All things Solar (merged threads)

[poppa smurf]

there was or is a "clause" in one of the contracts that an installer was putting around stating the company would have to do a regular "clean" at the owners expense in order to keep the warranty

I cant remember who they were but sounded a bit suss

there are companies going around that charge $10.00 per panel.....at ground level or easy access, not sure how they are getting on but that adds up to a fair few quid

if I couldn't do it myself I dont think i would bother too much

LOL at the OCD.....describes me perfectly when it comes to solar

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

there was or is a "clause" in one of the contracts that an installer was putting around stating the company would have to do a regular "clean" at the owners expense in order to keep the warranty

I cant remember who they were but sounded a bit suss

there are companies going around that charge $10.00 per panel.....at ground level or easy access, not sure how they are getting on but that adds up to a fair few quid

if I couldn't do it myself I dont think i would bother too much

LOL at the OCD.....describes me perfectly when it comes to solar

I just hose mine down..... It does make a difference. About 300kw if they are really dirty.

[xisled]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

are you getting anything for your previous export.....seems a bit rough that you simply give it away and the provider makes a profit off it

I would be talking with my energy supplier about it and chasing some sort of payment or credit

As I have said in Victoria you should keep your solar inverter off before the meter is installed. It even says it in the generation form, in the terms and conditions of the generation form the customers signs and is sent to the network. Basically the Meter would have not registered anything and that is why he would not get anything before the meter is installed. So basically it sucks to the owner of the system and the power companies are laughing.

[menil]

Originally Posted by xisled

As I have said in Victoria you should keep your solar inverter off before the meter is installed. It even says it in the generation form, in the terms and conditions of the generation form the customers signs and is sent to the network. Basically the Meter would have not registered anything and that is why he would not get anything before the meter is installed. So basically it sucks to the owner of the system and the power companies are laughing.

Not really I already had a smart(not so) meter when the system went up and it has recorded the amount of power exported ,but you still dont get paid till Powercor signs off on it which is bull@#$* I reckon 1000kw is a few dollars worth.

[xisled]

Originally Posted by menil

Not really I already had a smart(not so) meter when the system went up and it has recorded the amount of power exported ,but you still dont get paid till Powercor signs off on it which is bull@#$* I reckon 1000kw is a few dollars worth.

Even if you have a smart meter it needs to be reconfigured to actually give the solar readings to power core.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by xisled

As I have said in Victoria you should keep your solar inverter off before the meter is installed. It even says it in the generation form, in the terms and conditions of the generation form the customers signs and is sent to the network. Basically the Meter would have not registered anything and that is why he would not get anything before the meter is installed. So basically it sucks to the owner of the system and the power companies are laughing.

not quite true. only the excess goes to the grid, so while it is on, even if you don't have a smart meter, it will still be covering some of your usage.

its not ideal to run the old meters for long periods as they aren't really designed to turn backwards but i turned mine on and it went ok in the 3 weeks between install and getting the export meter on.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by davenl5l

how did you get 10%...the mongrels only gave me 5% & i connected just before you typical of my luck!!....lol

http://www.agl.com.au/home/agl-energ...rgyOffers.aspx

i was originally told 5% over the phone a week or so ago, but got a phone call thismorning and from what i can gather, it seemed like the deal in the link is the one he was pushing.

i don't like doing things over the phone, esp when they ring out of the blue, but with 10 days cooling off i'll have a read of the details when they arrive in the post in a few days.

[xisled]

Originally Posted by prydey

not quite true. only the excess goes to the grid, so while it is on, even if you don't have a smart meter, it will still be covering some of your usage.

its not ideal to run the old meters for long periods as they aren't really designed to turn backwards but i turned mine on and it went ok in the 3 weeks between install and getting the export meter on.

Yes that what I am saying the meter does not read your total solar energy produced only what excess you have produced and put into the grid. Well for net metering this is. Gross is another story.

[EgoFG]

Originally Posted by prydey

not quite true. only the excess goes to the grid, so while it is on, even if you don't have a smart meter, it will still be covering some of your usage.

its not ideal to run the old meters for long periods as they aren't really designed to turn backwards but i turned mine on and it went ok in the 3 weeks between install and getting the export meter on.

The backwards running did not seem to hurt the old three-phase wheel spinning meters !

