Simon Hackett with an early customer’s double Zcell off grid system.
Yesterday, Aussie solar veteran Tony Smith left an interesting question at the bottom of our ZCell battery review. Tony asked, for an off grid application, how to handle the fact that the ZCell battery needs to shut down so it can perform maintenance mode every week or so: [Read more…]
You can now buy an Aquion salt water battery to power your home. Nemo not included.
UPDATE MARCH 2017: As of March 8, 2017, Aquion has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code
UPDATE JULY 2017 : Aquion Energy is resuming operations
Keen on storing your excess solar in a big battery? Worried about having a big box of toxic and/or flammable chemicals in your home? Then you’ll want to know about the Aquion battery and its salt water technology. [Read more…]
If you are putting solar on a house by the sea then I’m jealous! And I also need to tell you about the IEC-61701 standard.
Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside,
I do like to be beside the sea…
Ever wonder why you never hear a robot singing that song? I’ll tell you why.
Two words: corrosion!
Sorry, that was one word. Two words – bad corrosion! [Read more…]
Ronald looks into Seraphim Solar Panels. Yes, Ronald really looks like that.
One solar panel manufacturer who seems to be popping up a lot recently is Seraphim Solar. On the plus side they appear to make top quality panels which have done a good job of impressing people, receiving an average rating of almost 4.9 out of 5 from our customer reviews.
But they get a black mark, for not having an Australian office despite having been sold here for some time. That fact could be a showstopper for some solar buyers as there are plenty of good solar panels for sale in Australia with fully supported Australian offices
Update 10 July May 2019: SAE group is an importer of Seraphim panels and responsible for manufacturer warranties for panels they imported, but are not the only importer of panels and not responsible for the manufacturer warranties of panels brought into the country by other companies.
The Australian solar industry. It’s full of kind, generous people.
Do you love children?
I do.
And this is not a lead in to a stupid joke where I say, “…with tomato sauce”.
In fact, all things considered, I find children to be about exactly as annoying as I find adults. So if you’re human, no matter what your age, you’re okay as far as I am concerned. [Read more…]
Is Malcolm Turnbull More Worried About Climate Change Battering Australia Or Right Wingers Battering Him?
Eight days after the election, it looks like the LNP will be returned with a slender majority. What does this bode for renewable policy in Australia? [Read more…]
What will give you the lowest bill, a standard or time of use tariff? What if you add solar? What about batteries?
Australians pay for grid electricity in two ways. The most common way is a standard tariff. But you can also choose a time-of-use tariff.
This is where you pay a fixed rate for each kilowatt-hour used, plus a hefty supply charge. Australians have been paying for electricity this way since the the electricity meter, invented in 1888, was developed into the ‘spinning dial’ type in 1914. So Australians have been using standard tariffs for over a century. [Read more…]
Turnbull’s submission to the right on issues such as renewable energy has not worked out so well for him.
Ah yes. Turnbull’s big gamble of calling a double dissolution election to regain control of policy looks like it’s failed. And failed miserably. Not only has the Coalition been stymied in its attempt to gain control of the Senate, it hasn’t yet been confirmed as having enough seats to govern in its own right in the Lower House.
For the solar industry this is most likely good news. A Liberal controlled upper and lower house would almost certainly have resulted in another attempt to kill the Renewable Energy Target, and with it the solar rebate. That is unlikely to happen now. [Read more…]
The Creator of The Renewable Energy Target. Mr John Howard.
Australia’s Renewable Energy Target, or RET, was first introduced in 2001 by Liberal PM John Howard. It has been almost entirely responsible for getting Australia’s graceful collection of wind turbines erected and getting solar panels on the roofs of 19% of our homes.
However, despite all its success, not many of us know very much about the RET.
This is understandable, as on the surface the topic is fairly dry. But once you get past that desiccated surface you soon discover what lies beneath is actually about as dry as crawling through the Simpson Desert without water for three days and then eating six plain SAO biscuits off a salt flat.
But don’t worry, I’m going to save you from having to experience that yourself. I recently filled in the gaps my knowledge of the RET and I’m ready to present you with all the juicy tidbits of information I gleaned from that dry and dusty landscape.
Feel free not to read on if you are already confident in your mastery of the topic. But before you do that, just be certain you can answer in the affirmative when I ask, do you get RET yet? [Read more…]
The Sunny Boy Storage. A low(ish) cost way to add a Powerwall and other batteries to your existing solar system. Image: SMA
The SMA Sunny Boy Storage is a battery-inverter that you can use to add battery storage to your existing rooftop solar system.
It does not store energy itself, but integrates modern battery packs, such as the Tesla Powerwall, into your home’s electricity supply. It is exciting because it is the cheapest and simplest way to add a battery such as the Powerwall to your existing system. This is because it can re-use your existing inverter – no need to replace it. [Read more…]
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