Home solar installation

[Newcastle George]

We had solar installed at our home on 17/7/2019. These are the input, output results.
Solar produced until yesterday, 46051Kwh
Solar output fed into the grid, 31084Kwh
Solar output used by us, 14967Kwh

As an example the solar output yesterday was 17.3Kwh, our usage was 4.3Kwh.

Just shows how little power we use during the day and as our feed-in tariff is only 5c/kwh it was hardly worth having solar installed.

George

[Greynomad]

George,
You’re lucky to have a 5c feed-in.
Ours was recently reduced from 3.5c to 0.04c!!
Effectively, it’s a price increase on our electricity bill through the back door. The actual price doesn’t change, but our solar rebate is cut to three-fifths of five-eighths of bugger-all!
Next thing, we’ll be paying them to send excess power back into the grid!

[T1 Terry]

There was a time that it did cost to send solar back to the grid between certain hrs is demand was low. Then the introduced the ability to cut off any solar household feed in if the grid was power saturated.

Better to feed your solar into a battery and inverter set up, then switch to grid feed when the battery is fully charged. buying an electric car with V2L capabilities would mean the 5c/kwh would go towards your fuel savings and you can pull it back out during the peak power cost times, saving around 37c to 49c per kwh hr between 3pm and 9 pm.

It doesn't take long for the electric vehicle to pay for itself with the reduced fuel costs, servicing costs and household power costs.

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

T1,
It’s the up front $$$ that is the problem.
We were told by the mob which installed our 6.6kW solar system that even with the gummint subsidy, a battery would not pay for itself within our expected lifetime.
Better value from a solar HWS to replace our (formerly) off-peak electric system. However, that’s still more $$$ than we can afford.
“Formerly”, because when our solar system went online, our electricity provider canned our off-peak deal.
According to the gummint power comparison website we’re already getting the best deal available, but according to the provider “peak time” is 1500-2100hrs. Our price-per-kW triples in that time frame.
As far as buying an electric car with V2L goes: totally out of the question.
1. Up-front cost.
2. There is ONE charging point in this town. Installing our own adds too much to the initial cost.
3. The pissfarting around involved in driving to Melbourne to see family (our most common long drive) is just not worth the PITA.
We have two ICE cars, one petrol, the other diesel, both of which can get to Melbourne and halfway back on a tank… without stopping for a half-hour recharge on the way down or back. Maximum refueling time: 10 minutes, usually in Melbourne to avoid stopping mid-journey home. (Coffee stops optional )
Neither vehicle is approaching an odometer reading where we would consider trading in.
Even if one vehicle were to fall over (see: Jim the Junior Jeep) we would still go ICE. Maybe a 5-door Jim. Need room for two greyhounds in the back.

[T1 Terry]

T1,
It’s the up front $$$ that is the problem.
We were told by the mob which installed our 6.6kW solar system that even with the gummint subsidy, a battery would not pay for itself within our expected lifetime.
Better value from a solar HWS to replace our (formerly) off-peak electric system. However, that’s still more $$$ than we can afford.
“Formerly”, because when our solar system went online, our electricity provider canned our off-peak deal.
According to the gummint power comparison website we’re already getting the best deal available, but according to the provider “peak time” is 1500-2100hrs. Our price-per-kW triples in that time frame.
As far as buying an electric car with V2L goes: totally out of the question.
1. Up-front cost.
2. There is ONE charging point in this town. Installing our own adds too much to the initial cost.
3. The pissfarting around involved in driving to Melbourne to see family (our most common long drive) is just not worth the PITA.
We have two ICE cars, one petrol, the other diesel, both of which can get to Melbourne and halfway back on a tank… without stopping for a half-hour recharge on the way down or back. (Coffee stops optional )
Neither vehicle is approaching an odometer reading where we would consider trading in.

Use your solar to heat the water, Google maps says it's under 300kms to Melbourne and our MG4 51 poverty pack does 320kms down to 10% remaining when the big hill out of Adeliade is included in the trip and most of it at 110km/h, 420kms they claim if driven some what more economically than I drive

No reason to look for a charging station, charge at home from a 10 amp power point, just takes longer, that's the way we recharge the MG. Only ever used a charging station twice since we've owned it, once at the Adelaide Hospital, that took an hr from 15% to 100% and cost either $11 or $17, can't remember which, the other time Margaret panicked when in Adelaide so spent 30 mins getting a free 7kwh top up at a slow charging station.

You could get a 15 amp power point wired in at the hot water service and charge much faster, from 20% to 100% in an MG4 51 in 11 hrs, so, over night or during the day from the solar.

As long as you aren't electrical energy hungry, the MG4 51 can power the house with 7kw continuous for close on 6 hrs, longer if there were periods where you used less than the full 7kw out of the MG battery ...... and that is all with the poverty pack bottom of the range MG4 51kwh LFP battery, they also do a 64kwh and 77kwh model. So, the peak pricing period can be powered via the EV and recovered during the low pricing period in the early hrs of the morning, ready for the shoulder charge period in the morning, before the solar kicks in .....

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

T1,
Still doesn’t solve point 1…
and you assume we can also afford the switch to solar HWS…
See point 1.

[T1 Terry]

I didn't say switch to solar hot water, what I said was to use you solar generated electricity to power the element in the hot water system you have. Rather than selling it to the grid for next to nothing, divert it to the hot water element and heat you water for

Ours was recently reduced from 3.5c to 0.04c!!

0.04c a KWH.

The rest does require some financial investment, I can understand your reluctance to sell a vehicle to generate the funds to buy another on the chance that you could save money on your power bill, I was just answering the road blocks you put up for not buying an EV ....

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

Solars already powering the HWS.
Sparky switched the timer from disappearing off-peak times to daytime hours.

[T1 Terry]

Solars already powering the HWS.
Sparky switched the timer from disappearing off-peak times to daytime hours.

Just make sure it isn't during morning shoulder time or peak afternoon/evening time. Do you get a cheaper rate between 11pm and 5am?

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

We have TWO rates:
Peak — 1500~2100
Other — 0000~1500 & 2100~2400.