[poppa smurf]

I would still be having a yak with my provider.......the "sign off" should have occurred upon completion of the install, well thats how it happens in SA there would also be some depletion of consumption if the meter ran backwards

1000 kilowatt would be worth around $590 in SA.......I wouldn't let that go without a whinge to someone

[V8XTasy]

I've gone a little bit solar. Unfortunately we're renting so can't do much, but as I was getting 3x120w panels for the camping trailer, I thought I might as well make use of this whilst the trailer is not being used. Got a bank of 300Ah batteries which get charge during the day, in the evening we run all the house lighting, laptops, TV, router off the batteries. Hopefully it'll give a bit of a saving.
The property also has a solar water heater on the roof - trying to get the missus to run the washing machine on a sunny day to get free hot water.

[poppa smurf]

very hard when you're renting......unless you are rent to buy it is not worthwhile

most property owners wont buy them off you if you leave

[menil]

Originally Posted by xisled

Even if you have a smart meter it needs to be reconfigured to actually give the solar readings to power core.

I don,t wish to start an argument but believe it or not the meter was recording the amount of power exported from the day it was turned on but I will only be credited for the export kilowatts:from now on.

[xisled]

Originally Posted by menil

I don,t wish to start an argument but believe it or not the meter was recording the amount of power exported from the day it was turned on but I will only be credited for the export kilowatts:from now on.

Yes it does show on the meter, but the meters are not read manually anymore.(If you have a smart meter) If the meter reader comes to read your meter they carry a USB looking thing and plug it into your meter. If your meter is not configured for solar, then the meter reader will not be able to download the data from the meter for the solar. If your meter is remotely read then the meter will not send the reading for the solar back to base.
So power core will not get the solar reading they just get the consumption reading, until the meter has been reconfigured.

[menil]

OK thanks that explains it then ,probably explains why they are so slow to do the reconfiguring also because I still think they got my power for free then .

[xisled]

Basically standard time frame for a solar meter change over us 20 business days , but at the moment the delay is around 40 business days due to the amount if people who put requests through for solar before TFIT ended.

In the past 2 weeks my self has raised around 200 meter change over requests. There is 3 of us in the team.

[poppa smurf]

you blokes have got different meters than we have.....I had a yak with the meter reader while he was taking the figures manually, no pluggy in gadget thingy

same figures that I take

a beautiful day here......bright sunshine and around 17 - 18 degs.....excellent solar weather...might take a drive this arvo

[Franco Cozzo]

Anyone here in Melbourne with panels? Is it really worth it given our odd weather and how do we go during winter?

[supershifty]

I think it's not fair that you guys get an extra hour of sunlight down south - maybe it's right that you pay more for your power and get less for your feed in tariffs - LOL!

Cheers!

[davenl5l]

yeh but it does fade the curtains and the cows well they are just confused

[poppa smurf]

Hah! sounds about right......I remember when it first came in there were a lot of folks trying to sue the government over the excess sunlight fading the paintwork on their houses

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Anyone here in Melbourne with panels? Is it really worth it given our odd weather and how do we go during winter?

ours aren't switched on yet, but our next door neighbour had a 1 and half kilowatt system on the 62 cent feed in tariff. they claim to have not payed a bill for years

they moved and have increased their system to a 3 kilowatt on the 31?? cent feed in tariff and obviously don't expect to pay anymore bills either

however on the 8 cent feed in tariff, the savings are not quite as attractive

[SmokinXR50]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

hard to say just how much the drop in production is but I notice that there is a definite improvement after cleaning

Hi Poppa and all,
The cleaning issue is something that I have also have been concerned about.
Apart from a good ladder I am guessing you would need a long extendible brush with water flowing through it.
My preference is to remain on the ladder and clean them, however as I have two rows of solar panels on my roof getting to the top row is somewhat tricky.
I did come across some good cleaning gear, but at $300 -$400 I felt it was a bit rich. So I am still looking around.

Quick update on my system.
Got my latest Electricity bill last week ( I am on a monthly cycle for Electricity and bi monthly for Gas).

Considering the bill was was August generation and consumption I was already in credit, pretty happy about that.

So I decided to do a review of service providers, but struggled to find one that would give me a better deal than what I am currently on.

After all that I decided to get stuck into Lumo. As soon as I mentioned "I am conducting a review" they referred me to their retention department.
After playing telephone tag I finally caught up with them.

