Solar panel bypass diodes – those unassuming little electronic components quietly working in the background of your solar panels. What are they, why are they there, and do we really need them? [Read more…]
Search Results for: nsw
How To Reinforce Skinny Rural SWER Connections With Solar Batteries
So you’ve made the tree change, shifted to the dream country block or taken over the farm now Dad has retired. While the peace and quiet is great, the fringe of grid power can prove problematic.
[Read more…]
Do You Really Need A 3-Phase Battery To Backup Your 3-Phase Home?
![Potatoes as batteries](https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/potato-battery-header-1.jpg)
If only home batteries were this simple
Today’s post explains that no matter how hard you pedal, if you take two wheels off your tricycle, it won’t go anywhere.
In other words, a single-phase battery won’t power a three-phase appliance. [Read more…]
A Solar Installer’s Guide to Beating Confusing Electricity Tariffs
As a solar installer, I’ve had to deal with electricity retailers a lot. So much so, that I sometimes wonder what I did in a past life to deserve this. In this post I’ll share my frustrations but also offer 3 solutions to get the better of the retailers and their increasingly incomprehensible tariffs.
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The Duck Test: When Solar Companies Wind Up
At SolarQuotes, we sometimes hear stories about orphaned customers in a predicament when their installer goes bust. But this one rubs salt into the wound. [Read more…]
Balancing Act: Do You Need Three Batteries On A 3 Phase House?
![Power Plus and Selectronic Inverters](https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/power-plus-peak-lopping-header.jpg)
One battery and three of the best inverters made anywhere.
It wasn’t so long ago that 1kW was the average size of a solar power system. Keen customers bought 1.5kW. The first 2kW job I did was on a garage full of Mercs that overlooked a winery. Fast forward just a decade and a half and 6.6kW has become the basic measuring stick for quotes, with average system sizes surpassing 10kW.
As system sizes have grown, so has demand for 3 phase solar power.
City Living With An EV: Charging Solutions for Those Without Driveways
Living in the city makes it hard for electric car owners without off-street parking. It’s tough to find a place to charge, dissuading many inner city dwellers from buying electric cars.
[Read more…]
Refurbished Realities: Joe’s Warranty Tussle With His Tesla Powerwall
If your brand-new Powerwall falters, brace yourself for nothing more than a refurbished replacement from Tesla. At least that’s the experience SolarQuotes reader Joe had when his Powerwall stopped working two months after being installed. [Read more…]
How To Go Reliably Off-Grid With Your Tiny House Or Cabin
![Lifting a tiny house into position](https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/tiny-house-header.jpg)
Image credit: NESCA
A growing number of Australians are trying to avoid the hellscape that is the current Australian housing market. The trend towards tiny houses shows it’s not hard to build a neat little dwelling and plonk it somewhere nice. [Read more…]
The Sorry State Of Electrician Training In Australia
![](https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/screw-types.jpg)
JIS screws are invariably ruined by people who don’t know they exist.
Despite 15 years in solar, my experience as an apprentice isn’t as distant as you might think. [Read more…]
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