Solar Panels some questions.

Okay so we've agreed to go the way of Solar Panels. A member in my boo hoo electricity bill thread mentioned that AGL have a pay it off plan.

We've worked out based on the last bill that we use 1.06kwh daily. The AGL pay it off plan is for a 1.0kw system. Would that be sufficient or would you go bigger? I am thinking bigger but don't think the pay it off plan is an option for bigger units. We can use re-draw facility on mortgage if need be.

If we go the pay it off route, does it start feeding back from the day it's installed. I am guessing (hoping) that it is and that AGL don't wait 2 yrs till it is paid for to turn it on, or do they ? lol

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Could ya cut back .06kw? XD
Otherwise, is it possible to add on to it later?
And is the pay it off thing interest free?

from memory it starts paying back into the grid once ETSA install an input/output meter that measures what you are actually putting back in the grid. You still get the benefit of any electricity that you generate and use immediately, just not the credit for electricity you dont use until the meter is installed. Im not sure how much the new meter was as we built so had the right meter installed when we built I think it was either $200 or $400 on top of the solar system. AGL should know the cost. Im sure from friends that they got their excess soalr power credited to their account once the meter was installed, they are still paying theirs off.

I had a look on the AGL site and the package includes a 2kw inverter so you would just have to pay for extra panels if you want to create more electricity to meet your needs, so less than if you had to pay for a bigger inverter too. I think they can adapt their plans too, my brother works in their call centre and I think he said this when we were looking at doing it. You could also wait and see what your bills are like and add extra panels later if needed

We included solar in our building cost and for our 3.2kw system I think it cost about $12000 after rebates etc. Our system has the capacity to be increased by adding more panels later too. We went through TFA in adelaide and had no problems, but they dont have the payment plans.

its done through certegy ezy pay so long as you pay it off in the 2 years its interest free and there is a set up fee but its less than $100 and is all put on your power bill.

good luck, we worked out that we need to in this house 4-5 years to recoup our outlay (and that doesnt include how much the price seems to be hiking up constantly)

I'm pleased you are going this way. I didn't want to say in the other thread but our last bill (for a whole quarter) was $9.00. We have gas water heating though, and gas cook top. We aren't huge consumers. But during summer it makes a huge difference. Winter is different of course, but it all counts.
We are paying our off over 2 years at 100.91 per month. So, for now, it costs us more than we save on power. But wait 2 years and it'll be awesome.
In different states, they do things differently. We get paid approx 60cents per KWH that we feed back into the grid. This is government subsidised. This is going to last for 15 years apparently. Once this 15 years 'bonus' is over, then we will only get back the rates that we pay. But by that time we will have more than made back our initial investment.

You are unlikely to ever put in a unit big enough to have no power bill ever. They (AGL or whoever you go with to install the panels) will have good data on how much you use and how much you can get back. The bigger units cost lots more, but you will get more back in the long run. You have to crunch the numbers for your individual situation.

Oh yeah, they pay you the feed back from the minute you are hooked up! Just think of it as two seperate companies or divisions. Just like if you got panels through an independent source.

Astrolady, I read and sympathised with your bill-complaint post, but didn't respond. But if I had it would have been to recommend solar power.

We had a 2.3kW system installed in August, and got a solar hot water system to replace our electric storage water heater. I think WA measures usage slightly differently - we used 14-16 units/day. We chose the 2.3kW on the basis that we wanted to zero our bills, with a bit of room for our family to expand and therefore usage to increase. Ours is a 3x1 house with just 2 adults at present. Now that we're not using electricity to heat water, our usage is down to about 12 kW day, and we generate between 8 and 17kW per day, depending on the weather. No doubt it will be less as the days shorten in winter, but we expect we will then be using up the credit we generate in summer.

The kW of the system and the kWh that you use per day are not directly comparable. You said you use 1.06kWh daily - this does not make sense, as kWh is a unit measuring how many kilowatts you use in an hour. Perhaps it's 1.06kW every hour, which would mean just over 24 kW in a day?

