Completed Solar Upgrade
 

FYI.. this is old news now but for those that were interested. I had my solar PV system upgraded recently with Sustainabode.

All went well. I have upgraded from 3.7kW worth of panels to 4.9kW running on a SMA 4000TL 4kW inverter. I have 18 panels facing north and 6 panels facing west (no more north facing roof space)

The highest I have generated in a day is 33 units. There's a 3 hour period in the middle of the day when my inverter maxes out.

thread revival

anyone has any experience with installing a solar system with a battery system? normal grid connected system are not very useful for me as no one is home during the day and the current rebates is pathetic. ideally, i want to have a hybrid system where I can use the electricity in the battery before I draw from the grid. I know these systems exist but I don't seem to find much info on the web.

I enquired about that when I did mine and couldn't find any info aout it. ONly got told by everyone that it is illegal because if someone had to work on powerlines in your area they could get zapped.

[QUOTE=gorotsuki69;811415]I enquired about that when I did mine and couldn't find any info aout it. ONly got told by everyone that it is illegal because if someone had to work on powerlines in your area they could get zapped.[/QUOTE]

I don't see how that's different from any other solar system apart from the battery storage part:confused: I doubt you will hook the battery directly to the powerline?

that's where it gets messy because you ARE connected to the grid i.e exporting power. In a blackout your batteries will be supplying power and could zap anyone working on the lines. You could get a true offgrid system but cannot hook it up to your mains power. Again, that's just what I've been told.

[QUOTE=gorotsuki69;811417]that's where it gets messy because you ARE connected to the grid i.e exporting power. In a blackout your batteries will be supplying power and could zap anyone working on the lines. You could get a true offgrid system but cannot hook it up to your mains power. Again, that's just what I've been told.[/QUOTE]

hrm......that would only happen if the battery is topped up and the panels are generating more power than you could use? then again, that would be the same as all other solar system. just thinking out loud.

[QUOTE=davidsdh;811418]The battery systems at this point in time are not terribly cost effective or energy effective in Australia. This is something on the horizon however as a potential offering from service providers like Synergy.
Perth is well and truly behind the 8 ball on this.[/QUOTE]

damn, I heard there is a new system somewhere down the road but I was wondering if the current ones are good enough. Can't stand the current energy price.

Thread bump

Anyone here in the game doing solar panels and solar hot water? Just also need advice if it is worth getting also.

3kw 12 panels
4kw 16 panels
5kw 20 panels

Our electricity is around $230 every 3 months.

And for hot water:

Our gas is around $200 per 3 months

Maybe looking at a company that would do a discount if we install both. Just really asking the question yes we will be in our house for at least 5 years but the consumption may be less due to less people are going to be staying / moving out perhaps.

Any help would be great, thanks guys ! :)

We just got 21x250w (5.25kw) panels and a Goodwe inverter from True Value Solar for $3794 installed. For example, today was a nice clear day and we got just under 25kwh (7.135c/kwh so $1.80ish). Not bad for the middle of winter! Still take awhile to pay for itself though obviously.

You give examples from 3-5kw. It's not much more for the larger system so I'd be going as big as you can on the north facing roof space.

^ thanks for the reply !

Called Euro Solar and got quoted about the same for 5kw.