Solar System (on your house, not in the sky...)

[djgra79]

This thread is blinky related because we need power to run our pixels. With that weak disclaimer out of the way...

Thanks to thousands of Aussies & Kiwis buying bubble wands, homewares dupes and suspect camera glasses, I have come into a little spare cash at the end of the financial year and was looking to invest by ticking off something that's been on the "nice to have" list for many years at Evans Central: a household solar setup (eg panels, inverter & battery.)

I know many people already have these systems and I'm using this thread for both personal research gains but to also help any others who may have been interested to know what others have chosen and what they'd do differently if they could do it again.
Like most technologies things can change pretty quickly in a few short years and it sounds like from the limited research I have done, prices of batteries have come down a little and the power capacity of panels has gone up, so perhaps now may be a good time to invest in a system just in time for this year's blinky season.

So for those that have systems already and are willing to share some details, please do so by listing things like:
* What panels you have (brand & wattage)
* How many panels and what size in total it SHOULD produce
* What brand/size invertor
* What brand/size battery (if you have one)
* Were you happy with the installer company (if it wasn't your own doing) you went through?
Again if you're willing to divulge on the interwebs, a rough total outlay cost, and any other pieces of info myself and potential other solar newbies would be pleased to know or avoid before adding to cart would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AAH]

There is a change coming to electricity pricing in a few weeks. Because solar and wind are making electricity so cheap and because solar has excess power during the middle of the day there is an incentive to use power during the peak supply time. I saw a YT video (
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jltRq_KlGH4
) that explained a bit about electricity prices and solar etc. In the video she spoke about upcoming energy tariff changes etc and the big news is that to get people to flatten the "duck curve" there will be free electricity during the middle of the day. 3 hours in some states and 4 in others I believe. Vic details are in this link https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/households/save-energy-and-money/victorian-midday-power-saver
With access to free electricity it may be far more cost effective to just get a battery and charge it during the 3 hours of free electricity and export it back during peak periods.

 

[MichaelF5]

well, we got in early when many of the Rebates were good and massively oversized at every occasion..

15kw of solar on the roof cost around $20k 10? years ago still blasting out 60+kw on a good winters day

around 6 months ago we slapped in (during the peak of the battery rebate) 50kw of battery behind a 12kw inverter for another $8k

then the Mrs car got hit a few months ago and the new BEV has been charged entirely off this battery ever since, power bills are between $3 and $7 a month all said and done using Globird Zero Hero, many changes coming but it mostly looks like supply charge increases.