If you are thinking of buying an electric car and have solar then you need to read this.
I recently wrote about how an electric car revolution is coming thanks to declining battery costs and rising environmental concern. I made a promise in that article I would soon write about charging electric cars with rooftop solar and soon is now. Or at least it soon will be. [Read more…]
UPDATE 27th August 2018: It has kindly been brought to my attention the warranty for SunPower’s P17 panels excludes normal residential installation. The SunPower P17 warranty says it does not apply to:
“PV Modules which have been installed on single-family homes or semi‐detached homes, including but not limited to duplexes and townhomes. For clarity, apartment and condominiums are not excluded.”
UPDATE 31st August 2018: P18 and P19 panels will be covered by SunPower’s warranty when installed on residential homes. Warranties for P-series panels can be downloaded from SunPower’s Australian site on this page.
SunPower Performance Series solar panel, or P-Series for short, are now available in Australia. These attractive panels aren’t available in a wide range of colours and are a lower efficiency but cheaper alternative to SunPower’s E-Series and X-Series panels. While sold overseas for more than a year, they’ve only been available Down Under for a few months and they’ve been on the down low, as their arrival was devoid of fanfare. [Read more…]
Tesla superchargers connected to Tesla S electric luxury vehicles in Adelaide sitting opposite Mitsubishi MiEVs.
The Electric Car Revolution Is Coming And Cannot Be Stopped
Electric cars are approaching a major milestone. Soon they will reach 1% of total world vehicle production.
If you don’t think that’s a big deal, consider how quickly things changed once 1% of people had the internet or 1% had smartphones. This might not seem like a reasonable comparison, as a brand new electric car costs more than twice as much as the latest iPhone, but things are definitely taking off. [Read more…]
Don’t believe the hype. Domestic gas prices have very little effect on retail electricity prices. Someone should tell Turnbull.
According to the mainstream media, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been busy twisting the arms of natural gas producers. He wants Australians to pay less for Australian gas. Specifically he wants us to pay less than overseas customers pay for Australian gas.
This has upset gas producers because, like most companies, they would prefer to sell stuff for more money rather than less. [Read more…]
Supply charge rises in WA will hurt the poorest the most.
On the first of July electricity prices increased in Western Australia. This was not a surprise as the state government had announced prices would be increasing over the next three years. The surprise was they increased them in the worst possible way. [Read more…]
While they are 10 facts and not 10 commandments, Ronald’s beard has been getting pretty Moses like lately
Here at SolarQuotes we’re all about consumers. So I am going to describe 10 features of Australian consumer law that many consumers, not to mention many solar sales companies, installers and hardware manufacturers, are unaware of.
While I am no lawyer, I have read some very thick pamphlets on consumer law and I think I have the general gist of it. There’s no need to worry about my level of comprehension as I am very literate. I can read with one arm tied behind my back. [Read more…]
In all the excitement that is solar hot water, simple efficiency often gets forgotten.
I’ve been writing a lot about hot water lately and how to use the energy of the sun to get it. In fact, I’ve been concentrating on it so much I’ve neglected my other duties and gotten into hot water as a result. Mind you, this may have all been part of my cunning plan, as I do enjoy a hot spa. And if it is heated by people’s hot tears of rage and frustration over my failure to do as I have promised, well that’s just me being energy efficient.
Because that’s the kind of guy I am — efficient. [Read more…]
Heat Pump Hot Water. Power it with Solar PV and its efficiency cannot be beaten by solar thermal. Bloody expensive though.
If you are looking for the most efficient solar hot water system then solar PV panels powering a heat pump are hard to beat.
While both the panels and heat pump will need to be proficient performers, it is possible for the combination to beat solar thermal hot water which is widely considered the most efficient method. [Read more…]
Update: since publishing this article commenters have made us aware of 3 other hot water diverters on the Australian market, the ‘Dimplex Free-E’ and, The Fronius OhmPilot and a unit from SolarEdge. We’ll add these to the comparison table as soon as we have enough info. If you know of any others let us know.
I recently wrote about solar hot water diverters. These devices use your surplus solar electricity to power your hot water cylinder.
They can cut your electricity bills provided your solar feed-in tariff is less than the cost of the grid electricity used to heat your water — which is not always the case.
I am going to assume you’ve read my earlier article, done your research, and decided a solar hot water diverter is for you. You’ve either determined it will save you money or it was love at first comprehension of the concept and you’ve realized you can’t live without one. So the question becomes, which diverter should you choose? [Read more…]
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