Anyone bought solar panels

[techno]

Mt electricity company is giving me the shits. Unfortunately there is no competition in Tassie.

I haven't taken much notice of the advertising regarding solar panels so I'm looking for info.

Has anyone spent their hard earned on installing some at home and if so, what is your experience?

Are there gov rebates available? How much do I have to spend to make it worth while? Is the current advertising just to get you in then they talk you into taking the more expensive option?

BTW, not looking to use it for hot water. I have gas for that.

Any info will be useful, thanks.

[FIFO]

I believe there are some very good deals going at the moment as the gubbiment rebate will soon end and the the suppliers are over stocked and want to clear it.Not sure if that only applies in NSW.
That info BTW came from my business partner  who's relo just payed 2k to have panels installed,which is I'm told a good deal? and was only on Monday telling me to pull my finger out  and get them installed.
And he has him self, had them installed early last year and saving a fair bit of money,on his bill,
Not sure what the deal is in Tassi though regarding rebates and stuff

[goldFiSh]

It all varies from state to state.  Some things to consider

- whether you are paid net or gross on what you generate. NSW is paid gross - every KWh you produce is paid for
- what rate you are being paid vs what you are being charged. This is a tricky one, as most energy suppliers are moving from a flat rate to a sliding scale / peak usage etc model
- potential tax implications. It could be considered taxable income. The only precedent at the moment is that if the system installed is revenue neutral, its not taxable, but who really knows, its new territory
- the life of the system and the return on investment.

I did my house with a 1.5Kw system around 12 months ago, got a great rate for what I generate (66 cents / Kwh) and a name brand system. In the negative, I needed a new set of meters, so automatically went to the sliding scale model.

My system is name brand, and all going well, should be good for 20 years.

The supplier offered a 3 year interest free deal, so basically outside of a small deposit, it's not costed me a cent, and in 3 years it'll generate a small income, no doubt that will be offset by the rising cost of electricity.

We're quite frugal on our power usage, so 1.5kW was good for us - one fridge, no air conditioning, gas heating and cooking. your milage may vary.

You might also want to check out any others in the area and ask them how much they are generating. there is also a web site that people can log this stuff which is quite popular. depending on your installation's orientation, it can vary wildly. Also keep in mind that all deals involve you selling your REC's (renewable energy credits), and the going rates for these can also vary wildly - do your homework...

Basically we did it to offset the rising cost of electricity, and so far it's working out OK. This is mostly due to the stupid deals that were going on, the deals at the moment are still good, just not as good as they were.

Hope this helps.

[Betty]

Mt electricity company is giving me the shits. Unfortunately there is no competition in Tassie.

The good thing about no competition is that you don't have to take the blame for choosing the wrong retailer ... don't worry they are like banks ... its a privelege to give money to any of them, dealings are always a blissful experience.

We had solar panels installed last year - would have been earlier other than we were make the beast with two backsed around by the company we were dealing with (don't worry they are no longer in 'the business'). There are many and complicated issues - perhaps you should get a lawyer involved.

Each state and/or retailer will have different schemes (appropriate term) running and they are changed as often as politicians change their minds. The bulk of the capital outlay rebates come from the feds though ... this is the part that makes it affordable. The scheme run by the state/retailer is what effects your payback period.

Generally the way it works is that you sign over your 'renewable energy credits' (REC) to your chosen solar mob they then offer you a discount on your purchase/install. You may be offered nett or gross metering options which will effect how, when and how much you will be creditted/paid for the energy your solar system generates. This will of course be complicated by new meters and time of day metering options that your retailer will no doubt try to confuse you with in an effort to get more money out of you.

The RECs credits have been offered at a 'bonus rate' to encourage take-up but his is being wound back. It effectively entitiled you to 5x the number of credits on your first (I think) 1.5kW installed ... but this is now being wound back year on year (is probably 4x or less at the moment). So the best value (from an outlay viewpoint) is to buy a system close to that size. It may be worthwhile to go bigger though.

The value of these credits is also determined by your location and solar power generating potential ... so in Hobart you are rooted 'cos you don't get enough sun apparently.

As I said though you will need to look into the details of what they are actually offering you from a retail/payback situation to see whether it is a good deal for you personally.

Of course, like rainwater tanks, we only did it for environmental reasons. If we hadn't been messed around for so long initially I would have been on a mega-gross feed-in tariff and the state government would have been paying me money ... power would effectively be free.

Was it worthwhile (other than the green smug generated)? Well I don't know yet ... after having the system installed last June I still haven't received a relevant power bill - s'pose that's a good thing.

Oh, and as usual, I just spouted all this bullshit off the top of my head ... so do your own due diligence.

EDIT: Oh shit, Goldy probably just posted the same stuff, I'll have a look.

[goldFiSh]

EDIT: Oh shit, Goldy probably just posted the same stuff, I'll have a look.

Not quite, I think our posts kinda complement each other.

Oh, and I got in on the mega gross feed in thing - just..

[Betty]

Oh, and I got in on the mega gross feed in thing - just..

Bastard! I was trying to get the system for a year ... had even warned them two months prior to the cut-off that I feared it must be coming. The sons-of-pregnant doges left a message for me at work (when I wasn't in the office) saying 'you have to pay a deposit today' on the last day ... so I missed out.

