Started on the solar path. I'm not wealthy so can't afford top system thinking along lines of the cheaper panels with better invertor. I'm in Ballarat Vic, my north facing roof isn't huge so will probably need north and east or even north east and west, west could be shaded also on side of hill which goes up to the west.

I have gone through solarquotes Web page to kick things of. Cost would be great of 4k or under after rebates could go a little more maybe 5k.

 

Happy for any thoughts or ideas.

7 hours ago, SGS said:

Started on the solar path. I'm not wealthy so can't afford top system thinking along lines of the cheaper panels with better invertor. I'm in Ballarat Vic, my north facing roof isn't huge so will probably need north and east or even north east and west, west could be shaded also on side of hill which goes up to the west.

I have gone through solarquotes Web page to kick things of. Cost would be great of 4k or under after rebates could go a little more maybe 5k.

 

Happy for any thoughts or ideas.

I was you 3yrs ago.   Settled with Chinese made German designed under contract Qcells that are half panels….20 330W panels and a 5KW SMA sunny boy.  11 west  and 9 north.  The panels have the same spec as the next range that was actually made in  Germany.  Look for the specs for wind and hail tolerance on PV, and you would not touch any that’s not a 1/2 panel,  stick to known brands like Jinko etc mine is  a typical 2 string system.   This system is OK for no shade,    However if you do have plenty of shade then I suggest you go micro inverters.     And FWIW if you live close to the coast line you’ll need higher spec panels that can handle coastal salt exposure.   This 6.6kw system was around $5-6k back in 2019 and they also removed the the 3 solar hot water panel to get the west face populated with PV.   Going 3 sides Nth west east you’ll need an extra inverter as most will only cater for 2 strings unless micro inverters are used. 

Edited November 17, 20214 yr by Addicted to music

18 hours ago, Addicted to music said:

I was you 3yrs ago.   Settled with Chinese made German designed under contract Qcells that are half panels….20 330W panels and a 5KW SMA sunny boy.  11 west  and 9 north.  The panels have the same spec as the next range that was actually made in  Germany.  Look for the specs for wind and hail tolerance on PV, and you would not touch any that’s not a 1/2 panel,  stick to known brands like Jinko etc mine is  a typical 2 string system.   This system is OK for no shade,    However if you do have plenty of shade then I suggest you go micro inverters.     And FWIW if you live close to the coast line you’ll need higher spec panels that can handle coastal salt exposure.   This 6.6kw system was around $5-6k back in 2019 and they also removed the the 3 solar hot water panel to get the west face populated with PV.   Going 3 sides Nth west east you’ll need an extra inverter as most will only cater for 2 strings unless micro inverters are used. 

Had one quote back so far. 6.6 Canadian solar with 5kw Fronius inverter 5500 if I go 3 facing the 6kw Fronius has 4mppt so would be fine but bit over 6000, I could go east and west.

Waiting on other quotes still. 

Not sure what you mean by 1/2 panel. Current quote was 18 panels for 6.6.

16 hours ago, SGS said:

Had one quote back so far. 6.6 Canadian solar with 5kw Fronius inverter 5500 if I go 3 facing the 6kw Fronius has 4mppt so would be fine but bit over 6000, I could go east and west.

Waiting on other quotes still. 

Not sure what you mean by 1/2 panel. Current quote was 18 panels for 6.6.

that’s decent, Canadian panels are decent and you can’t go wrong with Fronius that has 4mppt   Most Fronius have active cooling, so there is a fan that turns on,  comes in handy in Summer 
 

1/2 panels were just flooding the markets when I was looking at them.  Basically you’ll see a divider in the middle of a PV  and what that allows is for Shade tolerance….Wouldnt matter in my case as there are no trees, apart from a evaporative cooler that will effect west.    If shade falls on the bottom or top half of the panel, it will still enable the string to work, however if it falls over the entire panel then that disables  the whole  string.   Every new installations I see are all 1/2 panels 

Another Q, what is needed to run electric hot water?

I'm sure my gas unit will die at some point, thinking going electric running off solar. Is it a special inverter or just another add on device?

4 hours ago, SGS said:

Another Q, what is needed to run electric hot water?

I'm sure my gas unit will die at some point, thinking going electric running off solar. Is it a special inverter or just another add on device?

I was looking at that 18mths ago.  You can manage it with an Electric Hot Water storage system that can operate direct of your solar PV system.    I looked at some options including heat pumps.   Not exactly cheap and most now have a vitreous tank.  If you currently run an electric hot water storage you can get a module that can tap of your existing solar PV system which is more efficient and cost effective than battery storage.  I’ve got gas,  and running a 135lt Aqua Max that has a stainless steel tank.   If you get Electric Hot water storage ensure it’s a stainless steel tank so it’s maintenance free.   Vitreous tanks  usually have a self sacrificing anode that needs replacing.   At the time I was looking at the solution was $8k installed, so I gave it a miss.   To replace a gas Aqua Max with a stainless steel tank was. $1700 installed. 
FWIW

when you decide on a quote make sure that they replace roof tiles,  if they don’t and you still wanna use then go out and buy at least a dozen.    I have terracotta tiles and they smashed over a dozen 

Edited November 19, 20214 yr by Addicted to music

I have some spare roof tiles fortunately. 

