Electricity bill | Solar Power

[MrVic]

My electricity bill is kind of hideous. $962 for the quarter.

I decided to allow a door knocker in for solar. Made an appointment with a sales guy last night, went through the sums and off he went.
Today I shopped around for a 5kw system and found Origin Energy were doing a 5kw system, 20 TrinaSolar panels and a Delta Solivia inverter. Whoever makes that. I don't really care.
Origin aren't gowing away any time soon.
I paid the deposit today of just under $400 and then 24 payments for a total of $7,300. Plus whatever the meter swap is going to cost.

The sales person told me that a system they installed years ago had a panel fail.
The new panels weren't compatible so the company replaced the entire system.

An ASIC search revealed that the company has been registered for 54 weeks. F A I L!!!!!
That is all I was able to deduce from their Facebook pages as it only contains a handful of likes with no reviews, a photo of some young dude who I assume owns the company and not much else.

I'll come back to this post once it has been installed and commissioned and report back any savings that hopefully may occur.

 

[borntobnude]

Is this a back to grid system or does it use the energy produced through the day to run your house as its produced ?

I have had an origin system for 6 yrs now or 5 , but I am on 60 cent rebate . I wish I could upgrade to the new system and even go huge er ! yes its a word

 

[Freeloader]

Mate have had 20 panels on the roof for four years. Haven't had a bill in that time due having 10 on a northerly aspect and 10 on a westerly aspect. We did our homework and went with a reputable company with a proveable history. Have had no problems with the system only with the energy company trying to short change us on the power that we feed back into the grid. You have to keep close check on the amount you feed back into the grid. Each kw we feed back into the grid is worth 66 cents to us, so we have to take regular readings off the smart meter.

 

[MrVic]

Is this a back to grid system or does it use the energy produced through the day to run your house as its produced ?

I have had an origin system for 6 yrs now or 5 , but I am on 60 cent rebate . I wish I could upgrade to the new system and even go huge er ! yes its a word

Yes it is a back to the grid setup. Wish I had jumped on it sooner. The feed in tariff is now only $0.08c./kw
Better than a poke in the eye.
I have a north facing roof with ample surface to be able to split the panels.
I'd like to not receive a bill but the feed in is super low so I don't think I'll achieve a zero bill but any reduction would be welcomed. In 2 years it will be paid off.

 

[Planky]

I have just had a 5kw system installed on a north facing roof.. On last Sunday witch was sunny I made 22kw but unfortunently there is a massive pine tree that blocks most light or sun Untill 11ish.

Still at 22 a day that should have taken care of the reptile room and maybe some of the pool expenses

 

[jacorin]

i'd like to get it,but the cost is still fairly prohibitive

 

[MrVic]

i'd like to get it,but the cost is still fairly prohibitive

It depends on your usage and how much you can feed back to the grid. Luckily for me there is no obstruction and in summer the panels should see a good amount of sunlight.

If you can make enough power to save you more than your repayments then you are not out of pocket or you may be slightly out.

I bought the biggest system that Origin were offering. I'm going to be behind for the first 24 months but short term pain for long term gain.

A lot of people hardly ever see a bill and some are in credit. Do some research, there are a lot of factors to consider.

 

[Planky]

Yep my parents are in credit with there provider.
It is a decent initial setup but it's there forever, my bills are 5/600 if it takes half of that off every quarter well that's around 1g a year atleast
my system was 6700 inc tilt system and delta inverter

 

[MrVic]

What size is your parent's set up?
How much is their feed in tariff?

 

[Planky]

3.88kw and there at 33c

pitty we don't get that tarrif anymore witch is why I opted for the biggest system

 

[MrVic]

Yeah. $0.08c is the current tariff.
Here's hoping 20 panels make some difference.
I wonder how long they will take to start the installation.
Deposit was paid on Wednesday. Waiting for Origin to get in touch in order to get the ball rolling. Summer is coming up so I'd like tomake tthe most of the sunshine.

 

[Planky]

I transferred my deposit Thursday at 11pm and it was installed Monday... The deposit didn't even clear into there account and they where here non the less puting it on, my meter isn't solar capable so anything I produce that I'm not useing straight away is geting fed back in for free

 

[MrVic]

Let's hope they are that quick with mine.