MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: xvprado on December 06, 2018, 08:18:52 PM
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Thinking of taking the plunge, just solar not batteries
Anyone got any experience with a good supplier/installer in NSW (western Sydney)
Different brand inverters and panels, any feedback. It seems that most unemployed used car salespersons have currently found a home in the solar industry, seems to be a bit difficult to get a straight answer
Thanks for any feedback and assistance
Glen
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Hi Glen, Give "Solar online Australia" a call on 0249543310 a call or go to there web site, They are a Newcastle based firm in Cardiff. Have used them for 12 volt gear and they are easy to deal with. cheers Ron.
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Hi Glen
I used https://www.solarquotes.com.au/ (https://www.solarquotes.com.au/) to get quotes for our system. The website also has a lot of info which I found useful.
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Hi Glen
Can't help you in Sydney, but Whirlpool is always a good place for this sort of question (sometimes even better than MySwag!!! :o :o :o) ;D It's also a great way of wasting spending even more hours a day on line reading & chatting! >:D
Check out https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/143 (https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/143) & have a look for references to Sydney, or simply sign up & ask the question :D
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Get as big a system as you can first up.
The leading inverter manufacturers have high efficiency and reliability.
SMA
Fronius
Solar Edge
ABB
Delta
Power One(Aurora)
The solar panel market is very crowded, with many manufacturers of varying prices and effiency. Try and balance efficiency with price.
Leading solar panel manufacturers are (theres lots of others too)
Sunpower
LG
Winaico
Canadian Solar
Jinko
Suntech
Panasonic
LG
Over size your panels to inverter up to 133% to maximize your average output. This helps neutralise 2 weaknesses in solar systems. Firstly solar panels rarely perform to their stated output, and secondly earlier and later in the day your system wont be performing at its peak.
Check your inverter for its maximum input capacity.
Also to be noted if you go over 133% you wont get any rebate (used to be the rule, need to check)
Also check what your inverters actual output is. Even some leading manufacturers "5kw" inverters are actually 4.6kw.
Overclocking can also improve your inverters output, due to some brands efficiency declining at low inputs.
Cheers Glen
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Sorry to Hijack but a general question
If both of us work so there is no one home during the daytime to use the power the panels generate is Solar actually worth it unless i get a battery to store the power so we can use it at night???
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Anyone got any experience with a good supplier/installer in NSW (western Sydney)
When we lived in Kings Langley we used LJW Solar http://www.ljwsolar.com.au/ (http://www.ljwsolar.com.au/) and they were fantastic.
Everyone else came in and I counted my fingers after the handshake. They all talked the same rubbish and made big promises.
Then LJW came in, before coming out they had looked at the house on google maps, when they got there they did further checks before saying anything. They recommended a solution and gave us a figure it would output. Once installed it regularly got better than they quoted so they didn't over promise.
They were professional, did what they said they would do, when they said they would do it and I couldn't recommend them highly enough.
Bunyip
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Only commenting, not trying to sell anything as this is what I do,
BUT...……………
Go with someone you can trust, usually a local smaller operation that relies on word of mouth is the way to go.
Check products and compare price.
If it's a "can only do this week" price, show them the door.
SMA inverter or Fronius. No seriously nothing else matches.
Reputable panels, and Yes they are all made in China now...…. :'( but there is good and bad.
No LG panels are not worth the extra money, and batteries...…… yeah NO!
Not yet anyway. still takes to long for R.O.I.
If it seems to good to be true, it is.
Retaillers offering installs "free" or at cost for a higher feed in tarrif are a complete rip off. There is always a catch
If you aren't home to use it, don't bother unless you have pool pumps etc that are consuming the power.
Feed in will never give you a return
And finally warranty is only as good as the person standing behind it.
ALWAYS ask for references.
An honest tradie should have plenty.
(You can get all the info you need and get prices from - 3 quotes, but I'd probably remember that these people "Pay" for the leads and are salespeople.)
That said, Neil Finn knows pretty much everything about solar and the site has awesome info, calculators and costs.
Cheers and good luck,
Brian
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Sorry to Hijack but a general question
If both of us work so there is no one home during the daytime to use the power the panels generate is Solar actually worth it unless i get a battery to store the power so we can use it at night???
There is some good technology nowadays for directing the power to electric water heater elements. It is a genuine option instead of a $4500 solar water heater.
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There is some good technology nowadays for directing the power to electric water heater elements. It is a genuine option instead of a $4500 solar water heater.
I save $100 a quarter, by not having 2 tariffs and running my hot water on a timer. (9am until 3pm peak solar time) I never run out of hot water, but I can just switch it on if I did and run it any hours of the day. I think it’s a 360 litre water heater
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Go with someone you can trust, usually a local smaller operation that relies on word of mouth is the way to go.
