That's about spot on what you should expect , over the year with a 1KW system you should see at least 4Kwh per day , at WA prices that is around $1.00 per day , Sure it doesn't sound much but it all adds up.Originally Posted by FreakyPete
There will be days like today you will make up to 7kwh , Cool windy bright sunny days are best for solar production
Clear solar
Hello all, I have been given approval for the $8000 GRANT with clear solar but I have had little response from them and are worried that they may be the wrong solar people to choose.
A friend also has gone through Clear and is being told something different every time he makes contact .
My question is, am I obligated to Clear Solar or may I choose another company?
Has anyone had there solar installed from Clear Solar? How is it?
Many thanks
I am wondering about the so called 'Smart Meters' that are being talked about and how they and Solar will apply.
Fromw what little I have read, the 'Smart Meter' has the capabilty to charge different rates during the day, not unlike the old 'Off Peak' systems.
Be a bummer if it still charges 'Peak' usage and only credits during the 'Off' ?
In the village a house that is totaly solar powered only because of the unbelievebly high cost of connecting it to the grid at the time.
The house is only 4 spans from the end of a domestic service but the Supplier wanted a completely different route and a transformer.
Even the 'short' route was an eye watering cost.
The Solar option was between a 1/3 to a half of either Grid option plus the rebates made it the way to go.
Hot water is by LPG.
In the last few years I have noticed that we seem to have had more clear/sunny days in winter, a lot less heavy overcast misty weather.
That was a major reason why Solar hotwater units were not looked as useable in the Mountains plus the chance of Frosts bursting the pipes.
I am also wondering if batteries are used, will the householder with all this ETS/Carbon footprint tax's being bandied about, have to not pay only to replace the batteries in time but for their disposal ??
Smart meters are just that , all tariffs for the state they are installed are charged and credited by the meter very accurately according to the time , weekday / weekend , Peak , off peak , Shoulder , Off Shoulder , import , export etc.
Sorry I don't understand your question about the batteries ? if you are referring to grid connected solar systems , then there are no batteries.
Grid connected systems switch off as well when the power fails so they don't work as backup systems although a lot of people think they do.
There's various smart meters in use around the country. One of the main features is that they record import and export power (ie bi-directional recording), generally in 30 min blocks.
This pdf is an excellent explanation of how to read a Country Energy (NSW) net tariff meter installation. It's an Email 'a11' meter.
Good info on smart meters is hard to find.
The other complication is whether your premises are wired in a 'net' or 'gross' meter configuration.
NSW will move to a gross feed in tariff system on 1st Jan 2010 (it was originally planned as a net tariff), so the majority of installations were wired in a net meter configuration.
Changeover will be slow as wiring changes and an additional meter is needed by your provider.
So if you need new metering, get on the case asap otherwise you'll be loosing money.
Last edited by Farmsky; 08-12-09 at 08:38 AM.
BlackDuck (08-12-09)
my grant notification stated that i was not obliged to use any specific supplier.
i was lucky enough not to have paid the $500 deposit at signup either.
the folks i applied through use "soprey" or " sunflower" panlels with Aurora inverter. i would much rather "BP solar" or similar.
Even though they are for "free" i still want to have support if they fail.
btw are you at omeo?
Yes, I am in Omeo
Sorry Joey, badly worded there.
Batteries are obviously not used in the grid connected/Solar system but I was looking at the all Solar powered systems and wondered what disposals might incur at a future date.
In the Gross meter system because you now have a 2 meter system, does that allow the provider to charge extra rental of that meter plus a fee to read it ??
There has to be a finacial advantage to the provider for the customer to have the Gross Metering system as to me there is no value in the second meter.
ie, if in a Gross meter reading sysytem, you have used 1000 units and sent 700 units, you owe for 300 units used.
in the net methord using the same details, the meter would only read 300 used since the last reading.
In theory both should be equal but somewhere there has to be an an advantage to the supplier with the Gross meter system or they wouldnt be going to the expense of installing the second meter.
Did you read the pdf?
It explains the smart meter bi-directional registers. There are 'import registers' and 'export registers'.
Plenty of numbers to record by the meter reader.
So basically no difference. In the gross system the meters are not bi-directional.
Last edited by Farmsky; 08-12-09 at 09:31 PM.
I read the PDF and I understand the difference between bi and one direction.
But I still see no reason other than a financial one for the provider to install two when one will achieve in theory the same result.
Many years ago a workmate claimed when he used a welder at his home, the meter reversed, how or why he didnt know nor was he going to ask.
I always wondered after that if the power meter worked like an old Amp meter, swinging the needle one way in charge and the other in discharge (use), so long as power was drawn in one direction it turns the relevant cogs but reverse the flow ???
Ah ok I understand , Well most Solar charged battery banks are lead based which can be recycled easily
I think it's the Electric Car batteries , Lithium etc that are going to be an issue not so much solar storage batteries.
My Battery bank is Pure Gel , 864KG's and that is by Solar Storage standards only a modest bank , so yeah I understand your concerns about batteries.
Even Gel batteries are considered way to expensive for this purpose so I doubt we will see any of the later technology batteries making into the renewable energy market for a very long time.
A friend who lives in the bush has a lot of friends with solar and battery and all of them use a generator at night or poor days as its just too expensive to replace the batterys vs. how long they last too.
My inlaws have a full solar system that was installed in 1985 from memory. The father in law had to replace one of the batteries this year , everything else is original. It says something for BP Solar I think.
Its way out of date now technology wise but thats a fantastic run from a reliability point of view.
That's really impressive. My friend lives in country NSW and a lot of people have solar plus dead batteries and thus use generators at night time as the cost of replacements is very high. Someone else I know in Red Hill went mad and bought a wind generator, inverter, charger and three or four big batteries which cost around $650.00 each. Unfortunately the production from the wind generator is such that the batteries need to be float charged a lot of the time defeating the whole purpose of "free" energy.
That's amazing , All battery manufacturers give a estimated usable life for Storage batteries , what they never mention is that if you maintain them perfectly ( as you inlaws must be ) you can increase the lifespan considerably.
I think they purposely don't mention this because people would start claiming they have done everything perfect and the only lasted X amount of time.
Do you happen to know any more info on these batteries ? Brand , Size and if you are asking can you please find out the average DoD , depth of Discharge . Never going below 50% is said to be the trick to getting really long life from Storage Batteries., But I think your father inlaw knows other handy tricks that have worked for him.
The Gel Cells I am using are just under 1K each and 72KG's , any tips from real life situations to help them last would be very interesting.
I'll be up there at christmas so will have a look if I can get in to the area where its housed. He is in hospital at the moment and may not be home for Christmas. He is crook as hell at the moment so I am not sure I can ask him too many questions.
I know its BP solar because I have seen the stickers on the batteries. The system is pretty tired now but its only him and his wife so they dont have a need to upgrade as its enough for them. Hot water is also totally solar. Fridge and stove are gas , toilets run an dam water. There are no mains electricity , gas or water connected to the property so its totally self sufficient.
I dont think they would go below 50% because as I mentioned there is only 2 of them. I should also note that they start their generator to use the washing machine , I dont know if thats because it wont run or that he thinks it drains too much.Never going below 50% is said to be the trick to getting really long life from Storage Batteries., But I think your father inlaw knows other handy tricks that have worked for him.
They havent owned the system since new , they bought the house around 1991 or 1992 from memory and the previous owner had it installed. I am not 100% sure on the 1985 date , it was definately in the 80's that I can guarantee.
Anyway , when I get the chance I will have a look and possibly grab a photo or 2 of the setup.
Joey (10-12-09)
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