SOLAR USERS: whats one thing you wish you knew before you went solar?

[thunter]

So after seeing our absolutely ridiculous last power bill we're ready to bite the bullet and go solar (late to the party I know)... doing my homework now

Seems like there's a few solar fans on here so I'm just wondering... what is one thing you wish you had known BEFORE you got solar for the first time?

[NeilC]

@John-T @thunter 

I got an extra two years on my inverter by registering it online within a month (was done about 30 mins after the installer left).

Sent you a PM as well.

Tesla does not appear as a Supplier or Retailer but works in partnership with Energy Locals to supply cheaper power.

[PhilBest313]

It is important to understand that when the panels get hot that their electricity power decreases.

I use this analogy example: If you could imagine on a hot day that the UV forces you to go from the middle of a cricket match pitch to the change rooms to apply sunscreen, when you return to the centre you use and lose energy. However if you were closer to the change rooms, it is easier to return.

Electrons on a solar panel are similar in that their orbit radius is greater in hot conditions so after they get knocked out by UV, when they return they do not spend as much energy (which is converted to electricity).

[NeilC]

@PhilBest313 

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the input but the guise of your post it is far to left of the question.

The idea of this posting is to make people aware of  possible pitfalls in purchasing a solar system.

[Kkop]

Solar is a waste of money.

The rebate you get for KWh’s sold back to the grid is negligible @0.05c per KWh.

When you use the electricity you pay 0.2783 per KWh used and sell it to AGL  for 0.05.

I used 723kwh and sold back 1120 kWh for the grand sum of $59.

Should have saved the installation and purchase costs of going Solar and put it towards my electricity bills.

[NeilC]

@Kkop 

You seem to be missing the point of how much you saved by having the solar.

Why don't you state how much your solar panels generated for the period.

Peak kW	ShoulderkW	O/peak kW	Export kW	Gen kW
58.036	0.047	28.171	490.702	620.2

Above is my data (usage and solar to grid) so far for my current billing period (18 days so far).

Now you can see I self consumed 129.498 kW of my generation.

Peak kW	Shoulder Kw	Off Pk kW
194.229	296.473	0

Above is what I generated in power back to the grid during the TOU (Time of Use) Billing.

In this period (18 days) I only consumed 86.254 kW of power.

I don't have a record of the actual usage of the power though.

What I can tell you though is, if  I had a single use tariff,  I would have had to pay for:

215.752 kW rather than the 86.254 kW.

Now that 86.254kW is going to cost me $36.42 at my current TOU Tariff, my solar generation is going to pay me $36.64, however my supply charge is going to cost me $17.28, so presently my bill will be $17.04 at present.

I live in SA, and I can tell you that the single rate tariff is $0.45144 here and that we would love to see the prices that you easterners pay.

[Lester]

@Kkop you can't just compare what you took from the grid at x cents, and what you put into the grid at x cents.

The FIT vs the usage cost is getting more and more irrelevant now, as FITs go down (to nothing in the next year or two), and tariffs go upwards.

A minor FIT from excess production is a good  to help reduce daily supply charge a little.

What really saves is what you use when self consuming during the day / solar production hours.

So, a big tip when considering solar (for anyone reading this looking at solar) is if you are a working household, both parents working, kids at school during the normal daytime hours, and you can't use a generous amount of your production during the day, solar might be a waste of time and $ for you.

You can only programme a few appliances perhaps to come on while away, the washing machine, maybe a dishwasher, or pool pump etc.

The override on this is if you get a battery to store your daily production, and use that during the early morning / late afternoon / evenings.

Another tip, if getting solar alone or with a battery, you should check your usage, lower winter production figures, and perhaps aim to get at least 10kw of inverter capacity and 11-12kwh of battery storage minimum.

If you can consume a lot of your electricity usage during the day, you will save a pretty penny, especially with ever rising tariffs.

[Templar]

Spot on you are 100% correct. I too installed a system recently which went from 3.3c to 0.5 cents in a flash. 

Looking back now I fell for marketing and government spin. I should have known better because I worked

for SMA in a technical role for a couple of years. Now I'm exporting kw's and being paid for peanuts for it. At the same time I'm paying Vic Solar back a subsidy grant of $30/month. While working in the industry I saw it as being a false front and stupidity got the better of me. I though of minimizing usage and saving money in an expensive market when in fact it's costing more having a system fitted rather then having no system. It's a false economy built on ideology, lies and deception. Whatever we do to minimize energy usage we will be held captive by an overegulated market and government legislation. Buyer beware!   

[Lester]

@Templar ours is now 1c in SA, was 6c in late 2023 when we put solar on, and that was useful.
July 2024 dropped 33% to 4c, 2025 dropped 50% to 2c, and this July halved again to 1c.

0.5c hey ? I have wondered if it might drop even further, a fraction of a cent.

I wonder if it will go even lower ?

Guessing there will always be something for FIT to be legal, they can't take something for nothing.

Maybe 0.25c will be floor.

Anyway, the only way to keep in front is get a suitable home battery, basically ANOTHER big investment over solar.
At least one can be self sufficient for usage, then pay the daily supply charge, or work the FITs in the evening to counter that with a battery having extra storage to export to offset.

That will likely then se daily supply charges moved up, I recall the meetings for this years increases mooted $5 a day charge to make power supply "fairer" for all, right, never mind those that have helped the grid and made the investment for solar and solar with battery.

Goal posts will be moved more, you can see it, the AER, AEMO and AEMC have control over this.

Power should not be this complicated or expensive in Australia.