Thats what stopped me years back..
You hear lots of reports of people being quoted stuff at stupid prices, and then not a big enough system for their requirements.
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Get as big a system as you can first up.
The leading inverter manufacturers have high efficiency and reliability.
SMA
Fronius
Solar Edge
ABB
Delta
Power One(Aurora)
The solar panel market is very crowded, with many manufacturers of varying prices and effiency. Try and balance efficiency with price.
Leading solar panel manufacturers are (theres lots of others too)
Sunpower
LG
Winaico
Canadian Solar
Jinko
Suntech
Panasonic
LG
Over size your panels to inverter up to 133% to maximize your average output. This helps neutralise 2 weaknesses in solar systems. Firstly solar panels rarely perform to their stated output, and secondly earlier and later in the day your system wont be performing at its peak.
Check your inverter for its maximum input capacity.
Also to be noted if you go over 133% you wont get any rebate (used to be the rule, need to check)
Also check what your inverters actual output is. Even some leading manufacturers "5kw" inverters are actually 4.6kw.
Overclocking can also improve your inverters output, due to some brands efficiency declining at low inputs.
Cheers Glen
Hi Glen
In process of replacing our old 1.5 system for a 6.55kw here in Perth.
Been quoted $3800 for a 6.55 system with a 5kw fronius Symo inverter and 23 x 285w RISEN panels.
Do you know anything about this brand.
Thanks
Wayne
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Hi Wayne
The Fronius are reputable bra d.
Never heard of Risen but with so many brands of panels now its hard to tell.
Like most things only time will tell.
Cheers Glen
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Hi Glen
In process of replacing our old 1.5 system for a 6.55kw here in Perth.
Been quoted $3800 for a 6.55 system with a 5kw fronius Symo inverter and 23 x 285w RISEN panels.
Do you know anything about this brand.
Thanks
Wayne
Wayne, Id go for it.
Fronius is brilliant gear, in fact its the best, and Risen are great panels too.
I couldn't install it for that price, I'd lose money, so I'd take it.
Just check that there is no hidden contract to sign up for a couple of years of trading the feed in supply or payment fees.
There have plenty scams like that going on in NSW.
Promise the world, Oh except for that little catch in the fine print.
Cheers
Brian
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Hi Wayne
The Fronius are reputable bra d.
Never heard of Risen but with so many brands of panels now its hard to tell.
Like most things only time will tell.
Cheers Glen
That's nearly cheaper than putting 400 watts of solar onto the caravan.
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Wayne, Id go for it.
Fronius is brilliant gear, in fact its the best, and Risen are great panels too.
I couldn't install it for that price, I'd lose money, so I'd take it.
Just check that there is no hidden contract to sign up for a couple of years of trading the feed in supply or payment fees.
There have plenty scams like that going on in NSW.
Promise the world, Oh except for that little catch in the fine print.
Cheers
Brian
when are you in Melbourne next with a week or so to spare ;)
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Thanks guys for the advice. Ill look further into going that way.
next cheapest quote but using trina panels is $4700 the there is Jinco panels at $5000 and then LG at $7500.
cost to have the old system removed is $250, even though I'm a sparky I'm getting too old to haul panels off the roof so its worth every cent.
One thing I found interesting with the Risen panels is that they are a split cell so basically 2 circuits in each panel to reduce effect of shading.
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Hi Sparky, I have an old second hand 240 watt 60volt Risen house panel for camping, it just flogged the new 240 watt 12 volt set up I had in bright sun light and in low light, it was always had 5 to 6 amps better all day, Craig
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If you aren't home to use it, don't bother unless you have pool pumps etc that are consuming the power.
Feed in will never give you a return
I'll disagree with you there. If you have storage hot water then you can have it on a timer to heat the water during the day and have it switched off at night. This way you have your water heated for free which is a significant saving. We have been running like this for a year now and have only run out of hot water a couple of times, but if we anticipate using a lot of hot water (ie, guests staying over) then we bypass the timer and let it run overnight so there is hot water in the morning.
The main thing is to know your usage patterns and typical consumption so you can run the numbers and work out the most suitable configuration. This includes the plan you have with the energy retailer. For example when I changed retailers recently I went for a plan that had a lower FIT but had a higher discount as it worked out being a better deal for us. We have had credits for the past 3 quarters since the change.
The other thing I would say is to always oversize your array. Don't put in a 5kW array with a 5kW inverter, you will never really get the value out of your inverter if you do that. I put a 6.6kW array on my 5kW Fronius inverter and it is maxed out for about 4-5 hours a day in summer, that will never happen with a smaller array. From looking back on it I could have squeezed another two panels on the roof to give 7.2kW - good in hindsight.