In order to work out the appropriate system size, we got quotes and measurements taken by 5 different companies. I found that their attitudes immensely, some being intent on the sale and not interested in things like whether or not the neighbours trees would shade the system in winter, or whether the pitch of our roof was the standard angle, and whether the roof faced due east or actually east-south east. All of these factors will make a big difference in terms of how much power your system will actually generate for you.

Most of the companies took me through a computer analysis of all of these factors, plus size of system and expected usage, and came up with the figures for 'time to recoup your outlay' in years and 'how much will your power bills be'. You could see the difference that larger or smaller systems would make to these figures. (We also had a 4-5 year recoup time, and our last bill was $70 credit!)

Go to the whirlpool forums and look at the threads for the different solar installers in your area, and make sure that the companies you choose to get quotes from - and definitely your final choice - are considered to be reputable by the wider public. There are a lot of dodgy companies out there in this industry.

So I highly recommend getting a number of quotes from several different companies, even if they don't have 'pay it off plans' so that you can be sure the advice you are being given is accurate.

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You said you use 1.06kWh daily - this does not make sense, as kWh is a unit measuring how many kilowatts you use in an hour. Perhaps it's 1.06kW every hour, which would mean just over 24 kW in a day?

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Yeah sorry that was supposed to be per hour *doh* It is 25.63 daily

We had to wait until the input/output meter was installed for us to feed in to the grid - you may have to ring agl after the solar panels are installed to get this done - we had to ring origin who are our provider after the subcontractor installed the panels.
With more panels than the standard 1.0kwh see if you can get some done under interest free option and pay the extra ones out of your redraw option - worth checking to see if they will do it OR see if they have a higher number of panels option (origin had a couple of different options we could choose from). This might mean more power back to the grid.

You can prob fb DH if you want more info as he sorted ours out eventually after enough reminding :p


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Yeah sorry that was supposed to be per hour *doh* It is 25.63 daily

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That makes much more sense!

You'd put a bit of a dent on your bills, with a 1.0kW system, but I'm pretty sure you'd still have significant power expenses. You'd probably need something like 3.5kW system to zero your bills, but there's usually a lot you can do to cut usage down as well. Get those quotes and you'll find it all much clearer!

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We are paying our off over 2 years at 100.91 per month. So, for now, it costs us more than we save on power. But wait 2 years and it'll be awesome.

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I worked out we'd have to pay back around $75 a month on the AGL plan over 2 years. That is for the 1.0 unit at least. So are you paying that $100 on top of normal electricity usage, or are your quarterly bills just for what you have to pay back on the unit. Do you get me... LOL. Will our bills to be larger for the 24mths after installation than what I am paying now without solar, is what I am trying to get at.

Still to find that one out - not sure if we've had a bill arrive yet after having the input/output meter on. I think we have had one since the panels went on but not sure about that. DH has the bills before I see them ;)


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we have a 5kw system, have had it for a year, and only just this summer have we seen any benefit. be prepared in winter for it not to be of any assitance, it may very well be of course, but dont count on it always making the amount it is intended for, as it does depend on the weather. that size system should have by all quotes given zeroed our bills. but our autumn & winter bills have both been higher than spring/summer bill. And at no point have they been zeroed out like we were assured they would. we are actually quite disappointed with such a huge outlay and still getting bills of $370-$600 per quarter.

what is the lifespan of the solar panels?

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Okay so we've agreed to go the way of Solar Panels. A member in my boo hoo electricity bill thread mentioned that AGL have a pay it off plan.

We've worked out based on the last bill that we use 1.06kwh daily. The AGL pay it off plan is for a 1.0kw system. Would that be sufficient or would you go bigger? I am thinking bigger but don't think the pay it off plan is an option for bigger units. We can use re-draw facility on mortgage if need be.

If we go the pay it off route, does it start feeding back from the day it's installed. I am guessing (hoping) that it is and that AGL don't wait 2 yrs till it is paid for to turn it on, or do they ? lol

Any advice greatly appreciated.

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I got my solar panels in about 9 months ago. My bills were around $300 a 1/4 and I got 10 panels. I am currently getting credits every time.
To answer the question about feeding back..... you need to have the electricity company come and install the proper meter to start earning credit for extra electricity produced that you don't use. They have a time frame to do this, but in my case they did take longer than allowed (suprise, suprise) something like 8 weeks, they can't not put this meter in till you pay for it. Until this meter is installed, basically it will wind your meter backwards. So when mine first went in, during the sunniest parts of the day, and Iwasn't at home usuing anything, it would madly wind back. Then at night it would go back up again....but anything extra produced I didn't get paid for.

