid Aerosharps from China, Fronius from Italy and the PVE from Queensland, unless you are a bit electronically savvy. The PVE are really basic. No readout or software, just a transformer and some doohickies on a circuit card. Out of the weather install only but if something goes wrong they are easy and cheap to fix. Personally I think they are the ones that will outlast the panels. Not unlike GQ's they will require a bit of maintenance now and then and I think 'Industrial appearance' is a pretty good way to describe them and q's too.

It makes sense to but the biggest capacity inverter you can afford but only if you have the room to mount enough panels to utilize it.

Splash

[Mikell]

Of course, solar electricity is another excellent option for existing homes. As with active solar energy applications, solar power panels can be positioned to take advantage of the sun regardless of the home’s orientation. Usually, you will want to tackle other solar options before installing solar power for homes. This will allow you to size a smaller PV system which will save you in implementation costs.

[oncedisturbed]

just ordered a small 8 panel system which allows me to bump it upto 22 panels later on. if it saves me a few hundered dollars from running the a/c or heater, I am happy. solar hot water is the next thing on the agenda as our hws is 10 year old now and no point replacing parts on it due to stOOpid prices, will switch over to solar.

[97_gq_lwb]

I worked out that on the typical system offered by the majority of these companies the cost of the system and the amount of energy it produces it would just pay for itself over a ten year period.
These schemes and rebates have scammers dribbling all sorts of crap about them and you never get any straight answers.

[oncedisturbed]

true, mine set me back $1898 installed plus $170 for the new smart meter to get put in. that's with a 4.2kw german invertor jobby and the 8 panels are 1.92kw total, so there is room to move later on, the generated output is based on around $500 a year off my bill which is fine to cover the a/c, heater and other small items.

[Rip'n'Shred]

I have a decent system, 22 panels, 3.8kw. I got in just before government ditched the scheme. locked into 66c per kw generated.

I've had it for just on a year now and am absolutely stoked with it. Cheque is always higher than the bill. Cost me $13k but, need quite a few more cheques back yet to pay itself off.

I installed solar power systems, mostly domestic, for 18 months. Feel free to swing us any questions you have.

A question for splashback; I have been told that if you touch the system in any way the contract for the 66c is void. (did look at removing panels to replace roof sheets). I would like to know if this includes moving the meter box where the smart meter is (have seperate area for invertor inside shed. Looking into extensions on house that would require meter box relocation.

Thanks in advance.

[97_gq_lwb]

How does that work 3.8 kw produces an average realistic saving of $200 a quarter so lets be generous and say $1000 a year 13 years it would have paid for itself.
What was your average bill before installing it ?
Ours is around $550 per quarter.

[Rip'n'Shred]

Had meter installed in march last year. so far we are at 5360kw produced at 66c per kw. $3,537.60 if my calculations are correct. Average bill is $500.

They are in a near perfect location on shed roof, never get shade.