Since export limiting inverters have come down in price now if you have the spare cash I would also look seriously at going bigger. If you are on single phase then have 10kW of panels (if you have the space) on a 7kW inverter that is export limited to 5kW. You can then run your house and export at the same time to maximise the benefit.
I will agree on battery systems not being quite worth it yet - maybe in another 5 years or so.
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Just put 13kw fronius system on the house eke Tru ty bills were $650pm after first month with solar $92pm
Swannie
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Just put 13kw fronius system on the house eke Tru ty bills were $650pm after first month with solar $92pm
Swannie
13kw. How much roof space was required. Who did you use?
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13kw. How much roof space was required. Who did you use?
Used a local guy
Don’t k ow roof space but I’ll text you a photo it’s was 48 270 panels with fronius inverters
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Don’t k ow roof space but I’ll text you a photo it’s was 48 270 panels with fronius inverters
48 panels?? Wow.. that must be massive.. do your roof tiles get wet when it rains LOL!
Batteries??
Rough cost on that setup?
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no good to anybody with single phase power in put, Got to have 3 phase for a system like that, as I was going to do the same when I build my next bigger shed hook up 3 phase at the same time, Craig
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Used a local guy
Don’t k ow roof space but I’ll text you a photo it’s was 48 270 panels with fronius inverters
Those fotos are impressive.. but hate to be flyin over your joint.. the reflection would blind aliens... LOL
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Just got quoted for my 10kW Enphase system with Jinko 330's ... $16k, with 7 kW facing west, 3 kW facing north, and we've got space for another 10 on the east at a later date
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Just got quoted for my 10kW Enphase system with Jinko 330's ... $16k, with 7 kW facing west, 3 kW facing north, and we've got space for another 10 on the east at a later date
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Have they given a reason for not putting any on the west face straight up? And not spread over all three faces eg 3.5kW east, 3kW north and 3.5kW west. This will give a better spread over the whole day. I'm guessing you are limited to space on the north face, hence only 3kW here.
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Just got quoted for my 10kW Enphase system with Jinko 330's ... $16k, with 7 kW facing west, 3 kW facing north, and we've got space for another 10 on the east at a later date
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Too much
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Just put 13kw fronius system on the house eke Tru ty bills were $650pm after first month with solar $92pm
Swannie
Hey Greg, is that per month, or per quarter?
We pay less than that per quarter...
:cheers:
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Hey Greg, is that per month, or per quarter?
We pay less than that per quarter...
:cheers:
Per month mate
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Per month mate
WOW!!
....and I thought we were heavy users....
:cheers:
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WOW!!
....and I thought we were heavy users....
:cheers:
5 of us and everything is power mate plus only tank water so pump runs regularly and the kids computer drain power from the whole town 😂
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Too much
Not for Enphase IQ7 microinverters...
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yea for what swannie paid I'd jump on that like a politician on a lie
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Wow that is dear, there are 6 of us, we have 3 tower computers that run for at lest 14 hours and and laptops, a 55,000lt pool it runs 6 hours a day our home is airconed it runs around 10 hours a day when hot, pressure pump I am always welding in the shed and have two freezers and two fridges electric stove, we pay around $730 per quarter,
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Just got quoted for my 10kW Enphase system with Jinko 330's ... $16k, with 7 kW facing west, 3 kW facing north, and we've got space for another 10 on the east at a later date
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Solar is getting cheaper, when I had my 3.5 kw system put up I had to pay 11,000 plus the 4,500 grant that the government was giving . Mind you I did lock in 44 cents per kw until late 2028 .
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Solar is getting cheaper, when I had my 3.5 kw system put up I had to pay 11,000 plus the 4,500 grant that the government was giving . Mind you I did lock in 44 cents per kw until late 2028 .
At our old place, we paid about $14k for 4.56kW, and locked in a PFIT of 68c/kwH ... The system fully paid for itself within 6 years, and we took a cheque of nearly $3k when we sold the house...
This time around, we're just going to cover power and gas bills
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If you have minimal power use during the day, is it worth it?
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We have a 5.7 kW system on the roof with a Fronius inverter for 3 years.
Power bill isn't much. We had a few months were we didn't had to pay anything.
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If you have minimal power use during the day, is it worth it?
Only commenting, not trying to sell anything as this is what I do,
....
If you aren't home to use it, don't bother unless you have pool pumps etc that are consuming the power.
Feed in will never give you a return
having read that I'd still love to kill off the power bills... I guess if you had a large battery bank that would make it worthwhile during the day??? --- Brian?
