Help Me Choose Solar (QLD)

• 

  rektrading on 16/03/2022 - 07:47

  +1

  Bigger is better.

  • 

    Drakesy on 16/03/2022 - 10:44

    But not always financially better.
    The subsidy drops off significantly after 6.6kw

    • 

      lgacb08 on 16/03/2022 - 16:53

      Nope, it's always good to go with the biggest system your roof and your distributor allow right from the start because installation cost is significant and stc rebate increases with system size. Hardware cost is pittance in the scheme of things. You'll find that for a 3kw and 6kw systems the cost difference is only a couple of hundred.

      • 

        Drakesy on 16/03/2022 - 16:56

        Not really,
        The rebate largely nullifies the labour cost for installation.

        For example my 6.6kw system cost $2200. If i went to a 13.2kw system it would've increased to $5500 and taken far longer to pay off due to the 2.75c feed in tariff here.

        • 

          lgacb08 on 16/03/2022 - 20:52

          @Drakesy: your quote didn't speak of the full truth because you could have someone else to do another 6.6kw system for another $2200 unless youur house has technical limits that cause the spike.
          For the rest of the country price of a system starts around $3k mark and difference between 1kw is less than the price of a few panel, you can do a search on whirlpool to see for yourself, and couple with a still generous FIT the extra return period is only a year or two more.

• 

  scrambledeggs on 16/03/2022 - 08:06

  +2

  The panels are not 100% efficient so the inverter is always smaller than the total wattage of the panels. The maximum output will be dictated by the inverter.

  Those prices are pretty cheap but also using the cheapest panels and inverters available.

  I just had Solar installed in Bris by Forwood Energy and they did a great job, I only got a 6.6kw System (5kW inverter).

  • 

    ThemDealsThough on 16/03/2022 - 10:58

    Mind sharing how much it cost you?

    • 

      scrambledeggs on 16/03/2022 - 11:22

      $3,800 but better quality panels

• 

  Quantumcat on 16/03/2022 - 09:14

  You've done the right thing getting quotes from solar quotes but you should also read some articles on their blog: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/oversizing-solar-arrays/

  Also did they give you quotes for better quality equipment or is that it? Here is an article that shows you how they compare: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar-brands-trust.html I would make sure to at least get an inverter that you can monitor with WiFi. Fronius does but probably some other (cheaper) ones do too. Tiger Pro and Growatt aren't even on the list which is a worry

• 

  payless69 on 16/03/2022 - 10:00

  Panel output is theoretical peak. Once they are hot they get high in impedance. Average output depends on geo location, many au places have 27%.
  Best operating temperature is -12 deg C.
  Now prices are low it is tempting. Florida for example has very little uptake. Corrosion is high and power is cheap there.
  High altitude places benefit most if snow can be kept off.
  Coastal places have longevity issues. Oz installations must turn off if mains goes out. I wait for cheaper batteries and go totally off grid.

  • 

    netjock on 16/03/2022 - 11:07

    I wait for cheaper batteries and go totally off grid

    5 to 10 years. Probably closer to 10.

    I'd check my energy use and get a small battery and stay on grid as back up (Melbourne). If you think about it. $4k for a 6kwh battery (growatt) which should get you over the expensive hump between 5pm-11pm and for outages. If you want to spend $8k for 12kwh battery the problem is how many years of access charges is $4k. If it is $1 a day to stay connected to the grid it is like 10 years. 10 years later batteries might be half the price but you would have paid a $1 a day extra for electricity.

    I suspect you might run the battery close to it's capacity and draw a little bit from the grid at off peak rates than to buy reserve battery capacity which isn't cheap.

    • 

      Chandler on 16/03/2022 - 11:30

      You also don't get any feed-in if you go completely off-grid.

      • 

        netjock on 16/03/2022 - 11:59

        True but feed in is getting less and less.

        People really need to calculate their numbers. In Victoria. Supply charge is around $1 a day. 7am-11pm is about 25c kwh. 11pm-7am is 14c kwh (also weekends and public holidays). I have north facing solar and I can see on my AGL app it is producing between 8am - 5pm every day. I used about 4kwh a day, 2kwh from when sunset to the morning. On the 14 hot days this summer my split system consumed about 8kwh all day which was mostly covered by my solar.

        So I'm really caught out paying peak outside of these hours. If a 6kw system produces 20kwh a day I need a battery of around 4kwh to do after sunset until morning and if power does go down (in my area probably once in the last 5 years for 4 hours).

        For me battery is just back up but also benefit of not paying for electricity. Instead of getting paid 6.7c per kwh I'd consume it for at least 14c kwh.

        • 

          Chandler on 16/03/2022 - 15:01

          @netjock: When I think about feed-in it's less about the money (since it's usually a pittance these days) and more about moving to renewables. If everyone covered their own usage with solar (which is achievable for you), it decreases the total generating capacity required and we can start closing fossil fuel stations sooner.

          By all means, get a battery and if you can cover your overnight usage with your daytime surplus, go for it. But disconnecting from the grid loses the above benefits from feed-in.

          Now if we can make sure that feed-in covers the supply charge and some (if it doesn't already), that'd be good.

          My only concern with all this is once again cost-shifting. Large industrial users get to buy cheap power during the day due to all the solar generation, residential users have to pay for expensive power overnight due to not having the solar generation.

          Thinking about all this makes me wonder - if renewables are so infeasible like some people like to spout - why does the electricity price plummet during the day? Yes, nightly residential usage is high due to everyone being at home - lights, cooking, water heating, etc. But lights don't use a lot of electricity, not everyone uses electric water heaters, and daytime usage (IMO) should be higher - industrial loads, workplaces (lights, water heating), and one that I would think would be pretty significant: air conditioning, both in workplaces and residential (for people who work at home: either as employment or stay-at-home parent, etc).

          • 

            netjock on 16/03/2022 - 22:25

            @Chandler:

            more about moving to renewables

            Problem is we don't actually have that much industry to suck up the power during the day. Plus it is better the solar is distributed over a geographic area rather than concentrated in the region (a lot of solar farm output in north west Victoria have their output curtailed due to network limits rather than power demand).

            A lot of areas with high residential solar uptake suffer from curtailment of feed in. Even if you got 5kw the power company will say 2kw feed in or none at all. Most of that problem is with the network. I heard stories the networks have been doing useless upgrades to spend all that the regulator allows so they can make their regulated returns. It isn't exactly in their best interest to enable residential solar because obviously there is no big lobby group that pays government donations.

    • 

      payless69 on 16/03/2022 - 12:15

      Last power bill: $3 electricity use, $37 for unwanted smart meter hire. Forgot how to define an AH.

• 

  Drakesy on 16/03/2022 - 11:40

  In WA, so case is different although i received my growatt/seraphim system for $2200 out of pocket via a deal on here.

  About par for a 6.6kw system is $3000 in WA, although would be more in QLD given the lower subsidy.

• 

  Hjshakenwin on 10/07/2022 - 14:46

  Hi, I am in Brisbane as well did you end up going with Ryde Energy? if so how was the experience ?

  • 

    ThemDealsThough on 10/07/2022 - 17:44

    Hey mate, Ryde were amazing. There was a wait list (6 weeks). But it was all installed in about 5 - 6 hrs. No extra costs and a followup from a sparky to ensure everything was done properly. Everything's working great with no issues. Good price and value.