paddy234

I was just wondering does anyone on this site use solar power to help with the power bill or eliminate it completely as i wonder if it is efficient enough yet. I find it strange that the government here that claims to be all about clean and green doesn't subsidize it yet back home where sunshine hours are MUCH lower people are given grants to get them installed

Kotare

Looked at it as I am in a perfect position (Kerikeri, north facing roof etc) but decided against on cost/payback time. We are not heavy elec users and the feedback tariffs from the energy suppliers is poor.

You need to sit down with your electricity bill and look at a couple of quotes. Given the carbon footprint of panel manufacture the 'clean and green' claims are dodgy.

jmh

About 60% of NZ electricity generation is hydro electric which is considered pretty sustainable. 13% is geothermal, so the environmental angle is not necessarily a reason to use solar or wind. That doesn't stop people like Greenpeace pushing it.

It takes a few years to recover the costs of installing solar, but some like the idea of being off-gird.

Matelot

Paddy234 do you mean the Republic or the UK? To my knowledge there aren't any grants available to install the equipment in the UK, just the Feed In Tariff once the kWhrs have been generated.

paddy234

Yea I meant the republic, i thought the UK was the same however

Woodlea

Check out this guy
www.suntrap.co.nz
I've got a few systems off him and installed myself - dead easy. Based in Chch too.

Genesis

The second point is what stops me. Capital outlay. Would imagine it is a while before you start getting 'free' leccy. Another problem for me is that I have no intention of being in this house in 4 to 5 years time. And I know that the new owner will probably not see the added value of my investment, thus not be prepared to pay much over what the house is worth. My point is if in 5 years my house is worth say a $1000 I dont think it will be worth a whole bunch more cos I have solar panels on the roof. I spent about 45k on double glazing (70 windows). Got back maybe 10% of that I reckon. Would only recommend it as a long term thing, say if you believed you have a decade or over tenure in your current home.

escapedtonz

No. It's just not worth it yet.
Attended a recent Futures Technology seminar at work all about this topic and in a nut shell the technology is just not there yet. Out of the Photovoltaic panels that are available on the market, there's only a couple of the big name brands are anything remotely like of sufficient standard to fit on a roof and last the years in the harsh NZ conditions. Much of the available (non-big name brands) panels are cheap crap and fraught with failures.
Due to the current costs involved to buy and fit the quality stuff it is just cost prohibitive, however as technology moves on the prices will drop and soon it may be a possibility. I did a bit of research in to fitting panels for the new house build but as I said the figures just didn't work out and the tariff for generating surplus in to the grid is pitiful. Having the panels fitted for next to nothing and in effect leasing them over 15 or so years is also fraught with danger if you don't intend staying at the property and the company who fitted the panels gets the export to the grid payments not you. All you would benefit out of it is reduced or sometimes free periods of electricity. Leasing over a long period has a lot of fine print in the contract and may prevent you ever selling the place.


All I'd recommend at the moment if you have the money is a solar powered water heating system which of course is very similar but on a much smaller scale and doesn't connect to the grid. All it does is separates away your Immersion heater circuit with maybe 4 of the panels on the roof and all they do is provide electricity to power the immersion heater in the water tank. You'll also have a switchy box just in case something goes wrong so you'll be able to use the back up of grid electricity. Typical costs for a 180 litre tank system around $5-6 k and it'll save you around a 1/3 off your electrickery bill. If your average bill is $200 per month and this saves you $67 per month then is that enough of a saving to spend $5-6 k in the first place ?


Again, to go completely solar (or other green system) and off grid you have to be able to store the electricity generated and there lies a major problem as battery technology is just not good enough and way too expensive yet for it to be a worthwhile option. Again, something for the future.

Genesis

I did wonder about the panels being used here in NZ and their viability long term. Thank you for educating me about this subject. Seems like I made the right decision in my ignorance.

jmh

Thanks for that. I was away for a week and switched off my hot water tank - the drop in electricity was amazing - about a 1/4 of usual. That would bring my bill down a lot.

chawkins99

I'm not in Kiwiland. North West Florida.
I have a 8kW solar system installed by the previous owner.
We have a dual-meter so when the panels are generating more than demand, it feeds back to the grid. We usually see about 10% a month going back into the grid. I estimate it saves about 30%-50% on the overall bill but difficult to accurately quantify.
My Electric bill averages around $150/month, so maybe $100-$150 a month saving from the solar.
I have the original bill from the install and it cost the previous owner about $16,000 after all rebates etc.
So, actual payback is probably about 10+ years.
It was a definite selling point when we bought the house but I wouldn't have spent the money to do it myself.
I believe the solar panels have a life-expectancy of 25 years but they will gradually get less efficient over time and at 25 years will probably only generate 50% of when new.

Matelot

escapedtonz, it might be worth getting solar thermal instead, the heat could flow straight from the roof to the hot water tank without the need to convert it twice, I suppose it depends on the cost and complexity of installation as well. Here in the UK we've got Solar Thermal, 4kWh PV, and a wood burning stove hooked up to the central heating/hot water. The PV makes us about £1900 per year in FITs and reduction in bills. I don't expect NZ has such a generous scheme!

escapedtonz

Maybe, but I'd guess it is still cost prohibitive. $5k - $10k is a lot to shell out just to save 1/3rd off the monthly electricity bill and then there is the question of how long it'll last before repairs or maintenance is required. I'd want it to last at least 10 years before I had to spend any money on it but you'd never get that sort of guarantee here.


There are no government subsidies or other benefits to installing any solar system in NZ. If you went for the full system, the FIT or Buy Back Rate as it's called here is pitiful with the majority of the retailers offering only 8c per kWh + 15% GST and then you are restricted up to 5 or 10 KW depending who your retailer is.

Woodlea

Which is why I added the link above and here www.suntrap.co.nz. A whole new solar system for $2591 for a 200L tank, a no brainer for my daughter's 1 bed cottage - free hot water for $2591 and a modicom of DIY skills.

escapedtonz

Yeah seen it before.
Don't you also have to purchase the tank for the "full" system so an extra $2k plus ? If not then cheap as chips but with that comes the question of quality then there's the shipping costs to upper North Island and install costs. Yes could easily do it myself but I ain't registered for electrical or plumbing.
It is also a stand alone system so when it fails or its a particular cloudy day you have no back up from the grid to heat the water which is no good for me.
I also ain't got a 1 bed cottage but a 4 bed family home.