Designed for long-term performance
Whether you need a new solar system installed, commercial solar system for your business , repairs to an existing solar unit or you’re simply after some professional product support, we are here to help in any way we can. At Off Grid Solar , you can feel confident that all your solar panel neewill be looked after from start to finish.
Four good reasons to no longer rely on coal powered electricity
Melbourne gets enough sunshine to store for the colder times
Although it may not be as sunny as Brisbane or Rockhampton for example, Melbourne does have enough sunny days to store excess solar power. Melbourne has become increasingly hot and installation of solar panels a smart business move. The table below provides an overview of how much solar energy you can expect solar systems of various popular sizes to produce on the average day in Sydney. It’s helpful to remember that kilowatt-hours (kWh) are the units that appear on your electricity bill – and which your electricity retailer uses to calculate your quarterly or monthly electricity bill.
Solar power is a great investment for virtually any home or business that has a reasonably-sized, un-shaded roof and some electricity consumption during the daylight hours This is because your home or business -generated solar energy can save you money in two ways:
- a) Solar helps you reduce the amount of energy you need to purchase from your electricity retailer / the grid. This is commonly referred to as ‘solar self-consumption‘, and it is the key to making the most of your solar system – you should do everything you can to maximize your self-consumption..
- b) You can earn credits on your electricity bill for your system’s surplus energy. This is usually referred to as a solar feed-in tariff. Any solar energy produced that is not immediately put to use in devices in your home will automatically be sent back to the grid, earning you a feed-in credit. A few years ago, feed-in tariffs were state-sponsored and quite generous (and many solar homes still receive them), but these days the rates offered are significantly lower – and so therefore is their impact on your energy bill savings.
The value of your solar energy is based on a combination of how much you self-consume and how much you export. If you have a 3kW solar system that produces 11.6kWh/day but you only manage to self-consume 50% of that, then your savings will be smaller than if you managed to self-consume 80% – or even, ideally, 100%.
It’s therefore fairly important that the system you choose is appropriately sized for your home or business and electricity consumption pattern that you have .
Incentives through the federal government
Like everyone everywhere in Australia, Melbourne residents and businesses who install solar can benefit from the nation’s Renewable Energy Target. In essence the Renewable Energy Target provides an up-front incentive off the cost of installing a solar PV system based on the system’s size and how sunny your location is, plus certificate market forces. These days, this ‘discount’ works out to about 30% off the sticker price of a fully installed solar system. Keep in mind that this incentive only applies if your system is installed by accredited solar installers using accredited products. In most cases, you should be able to see how much this incentive is worth in the quotes you get from installers.
As an example, a 4kW solar system installed in Melbourne in 2016 would be eligible for a ‘discount’ of approximately $2,800-$3,100.
Solar power is affordable in Melbourne
Thanks in part to the federal incentives explained above, Australia is home to some of the lowest solar PV system prices in the world – which is one of the reasons that so many homes and businesses have solar panels installed.
The chart below shows how prices have changed (in terms of dollars per watt of capacity – $/W) over the last four years for a range of popular system sizes. On average solar system prices in Melbourne have dropped by about 30% .
Solar power systems offer attractive returns for Melbourne business and households
Some solar deals can be too good to be true.- be careful if you use only price point as your focus.
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Indicative returns for solar systems @ average Sydney prices (Assuming 85% system efficiency, 25kWh electricity consumption/day, retail electricity @ 25c/kWh, solar feed-in rate @ 8c/kWh) |
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| 1.5kW | 2kW | ||
| $3,200 | $3,900 | ||
| @ 50% self-consumption | @ 70% self-consumption | @ 50% self-consumption | @ 70% self-consumption |
| ~7.4 year payback | ~6.1 year payback | ~6.8 year payback | ~5.6 year payback |
| ~11% IRR | ~15% IRR | ~13% IRR | ~17% IRR |
| ~$411 annual savings | ~$500 annual savings | ~$550 annual savings | ~$670 annual savings |
| 3kW | 5kW | ||
| $4,900 | $6,800 | ||
| @ 50% self-consumption | @ 70% self-consumption | @ 50% self-consumption | 70% self-consumption |
| ~5.8 year payback | ~4.7 year payback | ~4.8 year payback | ~4 year payback |
| ~17% IRR | ~21% IRR | ~21% IRR | ~26% IRR |
| ~$820 annual savings | ~$1,000 annual savings | ~$1,370 annual savings | ~$1,670 annual savings |
Solar Power Melbourne-Energy independence – like growing vegetables in your own back yard
Solar is about more than just saving money – to some degree it’s also about self-reliance. With the advent of affordable solar power, Australian homes are no longer completely beholden to their electricity retailer for their energy needs. A good analogy home-grown vegetables: having a garden in your back yard can not only help you save on your grocery bills, it also feels good.
Battery storage technology promises to support Australian households in reaching higher levels of energy independence. Interest in homes batteries has increased substantially since the beginning of 2016 and the solar industry is rushing to catch up with it – there are now dozens of battery products available on the market. As technology prices come down over the next couple of years, more and more homes will be looking to make themselves mostly or completely energy self-reliant with solar & batteries. Most homes will remain connected to the grid (although a handful of the more adventurous will go off-grid), but even then will undoubtedly be quite proud that a good chuck of their electricity is home-grown.
Ready to shop for solar & batteries? Give us a call : 1300 793 552