Hot Water System, Solar Panels, and Optimal Electricity Rates

larkan on 31/12/2019 - 16:55
Last edited 31/12/2019 - 16:57

Hi All,

I thought I'd post to obtain peoples thoughts on their solar panel and electricity set-up.

I live in QLD and I have a electric hot water system and a 3.6kw solar panel system.

The solar system generates 4-5kw in a day. We have a lot of trees which cover the house.

I was thinking of organising for an off-peak meter to be installed for the hot water system.

Is there a better way to set things up? Should I try and send the solar power to the hot water system?

The feed in tariff I think is about 10-11 cents per KW. We seem to use about 15kw per day (air conditioner, HWS, pool pump etc.)

I was leaning towards putting the HWS on a off-peak meter.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • D One on 31/12/2019 - 17:28
    +1

    Your solar generation is very low for a 3.6kW system. In QLD, you should be generating somewhere between 15 and 24kWH / day. You mentioned that you have a lot of trees covering the house. Are these trees covering the solar panels? You might want to look into DC optimisers or Micro-Inverters if you have trees covering some of your panels.

  • kipps on 31/12/2019 - 21:17

    Your FIT and feed in figures are both low. Energy Australia does 16.1c/kWh FIT which might work depending on your individual circumstances - I.e. usage charges they apply against greater feed in rate. I am on a 5.5kwh system with an electronic relay turning on hot water system when production hits about 4000W such that off peak is unlikely to be worthwhile. You really need to look at usage throughout the day and work it out a bit more I think to work out the best option forward.

  • atris17 on 01/01/2020 - 01:53

    I was renovating my whole house, and had no gas in my area.
    So I was force to used Electric Hot Water Tank
    So this is what I did

    Electric Hot Water tank + Solar Panels +[Paladin Solar Power Diverter]! = Decrease Utility Bill

    What you need is the missing link - Paladin Solar Controller

    • Excess Solar Energy is diverted to the Hot Water tank
    • Hot water tank act as a Battery, storing excess energy in the form of heat
    • Large Hot water tank last the night, for variety purpose Eg shower, kitchen tap, washing machine etc
    • By morning the Hot water tank get heated up again with Excess Solar Energy up to 70c
    • Instead of selling the KWH excess energy to the grid at 17cent/kwh, try to use as much which cost 30cent/kwh
    • On Days with bad sun exposure, the Paladin keep the Hot Water tank at minimum 40c
    • Check it out: http://www.paladinsolarcontroller.com.au/
    • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnuNXKzdxXI

    Speak to Mark from Paladin, i deal with him when he came to my house
    He does an initial consultation, to check whether the hot water tank and solar panel up for it
    Very Friendly, easy to talk too
    He is base in Brisbane too
    Save loads on the Utility Bill

    Refer my name - Mark from Herston

  • whooah1979 on 01/01/2020 - 02:02
    -1

    Get the most out of the system by pruning the trees.

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