Posts By SolarQuotes Founder Finn Peacock

Solar Systems in ACT to increase by $400 from 1 July 2015

June 19, 2015 2017-04-19T14:27:48 by 3 Comments
a meter and $400

$400 extra from July 1. Ouch.

ACTEW AGL have just announced that they are increasing the cost of installing a solar compatible, import export meter from July 1 2015.

Basically – if your application to connect is received after 30 June, instead of paying $66, you will be charged $500 for a new meter.

So if you live in ACT and have decided to go solar, it makes sense to sign up as soon as possible. You can get quick quotes from up to 3 ACT installers here.

ActewAGL General Manager Asset Management Stephen Devlin said:

“Charges for meter installation will be increasing. This change has occurred because of new National Electricity Rules that have been introduced that restructure the provision of metering in the industry.

 

As part of the Australian Energy Regulator’s final decision released on 30 April 2015, ActewAGL Distribution is required to move to full cost recovery for metering services from 1 July 2015.

 

Therefore, from 1 July 2015 ActewAGL customers will be required to pay the full up-front cost for new meters, including installation. Applications for any connection received before 30 June 2015 will be treated under the old pricing regime, where customers only pay for installation.

 

For solar customers, the cost of a new meter and installation would change from about $66 to $500.”

Solar meter charges will also be increasing by around $200 in NSW if you are on the Ausgrid network from July 1 thanks to the AER’s decision.

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With:

Tony Abbott vs. Elon Musk

June 16, 2015 2017-04-19T14:30:17 by 20 Comments

Who do you think has it right – Tony or Elon?

Posted by SolarQuotes on Thursday, June 11, 2015

 

 

Tony Abbott is convinced that solar and wind cannot power an industrial economy. Elon Musk believes it is very feasible to power the entire world with batteries and renewables.

Watch the video above and let us know who you agree with:
[yop_poll id=”1″]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: ,

Elon Musk Announces Powerwall Upgrade Before It Is Even Released

June 11, 2015 2017-04-19T14:31:15 by 2 Comments
elon musk

Elon Musk announces Powerwall V1.1

Earlier today, in the 2015 Tesla Motors shareholder meeting Elon Musk announced that the Powerwall will be upgraded from 2kW to 5kW steady power output (and up to 7kW peak) and keep the same price. He said that they were responding to criticism that the original 2kW was not enough to cope with the peak power demand of a typical home. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: ,

Solar Battery Storage Explained [Infographic]

June 9, 2015 2017-04-19T14:33:01 by 6 Comments

I’ve written about hybrid solar and off grid solar systems before, but Tesla’s latest announcement about its new PowerWall battery is a real game changer for solar battery storage affordability – Morgan Stanley has a report that attests to this in greater detail. For those of you that don’t feel like slogging through an in-depth report, I’ve summarised the important distinctions between Hybrid and Off-Grid solar systems below. Enjoy!

infographic explaining solar battery storage

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , , , ,

Tesla Powerwall vs. AGL’s PowerLegato

May 23, 2015 2022-11-02T14:52:04 by 12 Comments

So AGL have thrown their hat into the solar battery storage ring with the AUO PowerLegato manufactured by Taiwanese Solar and Electronic conglomerate, AU Optronics.

So how do they compare on specs?

a powerwall and a powerlegato [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , ,

The cheap & cheerful way to add a Tesla Powerwall to your exisiting solar system?

May 21, 2015 2023-04-10T08:01:47 by 51 Comments
a powerwall on a wall

What might be the cheapest way to install a Tesla Powerwall + solar?

Note: The Tesla Powerwall 1 was released after this post and required a separate Battery Inverter and the existing solar inverter. The Powerwall 1 has since been superseded by the Powerwall 2, which has an integrated Battery Inverter – and AC couples to a solar inverter.

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[Note: This blog post is an educated guess on how the Tesla Powerwall might work based on stuff Elon Musk has publicly said and the press section of their website. So bear that in mind if making any decisions based on this post. Tesla have released sketchy and often contradictory technical details about the Powerwall, so it is impossible to be sure how the thing will work or integrate into an existing system. I’ve tried asking Tesla US and Tesla Australia for clarification, but with no luck.]

Since Tesla announced their low cost home battery, many solar installers have been looking for the cheapest way to integrate one into your home’s electrical system.

