Solar Export to Grid

nadeemrajabali
Semiconductor
3 Replies 20732 Views

Hi There,

I am planning to have Solar System installed at my house. 

1) If my Export to Grid is more than what I am importing from Grid how it get treated on the bill?

2) In case credits are shown on the bill, is this applied on total bill or only on usage and I still have to pay supply charge.

3) If my credits keep adding up month on month on, do you guys pay them back in cheque or Gift vouchers?

4) is there a export limiting? I may go overseas for 4 to 6 weeks in Summer peak time and my system export everything into grid with a very minimum import.

 

Thanks heaps in advance to help me move into sustainable society.

Regards

Nads 

6 REPLIES 6
David_AGL
AGL Community Manager
1 Reply 20728 Views

Hi @nadeemrajabali 

 

We actually have a dedicated community forum for users interested in Renewables, so I've moved your topic across to there. There's plenty of keen solar users among AGL's customers, so hopefully someone will be able to offer their advice to you as a new solar adopter!

nadeemrajabali
Semiconductor
0 Replies 20725 Views

Thanks David

Schander
Stellar
2 Replies 20653 Views

Hello Nadeemrajabali,

 

First of all, congratulations on your Solar journey. Getting solar power is definitely a step in the right direction.

 

As you have very nicely outlined your questions, I will reply accordingly:

 

1) If your Export to the Grid exceeds your consumption, it should show up as a credit on your bill. The important thing here is to take into account that you also have a "Supply Charge" as an inclusion in your electricity bill.  This daily supply charge is usually under $1.00.  Which means, hypothetically, if you consumed nothing from the grid for 90 days, you still get billed under $90 for keeping the grid connection active at your house.  So, whatever your credit from solar would be would then need to offset the supply charge. 

 

2) My response in 1 may have answered this question where you wanted to know if the Solar credits (also known as FiT or Feed-in-Tariff) apply to grid usage vs supply charge.  As per above, it is a netting effect on your bill.  The credit will then go against the non-usage portion (i.e. Supply Charge).

 

3) I do not know of any electricity retailer that pays this back in the form of cheque or Gift vouchers, but you have to consider the practicality of your solar use.  Does your Solar system have a battery connected?  If not, you are definitely going to be consuming from the grid at night time when there is no solar power (i.e. Refrigerator consuming electricity).  If you have a battery, then it is a question of how many hours it provides energy at night to prevent your household from drawing from the grid.  Most solar batteries last to midnight or early morning.

 

4) The limit of your export is determined by your inverter's capacity, not your electrical retailer who supplies the electricity.

 

Also, you should consider how much power you get in summer versus winter.  In winter, you may get less than 9 hours of sunlight during the Winter Solstice. That too, with the earth slightly tilted, the sunlight could be at an odd angle during the winter months.  If it is cold enough and you kick on electric heaters, this could then draw more than you are generating.  I gave an example to consider that you need to look at the entire year's use of solar versus the grid.  In some cases, the benefit you get in summer will be offset by the consumption in winter.  But still, the net benefit is hopefully a lower electricity bill and less load on the grid (both are good wins).

 

Just a helpful tip regarding your solar.  After you get the system installed, make sure you pull your inverter results in the first month and download your AGL detailed usage stats and compare your results. 

 

You need to make sure that:

 

A) Your Solar Installer configured the inverter properly

B) Your electricity retailer has been informed you have a solar system installed

 

A common mistake new solar panel customers make is that they don't undertake these checks in the first few months (assuming it happens automagically) and therefore don't know if they are getting value for money. It will take a few weeks for the solar FiT to show up on your electricity bill as they try to get everything squared away.

 

Regards,

 

Schander

 

If I’ve helped in anyway, please mark my post as SOLVED!

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If I’ve helped in anyway, please mark my post as SOLVED!
This helps our Community know the answer to common questions.
nadeemrajabali
Semiconductor
0 Replies 20602 Views

Great, you have answered everything in detail.

Also for the Solar installer I am using Unified they are AGL preffered installer so hoping all settings will be correct. 

gogly
Switched-on
0 Replies 5443 Views

Why actually the limit paid for retour to the grid is only 400kwh?

Lester
Powerhouse
0 Replies 5378 Views

With exception to the above reply, my experience as a new solar users has been . . .

 

3) If my credits keep adding up month on month on, do you guys pay them back in cheque or Gift vouchers?

 

Yes, you get an anniversary date (or can set your own with your retailer) where they supposedly cut you a cheque or do a bank deposit for any credit you have each year.

My brother has a property in Nth Qld that has 10kw solar and 10kwh battery, he lives SE Qld most of the time, and even when in the 'shack'. he still gets a small credit.

He has over $1000 in credit and will get a chq from his supplier in another 6 months, for probably a couple of grand.

 

4) is there a export limiting? I may go overseas for 4 to 6 weeks in Summer peak time and my system export everything into grid with a very minimum import.

 

Your solar panel output is limited to exports set by the network provider.

Mostly I have seen 10kw here in SA.

This is per phase, so you can set up a 3 phase home to run 2 x 10kw or 3 x 10kw.

Credits will add up over normal use, especially if you can set fridges / freezers to run in cheaper off peak early morning . . . here in SA shoulder is cheapest but runs during the day when power is cheapest to buy, but solar is doing its job then so off peak wee hours of the morning is what most will be aiming for 😕 

 

A lot to consider with going solar.

Here in SA you really need to have a battery to take advantage of killing off night use.

You certainly can eliminate this in some cases.

Not if running a big air cond all night though 😕