After running through my current bill they decreased my Usage Cost, increased my PFiT to 66 cents ( that one blew me away as I was told Lumo would not provide this).
The only drawback was a small increase in my "Service to Property Charge".
They also decreased my Consumption Costs on my Gas as well. Best of all my 10% Pay on Time discount rose to 14%.
Not bad for just picking up the phone and putting the sword to them.
Afterwards I created a quick spreadsheet to directly compare the new rates using last months bill.
If these new rates were in place it would have saved me over $50 on last months bill. Considering the cost savings, increase in PFiT and pay on time discount I get the feeling my cost savings in subsequent months will improve further still.

So the morale of the story is" Conduct regular reviews of your Electricity and Gas Bills. If you can't find a better deal then call your existing supplier and put them to the sword. I hope this helps.

All the very best.

Chris

[xisled]

Originally Posted by SmokinXR6

Hi Poppa and all,
The cleaning issue is something that I have also have been concerned about.
Apart from a good ladder I am guessing you would need a long extendible brush with water flowing through it.
My preference is to remain on the ladder and clean them, however as I have two rows of solar panels on my roof getting to the top row is somewhat tricky.
I did come across some good cleaning gear, but at $300 -$400 I felt it was a bit rich. So I am still looking around.

Quick update on my system.
Got my latest Electricity bill last week ( I am on a monthly cycle for Electricity and bi monthly for Gas).

Considering the bill was was August generation and consumption I was already in credit, pretty happy about that.

So I decided to do a review of service providers, but struggled to find one that would give me a better deal than what I am currently on.

After all that I decided to get stuck into Lumo. As soon as I mentioned "I am conducting a review" they referred me to their retention department.
After playing telephone tag I finally caught up with them.

After running through my current bill they decreased my Usage Cost, increased my PFiT to 66 cents ( that one blew me away as I was told Lumo would not provide this).
The only drawback was a small increase in my "Service to Property Charge".
They also decreased my Consumption Costs on my Gas as well. Best of all my 10% Pay on Time discount rose to 14%.
Not bad for just picking up the phone and putting the sword to them.
Afterwards I created a quick spreadsheet to directly compare the new rates using last months bill.
If these new rates were in place it would have saved me over $50 on last months bill. Considering the cost savings, increase in PFiT and pay on time discount I get the feeling my cost savings in subsequent months will improve further still.

So the morale of the story is" Conduct regular reviews of your Electricity and Gas Bills. If you can't find a better deal then call your existing supplier and put them to the sword. I hope this helps.

All the very best.

Chris

What was Lumo giving you before the 66 cent FIT, because that is the what you should be getting on PFIT?

66 cents is the minimum.

[poppa smurf]

Hey Chris......well done on the $0.66c feed in tariff, I'm only getting $0.59c......it pays to do a bit of a "ring around"

as far as cleaning the panels go I have an extendable brush thing, water flows through the centre with a valve arrangement at the start of it.....I bought it from mitre ten for around $30......still looking for a longer one

works well.....although longer would be better

had a feller here yesterday that had his system installed the day before after chatting with me (my 100th install that I've been involved in)

he was watching the install (as you do) when he spied a tek bit laying on the ground, the installer was on the roof so he asked if this belonged to him

"yep, chuck it up".......so he did......installer missed the catch and dropped the bit on the panel and smashed it......it will take about a week for a replacement to arrive

[davenl5l]

euro solar contacted me they are offering me a $500 spotters fee if any friends or family i put onto them buy a system. any one looking to use them i will go you halves lol

[davenl5l]

hmm must get up & clean mine tv arial is a bit close bloody birds,bloody 2 story house!

[buggerlugs]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/s...-1226495034557

[davenl5l]

yep there is 5 like that next door to me all 4 to 5 kw systems and they stay there 5-6 times a year and 1 is a local farmer his system is at least 5kw he stays in his $1,000,000 shack 20klm's from his farm about 10 times a year.good luck to him but it's not right really

[supershifty]

Re cleaning solar panels. Since we finally got a day of solid rain, after about 50 days of SFA rain, I'm happy to report that my system is generating an extra 1kWh per day. I have previously stated that the highest output I'd seen from from my real time meter was 1.85kW, It's since hit 1.95kW after the rain consistently for the last 2 days. So I believe there is some merit to be held in keeping your panels clean. I'm generating an extra 1kWh per day overall.

No, I don't have any scientific facts about lumens of light from the sun, or the time of day - these are just observations from a lay man to share.

Cheers!