Originally Posted by spartacus

We had a consultant around, probably a year ago, quoting us on installing a photovoltaic system. According to him, this system was the absolute bees knees . . . German technology, long life cells, highest yeild per panel yadda yadda . . . but he was after $16000, so pay back was something like fifteen years.

It's all way too murky. Prices are hidden, and costs seem to vary enormously with system type, as does longevity and power generated. The rebate system is convoluted and difficult to understand. There doesn't seem to be any long term guarantee that, when you sell electricity back to the grid, you'll continue to do so at whatever the price multiple is now (might be x2 can't remember). For the amount we spend on electricity (about $1200 a year) its currently just not worth the expenditure.

Originally Posted by spartacus

How easy would that be to do? Very.

Why hasn't anyone done it before? Possibly because the outlay versus savings don't add up? . . .

I know a fair few people who spend more than $1000 a quarter on electricity. They are thinking about getting solar installed, when they may be better off just switching off two of their three fridge freezers.

Originally Posted by Swerv-o

I would have been looking for some form of online calculator that allows me to enter the details that are specific to my house and electricity usage, and then calculates things like annual saving, the potential resale value of the electricity I am generating, and the total payback time in years.


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Originally Posted by asprilla

How much would a 6.120kW system cost to install I wonder.

Originally Posted by ABCDiamond

I do know that after rebates my cost is $1,950, and I am pretty sure it will pay for itself within 5 years, but I want a written confirmation, so I can sue them later on if it doesn't.

Originally Posted by Wol

The first one says:
>> Watts are related to the output of each panel; meaning a 100Watt panel under ideal conditions will generate 100 Watts of electricity each hour and a 200 Watt panel will generate 200 Watts each hour<<

I *think* I know what they mean, but it doesn't give a great deal of confidence that they don't seem to know the difference between energy and power!

I have doubts about the claims being made for the present generation (pun?) of PV/inverter systems. Nevertheless I am genuinely interested in the technology and would be intrigued to follow people's experiences with it.

Originally Posted by Evelin

I'm surprised that they list all sorts of manufacturers even BP which had a lot of problems with their panels but not Suntech, the worlds largest producer of solar panels which somebody on this thread gets from Harvey Norman. Good product developed at uni NSW. The Aussie gov didn't see the potential and the founder moved to China to build the panels there. According to Forbes he is one of the richest people in China.

Originally Posted by ABCDiamond

Interesting ruling from the ATO recently.

Anyone setting up solar with the intention of making a profit, may be liable to tax on that profit.

Originally Posted by kelli28

It should be down to the energy providers to generate "green" electricity, not the individual.

Originally Posted by POW148

My neighbour is living in his shed whilst building his new house. He intends for his house to be the first one rated at EER9. There are coolroom panals inside every wall as insulation. He has installed 50 solar panals on his shed roof to return just under 10Kw of power back to the grid. Todate, his panals have been ready to return power but he has been waiting for over 6 weeks for the electricity company to send their inspector around to give it the all clear. The solar system cost him around the $30K to purchase and install. He is a builder and obtained the panals at a greatly reduced rate.

The question I have to ask is at what price to the environment has this building cost. We live out of town so every concrete truck has to do a round trip of 150 Kms. The amount of concrete and steel that has gone into the place is just unreal. Just what is his carbon footprint todate to enable him to say "my house is the most environment friendly house ever".

Dont get me wrong, I think what he is trying to achieve is just fantastic but sometimes you just have to wonder.

Barney

Originally Posted by Swerv-o

I missed this earlier, but definitely agree. Large scale investment in large scale solar furnace schemes for bulk generation are what's required here I think.


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Originally Posted by Coryate

I'm pretty certain they have tried it in Oz, as well as the US, and they have some test furnaces in Spain now. The main problem seems to be dust on the mirrors. Even a small amount blown by the wind reduces the amount of heat they reflect on the towers.

Originally Posted by Coryate

I'm pretty certain they have tried it in Oz, as well as the US, and they have some test furnaces in Spain now. The main problem seems to be dust on the mirrors. Even a small amount blown by the wind reduces the amount of heat they reflect on the towers.