Bitter? Abso-make the beast with two backsing-lutely. Still. I have never been so angry, couldn't even get a quote.
Cost me tens of thousands I reckon ... and after all the therapy I had almost gotten over it ... BASTARD!

[tassieduke]

We had ours installed for about 2 years now
It is a 1kw system 6 flat panels etc.
The product was made in Germany and have no complaints about fit and finish.
Our town bulk bought 500 systems so with install rebate at the time it only cost me $500.
The Recs were sold back to the company.
It saves us about $60-80 from our quarterly bill.
So for what I paid,I think we did alright.
If you had to fork out $3000 etc I am not so sure it would be worth it in Tassie.
Also to go off the grid and piss off Aurora you would need a lot bigger system.
The government rebate gets less each year so be quick if you want to go ahead  
Hope this helps.

[tassieduke]

I should have mentioned the $60-80 it saves is summer
Winter is only $20-40

[madalf71]

Hi Techno.

Goldfish is on the money.

However first and foremost, what is your current daily kwh usage?
Due to tarriffs you could end up paying more.
I've just completed studies on the topic, will pm you my details.

Note, panel guarrentees vary greatly, and most are a guarrentee of output and not failure.
Inverter life is expected to be 5-10 years, placement makes a difference, ie out of the sun and sheltered.

Cheers.

Madalf

[goldFiSh]

Hi Techno.

Goldfish is on the money.

However first and foremost, what is your current daily kwh usage?
Due to tarriffs you could end up paying more.
I've just completed studies on the topic, will pm you my details.

Note, panel guarrentees vary greatly, and most are a guarrentee of output and not failure.
Inverter life is expected to be 5-10 years, placement makes a difference, ie out of the sun and sheltered.

Cheers.

Madalf

as is Madalf! My inverter is both out of sun and sheltered. When I went through this, and then  I went though again and again - As Betty alluded, the NSW gross tariff feed in deal was too good to be true, so I was very suspicious.

Not long after mine was installed they changed the scheme's conditions.

As for installer, I went with a deal that Origin Energy was doing, they did a deal with a tier 1 elec contractor, who did all the install work. I have the sharp panels and sharp inverter, did a lot of research on both - good panels, OK inverter - there are both better and worse, but given the deal, they were both acceptable to me to run with it.

Origin were a pig to deal with - had to take them to the ombudsman twice (!) on two separate occasions, mostly due to their internals systems not dealing with having to pay money out as well as charge (2 separate divisions who can't seem to talk to each other).

Despite all of that, can't complain. My panels are nor-west - not ideal, but not far from it. On a good day in summer I generate just shy of 10,000kW, winter peaks around 5,000kW. My neighbour has the identical system (talked him into it as well) but his is true north - he gets slightly better, but not by much... Oh, and my panels are on a 2nd story roof, with no shade at all..

[vossy]

I have the same system as Goldfish But with 10 panels. (a 2 year interest free deal through Origin Energy)
Very happy with the system so far. The last electric bill I got was $52.00 in credit! So I can't complain about that.
That is based on Two people and the standard household stuff. I got my panels in before the gov rebate got slashed here in South OZ to something stupid like 22c KW

[tassieduke]

Hi Techno.

Goldfish is on the money.

However first and foremost, what is your current daily kwh usage?
Due to tarriffs you could end up paying more.
I've just completed studies on the topic, will pm you my details.

Note, panel guarrentees vary greatly, and most are a guarrentee of output and not failure.
Inverter life is expected to be 5-10 years, placement makes a difference, ie out of the sun and sheltered.

Cheers.

Madalf

Our system is facing Dead on North with no trees or shade to be given.
We are 2 people,with highest energy rating white goods,TV etc.
Our average yearly daily kilowatt usage is 12 our system has 25 year warranty
Our panels are mono crystalline which loose the least amount of energy to other panels.
We did not just go and buy the first thing off the shelf,our neighbour hood held meetings and had displays and debates with suppliers from around the world and there representatives from Australia.
I guess everyone will have a different opinion on what you should do and what system to get.
Just remember the sun in Tassie doesn't stick around as long as other states and this will make a difference on the type of panels you choose and the amount of money to be saved,the larger the system the more it can produce.  
There is a lot to consider how long are you going to stay were you are?will you be there longer enough to see the benefits?are you doing it for environmental reasons? so on and so on.
Just read up as much as you can,speak to your town and maybe form a eco group and look into the bulk town buy.
Cheers

[Betty]

I have the same system as Goldfish But with 10 panels. (a 2 year interest free deal through Origin Energy)
Very happy with the system so far. The last electric bill I got was $52.00 in credit! So I can't complain about that.
That is based on Two people and the standard household stuff. I got my panels in before the gov rebate got slashed here in South OZ to something stupid like 22c KW

I hate you too

[techno]

Thanks for all the replies. I knew there was a wealth of info on here but didn't expect as much on this subject.

Not sure what my daily usage is. They haven't read my meter in ages as apparently two white fluffy dogs are too much for a meter reader to deal with. As a result they have been estimating my last few bills.

I have learned a lot already but just need to decide whether the outlay is going to be worthwhile. I guess that depends on the size of the system, how much I feed back and what rate I get for it.

[Betty]

I have learned a lot already but just need to decide whether the outlay is going to be worthwhile. I guess that depends on the size of the system, how much I feed back and what rate I get for it.

Does nobody think of the children?

You know ... nuke a gay whale for Jesus and all that.