Posts By Ronald Brakels, Author & Fact-Checker At SolarQuotes

Flex Solar Panels Review: Now Available In Australia – But Beware Outrageous Prices

panels and pile of cash

Flex Solar Panels: Beware of door knockers selling them for silly money.

Update 8th May 2019:  Flex has stated they are leaving the wholesale and retail solar market in Australia but they will honor their commitments.

Flex solar panels are now sold in Australia and there is one thing I want to be very clear about.  Despite their name, you should not flex these panels.  They are not the flexible sort you might put on the roof of your caravan or, at a suitable level of insanity, your cat.  They are the normal sort that go on top of homes and if you flex them too much they will splinter and break.  [Read more…]

Want $0 Electricity Bills? On-Grid Solar Beats Batteries.

zero dollar bills?

Want Free Future Electricity Without Blowing The Bank?  Get On-Grid Solar Without Batteries.

When it comes to buying rooftop solar and batteries, people have a wide range of motivations.  Some want to save money, most are environmentally concerned, there are tech-heads interested in the technology, while others just want to be trendy.  Then there are confused people who ordered a battery thinking they were buying artillery or possibly a chicken.

But one motivation that pervades our society is love.  Love for free stuff.  In this case, free electricity.  Most people I know would love to have $0 electricity bills or better yet, be paid for providing clean solar electricity to the grid.

If $0 bills are what you want, it’s okay to admit it.  You’re among friends here. [Read more…]

Is Electromagnetic Radiation From Rooftop Solar Dangerous?

EMF warning sign

Will Electromagnetic Radiation From Solar Panels And Inverters Frizz Your Heir?

All electrical and electronic device create electromagnetic fields or EMF around them when used and also emit electromagnetic radiation or EMR.  This includes solar panels and solar inverters.  So is it possible for the electromagnetic fields or radiation from your rooftop solar system to harm you or your family?

Normally these type of questions have two answers — a short one and a long one.  But today I’ll give you two short answers and then a long one. [Read more…]

SolarWorld AG Is Dead — Long Live SolarWorld Industries GmbH

solarworld phoenix

SolarWorld Descended From Celestial Heights Into A World Of Pain But Rises Anew Like A Phoenix From The Ashes

Those of you who have German made SolarWorld panels on your roofs or are thinking of getting some, may be wondering about what’s happened with the company since they filed for bankruptcy in May this year.

Well, SolarWorld AG, consisting of SolarWorld in Europe and its shares in subsidiaries in Africa and Asia — but not the United States — is no more.  It went bankrupt and was bought out by a group of investors and brought back from the dead as SolarWorld Industries GmbH. [Read more…]

Elon Musk Says Tesla’s Electric Truck Will Beat Diesels On Total Cost – He May Be Telling The Truth

Elon Musk presentation

Elon Musk with a semi.

Elon Musk’s Latest Announcement Is A Big Trucking Deal [Read more…]

Enphase Misses Targets By Miles But Stays In Business

Enphase target

Enphase have not got close to the cost reduction targets they set a couple of years ago.

Enphase is an American company that sells microinverters.  These are small, fun sized versions of the larger string inverters most solar homes use.  They work with individual panels and are either bolted beneath them or, in the case of AC panels, come already attached.  [Read more…]

Why Solar Feed-In Tariffs Are Likely To Fall Within 3 Years

Crystal ball

Ronald’s crystal ball says: “The future may bring lower feed in tariffs if wholesale electricity prices tumble.”

Increasing renewables will reduce wholesale electricity prices. Unfortunately that means feed in tariffs will probably fall too.

Solar feed-in tariffs – the payment households receive for surplus solar electricity they send into the grid – are likely to fall within the next three years along with wholesale electricity prices.

The bad news: a fall in both feed-in tariffs and grid electricity prices will reduce the returns from rooftop solar. [Read more…]

Solar Blockchain: A Revolutionary New Method Of Charging Fees

solar blockchain

Is solar blockchain going to revolutionise the way we buy energy? Or is it a load of overhyped bollocks?

Blockchain is a revolutionary new technology with the revolutionary ability to revolutionize our lives.

[Read more…]

A Fair Solar Feed-In Tariff For Australia Is Around 22 Cents

 

Solar Feed-In Tariffs Should Be Higher Than They Are — But Not As High As Some Believe

In my not at all humble opinion, Australian solar feed-in tariffs are too damn low!  People aren’t receiving a fair deal for the clean solar energy they export to the grid.  This is bad for our nation and the world because with a fairer price we would see more rooftop solar installed which would reduce the damage to our health and our environment from burning fossil fuels.

But before I am voted leader of the revolution for higher feed-in tariffs and march my armies on Canberra — or maybe somewhere that’s actually nice to go — I should point out that, unlike some people, I don’t think solar feed-in tariffs should equal the retail cost of electricity.  While feed-in tariffs  should be higher than they are now, a “fair” price is likely to still be less than what most of us are are normally charged for grid electricity.

As a result, this article will probably end up a successful attempt at making the maximum number of people possible disagree with me. [Read more…]

Hansol Technics AIO Battery System: Don’t Call It A Samsung

Samsung has decided to let their partner, Hansol Technics, take over their residential battery storage systems. However, the rebranding probably wasn’t done by someone cosplaying as Bob Ross.

There are now over 200 Samsung AIO battery systems installed in Australia, providing battery power to households both on-grid and off.  Their manufacturer, Samsung, is a giant, South Korean based, multinational conglomerate and if you’d like snag yourself a brand new AIO battery system from them, that’s terribly unfortunate, because you can’t have one.

[Read more…]

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