- Jul 31, 2011
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Solar power Q+A
Somebody PM'd me today asking a few questions about solar but the reply i typed was too long for PM (limited to 1000 characters), so I've started a thread to discuss all things solar. If anyone else has any other questions I'm happy to help where possible
Hi Bosun,
What's the brand name of the inverter? Display setting vary widely but if you can give me the make and model I might be able to pull up a manual pretty easily.
You can also check you meter-box too, most digital meters will have gross/net consumption figures listed, the difference should be your daily generation rate.
Are you in in Victoria? If so then, yes, that's about right. Have you spoken to your energy retailer to find out what tariff you are on?
It will depend on exactly when the system was connected to the grid and knowing that is important in understanding how to best utilise to power you generate.
For instance, if your system went in on the PFIT (premium feed-in tariff) $0.60 tariff then you aim should be to try and use as little power as possible during the day (between, say, 10 Am - 5 PM) so that you feed as much as possible back into the grid and get paid for it.
If, however, you're on SFIT (standard, $0.23) or TFIT (transitional $0.25) then your best bet is to try and use the power up during the day and make saving that way.
It also depends on the size of the system, if it's a big 2+ kW system then if you're on SFIT or TFIT then you'll unlikely use all of the power you generate so will have to feed it back into the grid.
Also, make sure you shop around for retailers, the big boys like AGL and Origin will always give you an additional $0.08/$0.06 respectively per kW/h and it can make a big difference if you're on SFIT or TFIT.
Seeing as though the system is about a year old I think you should be on PFiT, assuming the previous owners applied through their retailer.
As a rough rule-of-thumb, the following formula should help give a general idea on what returns you'll get from the system:
Let's say you have a 1.5 kW system, that means that averaged out across the year the system should run for about 4 hours a day (in Victoria, Zone 4) - so 1.5 x 4 = 6 kW/h per day as a yearly average (summer more, winter less).
Now, if you consume all of the electricity you produce and you're paying about $0.24 for the electricity you buy from the grid, then that gives you a minimum daily saving of $1.44 per day, or about $130 off your quarterly bill.
If you are on PFiT, then the maximum saving possible would be if you fed all the electricity you generate back into the grid (will never happen, you'll always have at a bare minimum a fridge and freezer running during the day, but the more you minimise daylight usage the closer you'll get to this upper-ceiling), so 6 kW/h x $0.60 = $3.60 per day, or about $320 off your quarterly bill.
Obviously, if on SFiT or TFiT adjust the calculations for those tariff rates.
A lot of people missed out on PFiT when the Vic gov cancelled it last year, so don't be surprised if you are on SFiT. If so, call up one of the big boys and get them to put you on TFiT, if you were an origin customer they'll give you $0.31 per kW/h.
A bit of a disclaimer though, I haven't had any contact with the retailers for a while now and they are very much liable to change the way they do things without notice, so you'll definitely need to confirm all of the figures here with them.
That's probably a lot for you to absorb right now, don't hesitate to hit me up if you need me to clarify anything and get back to me with the inverter details.
Also, see if you can find any paperwork on who installed it and what panels they've used, you'll be able to find out a fair bit about the system and what tariff you're on from the paperwork.
Somebody PM'd me today asking a few questions about solar but the reply i typed was too long for PM (limited to 1000 characters), so I've started a thread to discuss all things solar. If anyone else has any other questions I'm happy to help where possible
Hi Bosun,
What's the brand name of the inverter? Display setting vary widely but if you can give me the make and model I might be able to pull up a manual pretty easily.
You can also check you meter-box too, most digital meters will have gross/net consumption figures listed, the difference should be your daily generation rate.
Are you in in Victoria? If so then, yes, that's about right. Have you spoken to your energy retailer to find out what tariff you are on?
It will depend on exactly when the system was connected to the grid and knowing that is important in understanding how to best utilise to power you generate.
For instance, if your system went in on the PFIT (premium feed-in tariff) $0.60 tariff then you aim should be to try and use as little power as possible during the day (between, say, 10 Am - 5 PM) so that you feed as much as possible back into the grid and get paid for it.
If, however, you're on SFIT (standard, $0.23) or TFIT (transitional $0.25) then your best bet is to try and use the power up during the day and make saving that way.
It also depends on the size of the system, if it's a big 2+ kW system then if you're on SFIT or TFIT then you'll unlikely use all of the power you generate so will have to feed it back into the grid.
Also, make sure you shop around for retailers, the big boys like AGL and Origin will always give you an additional $0.08/$0.06 respectively per kW/h and it can make a big difference if you're on SFIT or TFIT.
Seeing as though the system is about a year old I think you should be on PFiT, assuming the previous owners applied through their retailer.
As a rough rule-of-thumb, the following formula should help give a general idea on what returns you'll get from the system:
Let's say you have a 1.5 kW system, that means that averaged out across the year the system should run for about 4 hours a day (in Victoria, Zone 4) - so 1.5 x 4 = 6 kW/h per day as a yearly average (summer more, winter less).
Now, if you consume all of the electricity you produce and you're paying about $0.24 for the electricity you buy from the grid, then that gives you a minimum daily saving of $1.44 per day, or about $130 off your quarterly bill.
If you are on PFiT, then the maximum saving possible would be if you fed all the electricity you generate back into the grid (will never happen, you'll always have at a bare minimum a fridge and freezer running during the day, but the more you minimise daylight usage the closer you'll get to this upper-ceiling), so 6 kW/h x $0.60 = $3.60 per day, or about $320 off your quarterly bill.
Obviously, if on SFiT or TFiT adjust the calculations for those tariff rates.
A lot of people missed out on PFiT when the Vic gov cancelled it last year, so don't be surprised if you are on SFiT. If so, call up one of the big boys and get them to put you on TFiT, if you were an origin customer they'll give you $0.31 per kW/h.
A bit of a disclaimer though, I haven't had any contact with the retailers for a while now and they are very much liable to change the way they do things without notice, so you'll definitely need to confirm all of the figures here with them.
That's probably a lot for you to absorb right now, don't hesitate to hit me up if you need me to clarify anything and get back to me with the inverter details.
Also, see if you can find any paperwork on who installed it and what panels they've used, you'll be able to find out a fair bit about the system and what tariff you're on from the paperwork.
