You guys got any advice on who to use...
I was thinking True Value Solar... About $8k for a 5kW system... (20 panels, fully installed, total cost)
Flat Tin Roof, so I cop perhaps $1k of stands...
What thoughts do you guys have... suggestions, etc.
Simondo son,
Why do you want solar panels ?
Surely not to make $$$$
I thought the rebates are ordinary now.
Unless they are paying more in Vic.
without the feed in tariff the people who can make solar systems most viable are those who can adjust their lifestyle so that they use most of their power in the middle of the day
eg those who work from home or are retired
simondo shop around for the equipment as much as the price, most of the panels out there are pretty close in efficiency to the top boys (BYD and a few german brands)
but the inverters will differ more - sunny boy are one of my favorites for quality and efficiency but there are other decent ones out there
I have been thinking of going semi off grid . cheap Chinese panels on roof , second hand forklift batteries for storage . install simple 12 volt lighting system in house , ie wires draped everywhere.
inverter to go up to 240 vlt for the tv , computer or any thing that is suitable .
use the mains only for the heavy use stuff .
Select to expand quoteNewScotty said..
Simondo son,
Why do you want solar panels ?
Surely not to make $$$$
I thought the rebates are ordinary now.
Unless they are paying more in Vic.
G'Day Scotty,
Making money is only on excess power generated, and not used!...
Yes, feed-in tariffs have come down, but that only relates to "if you are feeding in"... making more power than you use!
Basically I'm just aiming for almost cost neutral Electricity for 20 years...
I'll need to ask them about "Feed-In, Peak & Off Peak", to see if that is metered... I doubt they would meter that... Because you make power at peak times... Daytime...
Select to expand quoteSandS said..
I have been thinking of going semi off grid . cheap Chinese panels on roof , second hand forklift batteries for storage . install simple 12 volt lighting system in house , ie wires draped everywhere.
inverter to go up to 240 vlt for the tv , computer or any thing that is suitable .
use the mains only for the heavy use stuff .
That's more than doable we've been installing grid connected and fully stand alone systems in remote areas recently
the biggest that we've done so far is 4kw array and 8kwh battery bank but you can link these together to get 16kwh 24kwh etc
as the battery density's increase and prices drop, these systems are going to become a lot more popular in suburbia. Even at their current prices they are ideal for a lot of remote locations
After existing the industry after 15 years ill give a free tip , you get what you pay for.True value are cheap because they are cheap!Choose either SMA , Aurora for inverter , REC , Sanyo , Sunpower for Panels. Get a good installer check warranty carefully , read fine print.
www.solarquotes.com.au/panels/roof-tiles/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=contentamplification_main
www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/the-truth-about-solar-panel-performance-and-temperature/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=contentamplification_main
Just some sites I am looking at, same thing.
I think this is worth a watch. He points out that the cost of getting the usual suburban household "off grid" will be more than you would spend staying "on grid".
We need to get rid of our paranoia of nuclear energy.
iview.abc.net.au
what are you going do with true power totalling 4kw, at 240, thats about 20 amps, and again thats true power not absolute, in my experience a house has much higher demands than that, especially if your gunna have air con, dishwasher, dryer, washing machine, decent tv, heating, theres no way 4kw will be enough to meet the modern sydney house demands, not to mention that one of the most potentially explosive things going would be a battery bank, which will lose its potential to maintain charge over time, and panels, assumming containing silicon or germainium will also break down over time, reducing there potential to act as transistors, reducing their conversion rate, ha, thats just some negatives, as you well know their is many postives, i'm sure it will reduce your electricity bill,
Seems to be a lot of miss info around....really what do you need mostly, run the fridge, some light, occasional water pump, the radio, or tv, cook with gas [cheapest]. So a couple of 100w panels will do this, easy peasy. As on most houseboats, or remote camps [road grader etc]. A standby generator or mains backup for the washing machine etc. It's absolute BS what is being quoted to run a household on solar.
I have a couple of 80ah panels which power my fridge, radio, lighting needs and charge up all these battery run IT gadgets.
BUT you need to have the ability to manage your power usage...oH yep i have a 120ah truck deep cycle battery.
There is no reason that a household cannot be wired to 12volt, you can buy 12volt anything
i assume your load is located very close to your source at 12v, a 100w panel at 240v would be lucky to supply two lights, the 12v system might do ya if your gunna make electricity something in your home you have to be thinking about, changing batteries etc, constant daily effort would be required,and again, batterys have gnormous explosive potential, so perhaps not the greatest outcome to have every second home in a residental zone with battery banks, and most people draw a lot more power than that, but yeah, if you want your home to be the electrical equivalence of a house boat then thats not a bad system, but in my opinion that system wont meet the demands of the average urban consumer, and as j murray indicates, you need to have the ability to manage your power usage, which does not suit the average consumer whom is basically an electrical slob, i mean, most people have no idea what electricity is, let alone the ability to manage it, and if you were gunna do what j murray has done, you'd have to do it at 12v because anything else would be too dangerous,, the misses has to go start the generator to do a load of washing, yeah, this aint gunna happen in urban sydney
Nuclear power in Australia? ...... Yeh right and we will be assured the power stations will be maintained to to Very high standards (like ALL public assets) just like the Roads, Hospitals, Schools, Power system, Water System, Rail System.... mmmmm right!!!! 
phys.org/news/2011-05-nuclear-power-world-energy.html
www.tai.org.au/file.php?file=web_papers/WP96.pdf
Select to expand quotecisco said..
...
We need to get rid of our paranoia of nuclear energy.
....
Solar power IS nuclear energy!
Select to expand quoteCassa said..
Research True Value , have heard some not so good reports
i had a 5kw system installed by true value , no problems . Another 5 mates have systems through true value and no issues . It's like any company , people will have good and bad experiences . It's just that no-one makes threads about how awesome a company was , simply to bitch and true value being one of the biggest in australia will feature more than others .
Select to expand quotecisco said..
I think this is worth a watch. He points out that the cost of getting the usual suburban household "off grid" will be more than you would spend staying "on grid".
We need to get rid of our paranoia of nuclear energy.
How come everybody becomes economically rational when it comes to the cost of energy, when they will quite happily pay $50 for a $5 t shirt if it has a logo on it? Or pays for electrically heated car seats .... in Qld.
As for nuclear power, I believe that there is not actually a whole lot of Uranium in the world and the price is expected to rise quite a lot in a few years time. In Oz we have lots of sun, wind and waves. As good global citizens, we should be letting areas that are not so lucky burn the stuff, but then take the waste back and use it to backfill some of the deeper holes it came from.