My gas hot water isn't expensive to run but unit appears quite old. Was wondering about it in case it needed a different type inverter. Thought that getting a large electric unit set to heat during day from unused solar power would be beneficial, not doing it though until gas unit dies.

 

Second guy to quote mentioned some interesting points. Solar feed in tariffs could get worse even to be a tax when the power isn't needed. So the thought now is to install panels according to when you use the power, as in morning and evening meaning East and West orientation.

 

He also mentioned community batteries where residents in local area feed into a local battery to be drawn on later. Apparently some installations have already occurred. Can't afford my own battery.

 

He quoted Jinko and Goodwe panels east and west, just over 4k.

 

Seems inverters make a huge difference to cost. Are Fronius worth it over a Goodwe or similar?

On 20/11/2021 at 1:40 PM, SGS said:

I have some spare roof tiles fortunately. 

My gas hot water isn't expensive to run but unit appears quite old. Was wondering about it in case it needed a different type inverter. Thought that getting a large electric unit set to heat during day from unused solar power would be beneficial, not doing it though until gas unit dies.

Stick to that plan,  don’t replace it till it dies….    Going environmentally friendly sometimes isn’t what it’s cracked up to be with Hotwater service. As I’ve pointed out,  $1700 total including labour to remove and replaced a unit with a stainless steel Aqua Max 135Lt that will last a life time (over 10yrs) is better than outlaying $5-8k for a suppose environmentally friendly unit that only as a 5-10yr life.    Lots of solar hot water panels also fail within the 1st 5yrs of operation,  of you drive down Point Cook when they made it mandatory to implement a Solar Hot Water system, you can see most have leaked like mine and are now disconnected,  I removed the system after multiple issues, when the tank went they said I need a who new system; no way!   Not going through that again! .

On 20/11/2021 at 1:40 PM, SGS said:

 

Second guy to quote mentioned some interesting points. Solar feed in tariffs could get worse even to be a tax when the power isn't needed. So the thought now is to install panels according to when you use the power, as in morning and evening meaning East and West orientation.

Don’t worry about FIT, and yes that’s the plan; FIT will tax the owners because there are now too many PV where the system can’t direct your production where it’s needed!   The existing grid was never plan for that.   You need to look at production during winter,  hence the reason I decided to carpet bomb 2 side of the roof with PV.  Your production during winter is only a fraction of what it is during summer.   During winter I’m lucky to achieve 2kW where in summer I get up to 40kw of 6.6Kw of panels on a 5Kw inverter..

 

On 20/11/2021 at 1:40 PM, SGS said:

 

He also mentioned community batteries where residents in local area feed into a local battery to be drawn on later. Apparently some installations have already occurred. Can't afford my own battery.

I see a lot of PV on roofs but I don’t see many batteries,   It’s just too expensive and the tech isn’t quite there yet for reliability and durability, possibly the only leader in the battery game is Tesla if they used there newest battery tech to be durable and reliable….   The drive now is to get as many EV on the road as current EV have the tech where the grid can demand power of the EV at night while it charges during the day.

 

 

On 20/11/2021 at 1:40 PM, SGS said:

 

He quoted Jinko and Goodwe panels east and west, just over 4k.

 

Jinko are very established panels.  
 

On 20/11/2021 at 1:40 PM, SGS said:

 

 

Seems inverters make a huge difference to cost. Are Fronius worth it over a Goodwe or similar?

I see a lot of Goodwe inverters used in industry that saids a lot, both are very established, Fronius have a service/office dept in Tullamarine.   Not sure about Goodwe but Fronius  uses active cooling that involves a fan!  As most or nearly all inverters support wifi and will come with an app,  they idea is download those apps and see what detail information it gives you, some go as detail as reporting on mains voltage and alerts if the mains is too high/low.  Others like the SMA only reports on production during the day and to get other necessary info you need to have costly add ons.  If you go to FB theres a lot of companies also providing devices free as a government incentive that taps into your smart meter and can give you a detailed picture on everything that’s happening on your site including usage.
 

Thanks for the detailed responses, much appreciated.  I already have a power meter that I use, it measures power usage through the day.

 

2kw during winter is a bit of a shame for you. 

 

Really liked the guy who quoted second, seems a good option with the Goodwe inverter. Won't be basing my decision on that though. 

 

It might come down to the cheapest option from those through solar quotes.

 

I need to follow up the third quote. 

This is what the SMA app reports for the 2020 and 2021 production on my system  for each month. 

Today’s generation 

South Australia shows the way 

Will You Look at That? South Australia’s Power Grid Dropped to Zero Because of Renewables (msn.com)

 

Have received 2 quotes now, waiting on third and seeing a trend.

 

Solarquotes state a 6.6kw system price range is 5000 to 9000 after Fed rebate. 

 

Price is less with a goodwe inverter by 800. 

 

Considering I'm looking at the cheaper panels, eg Jinko and Goodwe, 6.6 should be say 4000 to 4500.