I did a interest free program, I assume AGL is the energy company? I purchased my panels through a private company, not the eletricity company and did an interest free plan with them.

I would go up a slightly larger system if you can afford it.

What's the price you're looking at? Have you looked around, what's the reason for going with the energy company? Shop around for the best price. My 10 panel (I think 2.2 kw) system was around $3500 after rebates but I've seen better prices than that since.

ETA Just read a few other posts.....I make 11kwh per day. You actually use more than double that, so you would need alot more panels to get a zero bill.

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what is the lifespan of the solar panels?

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They come with a 10 year warranty.

Astro, good idea. We are currently $46 in credit with our electricity company and we only have a 1.5kw system. We are seriously considering adding more panels, but will have to cut down a bothersome palm tree first.

The amount you 'make' will depend on what the feed-in tariff is - ours is set at 47c - versus the off-grid rate - think ours is around 19-20c - and when you use electricity. So if you try to use as little as possible during sunlight hours, those kWh will feed in and you'll get your 47c (or whatever it is) and then you'll pay for the electricity you use at other times at the lower rate.

It's a good idea to look at other energy-saving ideas at the same time.

Also - you'll make a lot more during the sunny months versus winter. when making guesstimates about usage etc, they average it out over the year. so you're way ahead in summy, but behind again in winter.... but ahead overall

I cant see which state you're in Astrolady. But the $ credits that you get depends on the state & also the retailer.

To get a more accurate estimate the following needs to be considered:
- seasonality (winter, less sun etc)
- size of unit (unit over certain kw might not be eligible for the Premium feed in tariff, so you might get 1 for 1)
- the network tariff that you need to go onto when you have solar will also determine how your usage and rebate is calculated. This depends on the network distributor then.
- your consumption trend which relates to the one above
- what your retailer offers u, ie what AGL's prices are for what you use & what u generate.

Some network distributor charges extra for meter change (eg if u haven't got a smart meter that has been programmed to handle feed in) and testing of inverter etc.

I would ask AGL to spell out the exact cost to you & ask them to do a bill comparison on pre-solar & post-solar.

(sorry if I'm babbling)


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I worked out we'd have to pay back around $75 a month on the AGL plan over 2 years. That is for the 1.0 unit at least. So are you paying that $100 on top of normal electricity usage, or are your quarterly bills just for what you have to pay back on the unit. Do you get me... LOL. Will our bills to be larger for the 24mths after installation than what I am paying now without solar, is what I am trying to get at.

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We are with origin. The two bills are totally seperate. Like different companies. $100.91 comes off the credit card every month by DD (the cost of the panels). Then we pay the electiricty bill as per normal when it arrives. We have a 1.5kw unit. So when the 24 months is over our power bill will still be $9 in summer (for the next 15 years while the feed-in tarriff is so generous) and we will be happy!
Hope that makes sense!

I was just looking into AGL as someone in the other thread mentioned that they have 24 mths interest free. But will definitely consider buying outright with our mortgage re-draw too.

Lenny, so with you saying your two bills are totally separate, is your electricity bill now cheaper? You were paying less than before solar ??

Oh god yes. Our bill was $9 last time for 3 months. The previous years it was $270-$380. But that's summer. We generate a lot more in summer.
Our feed in tariff is $0.66. Our actual usage tariff/rate is $0.28. So, it's a very false economy. Massively subsidised by the Govt.

excellent, that is what I was worried about. Having an extra bill but still paying the same amount electricity. So good to know I won't be ... during summer at least LOL.

I am going to ring AGL as a starter point and get someone out for a quote. Will then ring others.

ask how much your will get in your state, as the amounts ive seen in this thread are twice and triple what we can get in NSW! wish we lived in another state or signed up when the gov was still giving 40 and 60c over here. i think agl add on to what the gov give in nsw to get you to go with them, but its only a 2year contract from what i could find at the time when we were putting ours up.