This has led to the emergence of a whole new category of residential solar system, that had never really been considered here in Australia before the Tesla announcement – the not-very-catchy “Hybrid Solar Without Backup” system.

This is a system which, to save thousands of dollars on the install, removes the ability for the batteries to power your home if the grid goes down. The batteries are only used to store solar energy. They cannot be used in an outage. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: ,

Will The Tesla PowerWall let you go off grid for $3500 ?

May 1, 2015 2017-04-19T14:37:46 by 56 Comments
tesla powerwall

Will the Tesla Battery lead to a stampede of people leaving the grid? Photo: Tesla

[Update: Since I wrote this post (on the day the Powerwall was announced) Tesla have added some technical details that open up the possibility of installing the Powerwall for a much lower price than this blog post estimates. But – and it’s a big but – the cheaper installation will not allow you to go off grid. More details on the alternative install option here]

 

So Tesla has just announced a 10kWh home battery pack that costs US$3,500 (AUD$4,500) . The Tesla PowerWall will mount unobtrusively on the wall of your home and store your solar energy, so you can use it at night or when the grid goes down.

Lots of twitterers are proclaiming that Renewable Energy utopia has arrived. You’d be forgiven from thinking that, thanks to Tesla founder Elon Musk, all we have to do to divorce the grid is shell out three and a half grand.

Look – I don’t want to piss on anyone’s parade. This announcement is massive in lots of ways which I’ll get to soon. But you won’t be able to go off grid for that kind of money (yet).

Here’s what Aussie homeowners should know about the Telsa Powerwall [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , , , ,

Looking for a Tier 1 Solar Inverter? Sorry, no such beast!

April 22, 2015 2020-12-11T05:18:04 by 7 Comments
sma inverter

A good inverter is essential in the Australian sun.

Picking great inverters; Tier 1, 2 or 3?

Savvy solar customers are quickly realising that there is a very real difference between the quality of products and services you can find in the solar industry.

As a general rule, the old adage “you get what you pay for” generally holds true but the plethora of offers and solar companies can make selection tricky. Here at SolarQuotes I’ve helped make this choice a little easier by developing its own ranking system for installation companies.

But how do you choose a great inverter? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters Tagged With: ,

Abbott accepts gift of Coal Seam Gas well at Kirribilli House

April 1, 2015 2017-04-19T14:38:47 by 6 Comments
csg well at kirribilli house

Artists impression of the proposed well

1 April 2015: Tony Abbott announced today that he has accepted the ‘very kind’ gift of a free Coal Seam Gas Well to be installed on the front lawn of Kirribilli House.

The offer from the ‘Concerned Oil, Diesel & Gas Executives Rejecting Solar” (CODGERS) to come and frack every last molecule of gas from beneath his official Sydney residence was confirmed by the PM at a press conference this morning:

“Yes – I can confirm that I have accepted this very kind offer from the CODGERS.  I look forward to watching the fracking commence and coming home every night to that sweet, sweet smell of fugitive methane”

This comes just 2 weeks after Abbott rejected the offer of free solar panels + installation from a group of concerned Christians citing security concerns and cleaning costs (of $4 per panel per year).

When asked what he will do with all the fracked gas that the well will generate the PM responded:

“Great Question! It will be used to incinerate all the reams of paperwork lying around the place that aren’t needed any more. Like the RET & Carbon Tax legislation, the Kyoto Protocol and 80% of last year’s budget papers. I also want to get rid of the few remaining copies of the UN Convention on Human Rights that Scott Morrison couldn’t fit in the skip”.

 

Filed Under: Solar Policy

Why Are Solar Owners Charged GST On Money They Never Spent?

March 4, 2015 2017-04-19T14:41:26 by 27 Comments

I have a 6kW (24 panel) solar system on my roof.

My last quarterly electricity bill is here. The good news is that it was for only $33.60.

electricity bill including GST

My latest electricity bill. Notice how the GST is way more than 10%

The interesting thing is the breakdown of the $33.60. If you look at the bottom of the bill, I paid $12.68 in electricity charges but a whopping $20.92 in GST (highlighted in blue on the bill).

You don’t have to be great at maths to know that 10% of $12.68 is $1.27 not $20.92 [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With:
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