Are you allowed to use newly installed solar to run your meter backwards?
If you have a very old electricity meter, a new rooftop solar installation can make that meter run backwards. But only if the solar power system is switched on before a new compatible meter is installed. [Read more…]
Electricity meters are low cost, reliable devices that measure how much grid your home uses. Traditional meters need someone to come around and read them, but all new meter installations now have to be smart meters that transmit information wirelessly, making your human meter reader redundant. [Read more…]
Here at SolarQuotes we’ve put together a resource on commercial solar power called:
If you have a business but no solar panels, it’s made for you. Or if you work at a business without solar and want some cred for suggesting a money saving idea you may want to run your eyeballs over it for that reason. It’s full of solid advice and I highly recommend it. The only way I could recommend it more is if I wrote it myself. And I didn’t do that because I actually had no involvement with it at all. [Read more…]
How close to the edge of the roof should your solar panels go?
In the past I’ve written about solar panel clamping zones which determine where, on a solar panel’s edge, you can place the clamps that attach the modules to their mounting rails. What I didn’t do was go into just where on a roof solar panels can and can’t be installed. [Read more…]
Installing solar in SA after 1 December 2017? Here’s what you need to know…
SA Power Networks Makes Radelaide Sadelaide
It’s December and the latest rules for connecting rooftop solar to the grid in South Australia are now available from SA Power Networks (SAPN). I called them late last month to try and get a scoop on what they were planning, but no luck there — SAPN play their cards close to their chests.
So first thing on Friday morning I checked their website and found no change from November. But that’s okay, I completely understand. I know there are times people will say they’ll get things done by Friday but actually get them in first thing Monday morning. Or possibly three weeks later. That also happens.
But now they’ve had a whole week now to catch up and I see there have been some changes on their site. There is movement at the station and I’m passing the word around. The colt from old Regret has got away…
If you can’t be bothered to read this whole post then here’s what you need to know about installing solar in SA from 1 December 2017: [Read more…]
The STC price has plummeted and pushed the price of solar up. What should you do if you’ve already accepted a quote and the installer wants to increase the price?
I’m going to ask you to imagine preparing to buy a rooftop solar system. I want you to see yourself working hard, saving your money, doing your research, and getting yourself some quotes. After careful consideration, you decide upon an installer, sign the contract, and transfer a 10% deposit to them. At that point you would be looking forward to saving money on your electricity bills and doing your bit to help the environment.
Now imagine how you’d feel if, before the day of the installation, the installer contacts you and says the price has gone up and you now have to pay $1,000 extra.
I imagine you wouldn’t be very happy about it. [Read more…]
That clamp is not in the zone! After reading this post you will know what that means. (Photo credit: Matt Hines – definitely not one of his installs)
There is one main way solar panels are attached to roofs in Australia and I’m hoping you won’t be surprised to learn it’s not glue. If you’ve got panels, they are almost certainly fastened to your roof with clamps and held tight in the loving embrace of metal brackets. [Read more…]
Good news for Queenslanders who want to install a battery or a bigger solar inverter.
There is good news for Queenslanders looking to install rooftop solar and anyone thinking of of installing AC coupled battery systems such as the Powerwall 2. [Read more…]
Some defects found when inspecting badly installed solar. If you suspect your system was shoddily installed, you should book an inspection ASAP. But how often should your system be maintained/inspected if you used a reputable installer?
Is getting your panels inspected worth the expense? In the end, it comes down to how safe you really consider your rooftop solar to be. [Read more…]
Learn how to hack the government’s electricity bill data for fun and profit…
If you own a solar system but haven’t shopped around the electricity retailers in a while, your bills are probably higher than they need to be.
The big gentailers, Origin, AGL and Energy Australia have made their disdain for solar very clear. They all lobbied to scrap government support for small scale solar during Tony Abbott’s RET review in 2014. And unsurprisingly their electricity tariff offers for solar owners are pretty ordinary.
Luckily there are lots of smaller retailers around these days that often beat the big names. And a handful of those offer solar Feed In Rates that are higher than the rates mandated by your state government. [Read more…]
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