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Our feed in tariff is $0.66. Our actual usage tariff/rate is $0.28. So, it's a very false economy. Massively subsidised by the Govt.

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check what the govt subsidy is now. Lenny got the 60c one but I have a feeling it's less now.


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We just get one bill here :dunno: Will depend how your electricity market is organised there.

Going by the Government of SA we'll be in Group 4 if we connect soon

Customer group 4

Approved permission to connect received between 1 October 2011 and 30 September 2013


Feed in tariff offered - 16 cents per kWh exported to the grid until 30 September 2016

You may also receive a minimum retailer payment from your electricity retailer. --- AGL (in our case) offer an extra 8c on top of that, so would be 24 cents per kwh

Oh bummer. What is your price per KWH?
You might need to invest in a bigger unit to see some improvement in your bills.

Is that the total state + federal rate? I think the Fed pays 7c on top of whatever you get at the state level. In WA it's now 20 + 7.... it sucks.
If they actually cared about this they'd keep the higher feed-in tariffs...

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Oh bummer. What is your price per KWH?
You might need to invest in a bigger unit to see some improvement in your bills.

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For our Non-Summer Rate (up till Dec 31st) it is $0.2469
For our Summer Rate (from Jan 1st( it is $0.2602

It has 2 other rates after both of those as well. We have like 7 different rate variations on our bill :/

well that bites.

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For our Non-Summer Rate (up till Dec 31st) it is $0.2469
For our Summer Rate (from Jan 1st( it is $0.2602

It has 2 other rates after both of those as well. We have like 7 different rate variations on our bill :/

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I think u have a what they call time of use rate, ie peak, shoulder & off-peak for each day. Within summer period it's one set of rates & non-summer is another set of rates.

Because of the transition between the summer & non-summer period uve got at least 6 sets of rates + supply charge.

If you get a bigger unit you might not be eligible for the govt thing. But it might be better for u if it generates ebuf. Ask AGL if u get bigger units what generation rates would they give u. Sometimes it's 1-1.

So if u pay $0.2469 per kwh, then u get -$0.2469 per kwh. But usually these are probably At the discretion of the retailer. Unless there is additional scheme from govt.

Ure doing the right thing by asking quotes from everyone. Then u can see what's been missed by one retailer if any.


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Just an aside...
If you do in fact have peak and off peak rates (ours are 7am-11pm peak, 11pm - 7am off peak + the whole weekend), you can get very clever at making your electricity bill cheaper.

These are my tricks:
Oven on in the weekend only (for a mass muffin baking session)
Washing maching on delay start so that it finishes before 7am
Dishwasher on delay start so that it starts after 11pm
Dryer on in the weekend (or not at all if possible)

Of course there are times when these rules can't work - but it's good to try. Our off-peak is one third the price of the peak.

I had a big chat to the kids today about turning things off at the wall. A habit I too need to get into :redface:

I rang AGL yesterday and all the consultants were busy, so the lady said she'd get someone to ring me back. I am still waiting. Has been 24 hrs now. So I guess they can't want business to badly.

Thanks for the tricks Lenny. I do try and do all my washing on the weekend. Although it is going around at the moment cause I have family etc coming tomorrow so need to clean up. We don't own a dishwasher or a dryer either :)

I just had my mum ring to complain about my Grandmothers' electricity bill too. My Grandmother has been in hospital for 1 month and lives with no one else. Absolutely no electricity has been used, apart from bare essentials like the running of the fridge & freezer and her electricity too had sky rocketed. So there must have been a huge jump in rates during that period.

AGL finally rang back. She said we'd probably need a 3 KW system going off our last bill and that we'd be looking around $8000 dollars. She said that would probably take $200 - $300 off our electricity bill.

Think I better keep saving LOL.

Is it worth it? If you put an extra $8k on your mortgage over 20 years you would end up paying about $7000 in interest over and above that!
That's $15,000 in savings you need to make back before you break even. Even if you do save $250 per bill - that's 60 bills before you start seeing a return!

Yeah Lenny. We'd never be able to get up $8000 unless we took out another loan, or won lotto LOL. So from our POV definitely not worth it, to be only saving half on bills.

That's a bum that it's gonna cost so much.


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