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