 

I'm in Victoria so get an extra 1400 rebate plus option of interest free loan 

 

5000 less 800 less 1400 less 1400 is $1400 total or there about.

 

1st quote $ 4885  Goodwe and Canadian solar.

2nd quote $ 4100 Goodwe and Jinko.

 

Both quotes include Vic rebate and loan. Total costs for both are around 11k 8k after Fed.

 

Massively more that reasonably expected. Or am I reading this wrong?

 

Getting ripped maybe?

@SGS

 

those quotes are pretty good.   Solarquotes hasn’t changed since I was looking at them.   The other question worth asking is to put the installation date into the sales contract, it’s something that Id be doing for sure.   

 

48 minutes ago, Addicted to music said:

@SGS

 

those quotes are pretty good.   Solarquotes hasn’t changed since I was looking at them.   The other question worth asking is to put the installation date into the sales contract, it’s something that Id be doing for sure.   

 

The 4800 quote is using 2022 rebate figure, they obviously can't do it soon.

I spoke with 3rd quoter today, he has 2 spots for 6.6 left for the year.

 

I found a site showing average install cost and by state. Victoria was much dearer than every other state, rebate working well lining the pockets of installers.

I had to apply for the rebate 2x    The 1st one was with Space Solar that later went belly up becuase the got caught out and was on the news doing doggy installs….  Wiped my hands on that one and went with a recommendation here,  however these guys are aren’t the best and I won’t use them if I had to do it again.   Breaking over a dozen roof tiles saids it all.   The neighbour next door had a single guy installed there system and not one roof tile was damaged,  yep they are certainly lining up there pockets due to demand to.

 

Edited November 24, 20214 yr by Addicted to music

3rd quote came through. Of the 3 from Solarquotes he is the only one located in  Ballarat. Came in at 4580 not including the 1400 interest free loan. So after loan 3180. Others were 4100 and 4800 including loan. He has 2 install spots left for this year so will probably go with it pending rebate acceptance. 

 

Jinko panels and Goodwe inverter, 10 panels facing west 8 panels facing east. Payback just over 4 years. 

 

 A colleague who had a system installed around the same time I was looking at them, his Solax inverter died after 2yrs of use,  he didn’t realised until his bill showed him there was no FIT for 2mths..   He showed me the app for Solax and it’s miles more detailed that shows production,  production usage and what was imported to the grid…..   The 5kW Solax is compact and cheap with a 5yr replacement warranty.  They replaced it free of charge.    So keep an eye on that production.

This is about about solar and my journey of trying to reduce my power costs may interest other SNA members.  My perspective on products is about quality, performance, affordability, support, advice and not the lowest cost.  I have never tried to work out a payback period for what I have invested.  It is all about will there be a saving. 

 

 

I found a vendor that I trusted.  I started with a heat pump.  Sanden and very reliable.  Never an issue over a few years.  There was small rebate.  Then I went for solar.  There was a rebate but I needed microinverters because of tree shading.  Ended up with Enphase.  Once again very reliable.  I could view performance on line and did so for awhile but eventually lost interest.  Even with the microinverters the amount of power generated is less than other systems with equivalent capacity because of the shading. The trees are more important to me

 

Then I discovered the matter of no feed in tariff (FIT) when supply went over 254 volts.  Mid 260sV sometimes.  Powercor was slow to respond.  So I had an Edge IQ fitted to the house so the voltage in the house was always 230V approx..  Fixed the FIT matter.  Before the regulator a LED light went every few months.  I haven’t replaced one for a few years.  I assume that appliances last longer and it is better for my audio system.

 

 

Powercor responded to my second request very quickly and retapped the supply transformer.  Supply now stays below 245V.  So, the need for the Edge IQ reduced.

 

 

Decided to get 4 more panels of solar and discovered that the first 16 where incorrectly installed.  They should be in portrait mode, a certain distance from the roof edges and gutter and the supports must be certain distance from the panel edges.  All fixed.

 

 

Finally, a battery.  The difference between the FIT is approx 5 times less than the supply charge?  I could use my power better for me.

 

 

The advice for the last few years from my supplier was to wait for a battery.  The cost wasn’t favourable, rebates were not good and importantly the recommended battery for me was awaiting certification for Victoria.  Earlier this year the ducks lined up and I made the decision.  Rebate process was simple for once.  The Battery is a Redback.  I had to wait some months as installation could not happen as there was inside work involved.  The battery is only 7KW which often does not go right through the night.  Still, it has made a big impact on my supply costs.  With FIT credits my overall monthly utility cost will be less than the connection charge this month.

 

 

The interesting thing is with both peak and off peak, solar and a battery it takes some awareness as to what appliance you use and when.  It a balancing act.  I have not had to water the garden yet this year.  I have not used the bore.  I am watching the apps online regularly at the moment But I expect I will do it less over time.

 

 

 

I consider that with good advice and quality products I have not experienced some of the problems that others have.  Except for the incorrect panel installations which was fixed.

John

Edited November 28, 20214 yr by Assisi