Installing Solar panels

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I am very happy that we installed solar panels so that the electricity we use in our house comes from renewable sources and we are not contributing any emissions. This is particularly important as electricity generation is the largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. We use the solar panel generated electricity to power as much as possible during the day including the heat pump, dishwasher and electric car. In addition, we export more electricity to the grid than we take from the grid. 

First solar panels

In 2012, we installed 1.7Kw of solar panels on our north facing wall. At that time solar panels were expensive but have since dropped dramatically in price and capacity. This installation helped us to reduce our electricity costs especially as we were on a preferential rate designed to encourage take-up of solar panels. This preferential rate expired in 2020.

I learnt a lot about purchasing solar panels from this experience. I did not do enough research on this installation and relied too much on the information provided by the salesman. This system was not big enough to meet our needs. This was even more the case as we switched from gas to electricity, requiring more electricity. I was also not to know how dramatically the prices of solar panels would fall between 2012 and 2020.

2020 solar panels

In 2020, I researched for new panels using https://www.solarquotes.com.au/ which has a wealth of information about selecting and installing solar panels. I followed much of the advice published in the buying solar panel guide. Based on my earlier experience, I chose to install as many panels as we could fit on our roof within limits set by the local regulator. As the north facing roof had the old system on it, the new panels went on the east and west face roofs of the house to take advantage of the morning and afternoon sun. The east and west roofs were also preferred as the north facing wall is subject to shading during the autumn months of the year.

I requested three quotations through the solarquotes website and eventually accepted the quotation from one of the suppliers they nominated. The solarquotes website also has reviews of suppliers which was helpful in the selection process. We installed an additional 10kW of solar panels. This gives us a total of 11.7kW of solar power. We had no problems during the installation and have not had any problems since. 

Making best use of solar

We also try and run electric appliances between 10am to 4pm to maximise the use of the solar generated electricity. For example, the electric hot water service is configured to heat during this time. If the electric car is at home and needing a charge, we will charge the car during this time. The dishwasher is also set to run during this time.  This electricity usage effectively costs us nothing and does not appear on our electricity bill.

Our Experience

In addition to providing us with electricity which is used to power the house during the day, we have contributed more electricity to the grid than taken from the grid. Since installing the additional panels in 2020, we have contributed 23,899 kWh into the grid from the solar panels (during the day) and only taken 11,614 kWh from the grid (at night or when the sun is not shining). 

The graph below shows the variations by quarters. The major use of electricity from the grid is in Quarters 2 and 3 for heating at night.


Costs

The 2020 solar panels cost us just under $10,000 The solar panels will pay for themselves within five years. With rapidly rising electricity prices, this payback period is likely to be even shorter. 

Under our current energy plan, we are paid 8 cents/kWh for electricity we contribute to the grid. This is substantially less than what we pay for electricity supplied from the grid to us: we pay 29 cents/kWh (peak), 18 cents/kWh (shoulder) or 14 cents/kWh. As a result, we normally get a credit in Quarters 1 and 4 and a bill in quarters 2 and 3. Our total electricity bill in 2021 was $535 and in 2022 was $1,007 (increased because of an electric car).

Household battery

At this stage, I have not installed a household battery. In 2020, I could not see that we would get a payback on the battery within the life of the battery. This proved to be the case when the total electricity costs for two years was $1,542. Installing a battery would help reduce this cost but not eliminate this cost. Batteries provide reliability of service but unreliability of service has not been a major problems for us. I continue to monitor the cost and performance of batteries to see if it is worth purchasing and keep up to date with what is happening on community batteries.

More information

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/. Great information resource on buying and installing solar power, including a step by step process at https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html. When you are ready to get quotations for supply of a solar power system, put in a request via this website. You will be sent details of up to 3 local suppliers who you can contact. The suppliers are not endorsed by Solarquotes but are ones where feedback has been provided on the website about the services delivered. You can look at the feedback provided on each installer on the website. The About page on their website explains how the website makes money from each quote – good to see. 


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