Hi, I have done my research when it comes to solar panel companies.
Better to go with an established company compared to paying less and they might be gone in a year or two…
Max usage in May was 40Kwh/day (winter we average around 30 kWh/day)
Can someone please give me a good suggestion and explain why we should by a 6.6kW or 10kW system.
We will not invest in a battery at this stage.
O.P. crypto mining?
Australian homes have terrible insulation so could be anything.
Crypto mining would save on heating bills though.
"Crypto mining would save on heating bills though."
🤣🤣
just be aware many companies starting to do 10kw Feed in only these days with residential accounts as the government slowl does away with reference pricing etc
English?
The solar company will explain why 6.6 or 10.
we are a family of 3 and our average usage has been 5.5 kwh a day. Are you sure that is the correct usage you have there - looks very high.
If your usage is very high I would suggest going for a bigger system. Not sure about WA but in NSW most providers only allow you to export 5kw on a single phase meter so need a 3 phase meter to allow for a bigger system.
Also look into the best feed in rates for your state as you'll need to factor that in to help understand what size may be best for your home.
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/ has a wealth of information so would suggest you look it up in case you haven't already.
If you have a pool and ducted heating/cooling it doesn't take long to get to that usage.
That's what we have - ducted heating and cooling
I'd put it back to you: how do you have such low usage for a family? The average usage in my area (using the little chart on my bill) is 16kWhr for 3 people.
I was using ~20 kWh by myself. Now that's a level that's concerning. Now with 6 in the house we're around 40, too. Brand new ducted aircon and LEDs lights, too.
when you use that 40kWh is as important as sizing your solar electricity system.
This.
Our household uses nothing during the weekday and 95% between 6pm and midnight.
Then all throughout the day at weekends.
Solar wouldn't really work for us
What's your energy usage graph like?
We put about 60% of panels facing north and 40% facing west for this reason. Late afternoon/early evening is our peak usage. We're saving approx $1k p.a. with our system; was more when we were getting 20c FIT vs 5c.
Solar panels will be worth it no matter your usage, they just take a bit longer to pay themselves back with your sort of usage. There are some things you can do to bring the payback period forward though. Eg putting your laundry or stacking your dishwasher in the morning, and turning on the delay function so they wash during the day (not both at once, say a delay of 2 hours for the dishwasher and a delay of 4 hours for the washing machine). Assuming your house is decently insulated, set the heating to turn on with a high temperature for a few hours during the day. That should keep it warm enough in your house until the morning. Also if you do any bulk cooking, do it on the weekends during the day. And if you're only cooking for 2 people get a toaster oven or air fryer which is a lot more efficient and faster than a normal large oven (for cooking in the evening).
And as knasty says above face some panels west so you are getting a later peak of solar panel input
Max usage in May was 40Kwh/day (winter we average around 30 kWh/day)
Are you doing hydroponics?
If not check your hot water system it probably needs replacing.
Turn your AC down a tad and get some shade for your windows.
You can only go above a 6.6kw system (5kw inverter) if you have 3-phase power. So probably worth checking that before you get too invested in wanting a 10kw system. And with your usage I would go as big as is allowed and can fit.
We have 8kw panels and 6kw inverter on single phase.
We have 10.5kW panel and 8kW inverter on single phase. Yes, only 5kW max export but they allow up to 10kW panel for single phase. We put 60% East and 40% West so more solar through out the day.
I wish my solar installer had told me I could do that - but with only two people in the house he probably thought there would be no chance I would want to do it
yeah 8kw inverter and 11kw panels here on single phase. 5kw export all day, in qld. That's a shame mate.
What if you start BEV charging in near future though? It's always better to over provisioned a bit. There's not much point going over 10-11kW panel for single phase since inverter stops at 8kW. No point doing 20kW panel and 8kW inverter, technically there's no limit to panel but inverter, and 8kW inverter does allow you to use electricity from solar while exporting, or charging electricity while exporting the full 5kW.
ours is a 3 phase. Sounds more economical to invest in a 10kw system.
Batteries will eventually come down in price.
Thinking of going with the Chinese Sungrow inverter. Cannot see the point in spending extra for a Fronius.
It is worthwhile having real time monitoring. It is good to know when you have excess solar power which is a good time to turn on the dishwasher etc. And you can see what your appliances use, if you leave a heater on all night you can see how much power it uses and you can see at what time your hot water system decides to heat up (a massive spike). Even if you don't get a Fronius try to get one that lets you monitor what's going on.
It depends on your power distributor. United Energy in Victoria allows 10kw export on a single phase.
Without battery backup, get a system that would cover your daily usage as calculated over 12 months. Anything sent back to the grid earns a pittance and not worth extra investment.
I only have a 3kw system and with our modest usage our system provides all that we need on sunny days. We do all clothe and dish washing in daylight hours so sunny days are free and we only pay the dark hours power usage.
Don't be fooled that summer being best for solar power as the panels do lose efficiency with heat, not like 50% but in the cooler months they do perform better.
I have 14.4kw on the roof, 10kw inverter and a 10kwh battery. We run everything during the day including pool pump and ac. The battery covers the night. My last 2 month power bill, I consumed 40kwh, about 96% self sufficient.
Size your system for the power draw of your major appliances, bigger is better and I recommend a battery if you can afford it. It smooths out my solar system on the cloudy days
How much was the battery? I'd love to get one but based on an online calculator I found it extends the payback length by about double which is not very feasible.
With that kind of usage I'd get the biggest system possible.