Have been throwing the idea around lately to the concept of getting solar panels. I have no intention of moving from my current abode for at least the next ten years so I am researching the cost/benefits of such a system and whether it is actually worthwhile. It seems that every third house in the street has them now so has it become that beneficial a process or are people merely keeping up with the Jones'es.

I calculate that my modest 4 X 2 home with four occupants uses around $1800p.a. of electricity. Systems seem to cost between $4000 and $10000 and from what I see, there is still a govt subsidy.

Before I go down the pathway of getting a sales rep to come out and talk the whole thing up, I would like to know of others experiences and what systems and pitfalls I should be looking out for.

Cheers.

I have a 2 kw system and was fitted in 2011,we get 47 cents per kw we put back into the grid we pay 22 cents for every kw we use from the grid. Our system cost us $4000 in 2011 which you can get for much cheaper now but you don't get the same payback for what you put back into the grid. It's only my wife and my self but we haven;t paid an electricity bill since we have had it installed and run reverse cycle aircon when hot or cold and have a credit of about $400 we have also taken a check for $800 for power put back into the grid that the power company owes us, we do also have solar hot water which is a huge savings.
I think if you spent the 4 to 5k you would get about a 4kw to 5kw system and as long as you had solar hot water as well you wouldn't be paying electricity bills and it would pay for itself within 5 years on the outside

We put a 5.6kw system on the roof, not the cheapest but maximum coastal corrosion resistance as we're 100m from the sea. Cost ~$8800. We get stuff all back now in QLD, like 10c/kw, so the aim is just to cover the usage. With a pool, plenty of AC in summer, etc, we're looking at 5 year payback. Last power bill was $90 for the month - but we do get a bigger 'catch up' one every now and then.

If you're definitely staying over 5 years, no brainer.

Things are changing and in Qld. Went to a meeting the other day hosted by Energex and they would like to see more batteries installed and the power from these batteries used between 4pm & 8pm. They are even bringing in new Tariffs for people who are interested in reducing there maximum demand during this period. When you get your quotes, maybe get a price on these hybrid systems and what the estimated payback would be.

There is bugger all money to be made exporting to the grid at 4 cents a kWh and buying it back at 26 cents a kWh.

Yeah and when you shop around for the cheapest price, you'll probably get a cheap system. Try and go with a company that's been around for a while and uses the good gear.

Points we learnt with solar panel installation.
1: Fit a top quality inverter, fit the largest capacity you can afford today.
2: Allow for expansion at a later date in KW, just as a precautionary measure
3: lots of Yabba about solar panels, what's good, what isn't and so on.
Life time expectancy and suchlike. But the kicker is; Panel development is moving forward in leaps and bounds. So the panels you fit today, could well be superseded in 5-10 years by a substantially more efficient panel. The end game is don't get sucked in to super expensive panels that are slightly more efficient than the rest. Technology will render todays expense panels obsolete within a few years. Don't go rock bottom, but keep that in mind. The top quality panels out of South Aus are great, but so is the purchase price.

Put a system in 6 months ago... Mainly to run the pool...

The lads here are bang on...

- good inverter.
- feed in price is now crap.
- most energy is generated between 10 am and 4 pm... And you need to be using lots of energy in those hours to get the most benefit... If it is just you and another and you work 5 days a week in daylight hours, it might not make sense. With 4 people it may make sense... School hours are also peak generation hours...

Got a 3 kW inverter with 3.9 kW of panels... Caps in summer/Autumn about 1130 or 12 and doesn't get to the max 3 kW in winter... Food for thought as the 5 kW inverter was a lot more than the 3 kW (fronius).

We used infinite energy here in perf and they were great. Got it installed in 4 separate roof sections - took 3.5 guys a full day.

Did you know you can get solar installs that are designed for just running pool pumps. They have a special inverter that is designed to run a special pool pump. You still need 240Vac for the chlorinator, which is controlled by a flow switch activated when the pump runs. The pump is 100% isolated from the grid and you never ever have to pay for power to run it again.

These systems can also run pumps used for circulating water through roof mounted heat tubes designed to warm the pool. Makes sense as when the suns out, the pump runs at the same time the heat tubes warm up. Again this system is 100% isolated from the grid. Once installed, there are no ongoing costs, Zero dollars.

Check the alignment of your roof. And check shade from trees etc. Someone round the corner from me has a small system on their roof under a large eucalypt. Why?
If you do have some shading it might be worth getting a system with microinverters for each panel. My system gets a bit of winter shade from a tree over the road, and the way it is wired, 2 strings of 8 panels, reduces its output a bit. All the panels on a string have to be in the sun before that string produces any output, so I only get a trickle in the middle of winter until just after 10, when the first string comes on and 10:35, when the 2nd one lights up. But there is also the cost/benefit to consider. I estimate my loss due to the tree at about 200KWh/yr. ie $12 at a 6c feed in tariff, or $40/yr if I think of it as electricity I have to pay for at 20c/KWh.

we have had 5.5 kW system installed in 2013, currently looking at about six years payback time. ROI is about 15% so far so better than having money in the bank.

Few pointers:
* find out what your daytime usage is (read the meter mornings and evenings), this is what you can potentially offset with solar
* the size of your PV should match your daytime usage.
* consider your daytime usage pattern. e.g. if you have high use in the early morning and late evenings but nothing during the day when sun is shining, than you will be sending most of your electricity to grid for bugger all.
* consider if you can shift some of your usage to daytime - electric hot water, pool pump etc. I run hot water on timer during daytime and we try to run washing machine and dishwasher during the day when possible. All of this will add up to faster payback time.
* personally I wouldn't worry about expanding the system at later stage, in my opinion paying more for the option (usually larger inverter) is not worth it as adding panels at later stage is too expensive and can have possible issues with matching the panel output and electrical certifications of the upgraded system. This is due to ever changing regulations.
* check out pvoutput.org/outputs.jsp and search for PV systems in your area (top right corner, you can search by post code, system size etc) to get an idea how similar systems in your area perform. Lot of people post their consumption as well, which demonstrates how you can track self consumption. Here is my system with live data feed on production/consumption: pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id=19750&sid=17600
* additional information about sizing, orientation, gear, installer etc is on whirlpool forums: forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/143, there is a specific thread to discuss Perth solar installations, lots of information there. just keep in mind that installers and dealers also frequent the forum so it may not always be balanced view. General recommendation seems to be don't skimp on quality of gear and installer, don't go for the cheapest. But that is a decision you will need to make.
* be aware there is a high risk of becoming a power nazi once you have your PV installed, could result in domestic disharmony

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gs12 said..
* be aware there is a high risk of becoming a power nazi once you have your PV installed, could result in domestic disharmony

Didn't happen here but I can definitely see the potential.

One other thing to add - when you have solar you tend to use AC more. They go hand in hand, you want air on the most when you're generating the most. So our company was right when they said "you've told us you don't use your AC much, but you'll definitely use it more when you know you're generating anyway, so we've factored that in".

As suggested above, get a quality system - our inverter (Aurora) died after 4 years service.....very happy that it had a 5 year warranty.