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Going through the process atm. 6kw system Solar Panels: Trina Honey 305W M+ Monocrystalline Inverter: Fronius Primo 5.0-1 $9998 before any subsidies
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Bit of a hijack. Has anyone got the majority of their panels on the east face. Our house is wider than it is deep and faces west. I don’t want panels visible when looking at the house from the street. Was wondering how efficient and productive they would be with a few north facing panels and majority east facing panels.
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Solar in this country is a joke.
Sure our 3.8kw paid for it's self at first with a feed in tariff of 60cents.
Contact expired two years ago, best we can get is 16 cents after what we use.
Nobody home through the day.
Kids work or at school, for 9 hours of sun light there is nobody at home.
We wash every 3 days, of a night there are two lights on, telly is off, we use tablets, phones(no laptops/pc's), our energy consumption is minimal,.
The biggest component of our bill is a service charge.
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We got about 6.3kw of Canadian Solar panels and a Fronius inverter for just under $6k, including the new smart meter the for the meter box. We have the wife and 3 little boys at home, and it is on track to pay itself off in 3 years.
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Going through the process atm. 6kw system Solar Panels: Trina Honey 305W M+ Monocrystalline Inverter: Fronius Primo 5.0-1 $9998 before any subsidies
Too much mate
I just put 2x fronius primo 5.0-1 plus 13kw panels of the Trina honey
$10k flat
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Too much mate
I just put 2x fronius primo 5.0-1 plus 13kw panels of the Trina honey
$10k flat
Thanks for the chat mate. Good info. :cup:
:cheers:
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Had 6.5kw system installed yesterday to replace the existing 1.5.
Fronius 5kw 3 phase inverter and 23 x Risen 285 W split panels. $3790 installed.
At 6:45 this morning It was putting out 1.2kW ( almost what old system produced in middle of day ) Yesterday just after they powered it up it went almost straight away up to 5.4 kW.
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Great hey.
We have a 5.72kW system and it produced over 37.5kW yesterday.
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Had mine for just over 12 months now. Previous 2 years bills (for the year) averaged $2300. This last year with solar... $275! :cheers:
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having read that I'd still love to kill off the power bills... I guess if you had a large battery bank that would make it worthwhile during the day??? --- Brian?
Sorry for the late reply Bird, I've been holidaying ;D ;D ;D
Large battery banks are too expensive and the ROI is bad.
If you can use the power during the day, then yes, definitely worth it, bit if not no.
I accept the argument from Symon re hot water timer etc, but for most people this is not the case.
In Sydney electric HWS do not meet the Basix ratings (Yes I accept circumstance, exceptions etc etc, but on a whole they don't meet.)
Also if you put the timer on between 12 and 4 and on that day you have clouds or rain etc, you pay peak price which pretty much burns a hole in your wallet!!!
Every circumstance is unique, but generally if you ain't using it, you're wasting it.
Pools, tanks, irrigators, kids at home, work from home, high usage, etc etc, then yes VERY worth it. Literally "free" after the upfront cost.
Cheers]
Brian
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Sorry for the late reply Bird, I've been holidaying ;D ;D ;D
how dare you.... :P
Large battery banks are too expensive and the ROI is bad.
If you can use the power during the day, then yes, definitely worth it, bit if not no.
...'...
...
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Pools, tanks, irrigators, kids at home, work from home, high usage, etc etc, then yes VERY worth it. Literally "free" after the upfront cost.
yea we arent home much during day - occasionally work from home, kids home during holidays, but apart from that :( guess we're boned
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Great hey.
We have a 5.72kW system and it produced over 37.5kW yesterday.
1st full day yesterday produced 44.2 kwh.
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Have you had any luck with getting solar yet xvprado? If not you can give Greg Rogers at GNG Electrical Pty Ltd a call as he works all over Australia. You can contact Greg on mobile number 0418 764 422.
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Any one know of a good and reliable solar company around the Shepparton VIC?
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Sorry for the late reply Bird, I've been holidaying ;D ;D ;D
Large battery banks are too expensive and the ROI is bad.
If you can use the power during the day, then yes, definitely worth it, bit if not no.
I accept the argument from Symon re hot water timer etc, but for most people this is not the case.
In Sydney electric HWS do not meet the Basix ratings (Yes I accept circumstance, exceptions etc etc, but on a whole they don't meet.)
Also if you put the timer on between 12 and 4 and on that day you have clouds or rain etc, you pay peak price which pretty much burns a hole in your wallet!!!
Every circumstance is unique, but generally if you ain't using it, you're wasting it.
Pools, tanks, irrigators, kids at home, work from home, high usage, etc etc, then yes VERY worth it. Literally "free" after the upfront cost.
Cheers]
Brian
so a year later - how are things?