I've done the sums with a few salesmen over the years and it just doesn't seem worth it with the family out of the house 7-5 five days per week and nothing like a pool pump etc to run. All I'd be doing would be giving Western Power electricity my fridge and freezer and devices on standby don't use at 8c per Kw only to buy it back off them when I get home from work at 3x the amount I gave it to them for.

Once cost effetive battery system to store power generated are available then I'll be looking at getting solar panels.

The old man is a shift worker so home during the day as is the old lady 4 days/week and they have a pool so by adjusting the pump running time and cranking the air con during the day in summer then turning it down at night he reckons it's worth it.

My brother got in early is sells his electricty to Western Power at 44c per Kw and he ends up making money so safe to say that he's very happy with it.

http://www.carbonfootie.com.au
Giver these guys a call for a quote.
Did a great job on ours a few years ago for a great competitive price and so far no complaints on anything.
It cut our bill down from around the mid six hundreds to the high two hundreds.
Didn't do it for the rebates because it is so low now.
Did it for the saving cost on power and the re-sale value.
Folks seem to like the fact there is a 5 kWatt system on the roof.

 Very happy with Dereck McKercher at Perth Solar Warehouse. What I liked was they had quality products with excellent tech's installing which is a trap or problem with many cowboys out there. I considered a 5KW system and they talked me back to 3kw panels and 5KW inverter, the reason being why make more and send it back into the grid for next to nothing. Be sure to consider quality of panels and frames, I paid a little more than some of the companies advertising but got top of the range gear. Extra panels can be added in future if I go down the path of battery storage, when that gets cheaper. 

Agree with comments above little value in it if no one home using the power. My costs reduced by 50%. 

derek@mckerchercorp.com 

 Yeah cheers fellas,

I am also hoping battery tech gains momentum and doesnt cost a shitload.

I'm also aware that there is no point producing more than you use.  I know alot of us that didn't get in back when it was 44c/kw or even i think 65c/kw but the people that did also paid a shit load more for their systems!

I'd be happy with reducing my power bill and getting a system paid off in the short to long term

 Those who signed up at those ludicrous feedback tariffs ( which we are all subsidising) are laughing, otherwise, doesn't pay off . Have a look at his, re some claims being made on the economics of a Tesla powerwall.  www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/07/teslas-powerwall-and-solar-panels-can-save-you-money-but-only-in-very-specific-circumstances/ If you are on a rural/semi rural property and prices are high to connect to the grid, economics are different. Don't get me wrong, love solar, but a lot of false claims are still being made.  Marginal for our place, at best, with shading issues and a single ridged roof that runs north-south.  A mate runs an acommodation business with a heap of units, and it made sense for him, as the lower consumption from the grid put him into a lower tariff bracket, and savings were significant. Horses for courses.

 Hey Tim,

I work for a Power Company and plenty of the gurus at work have crunched the numbers and done the sums.

The result = still not worth it.  Current priced systems are still looking at a 10 year pay off period at which the system is ready for replacement.

When solar storage does get within a 5 year pay off period, then they could well be worth looking into.

Take more effort at looking into energy saving options.  That will save you more in the long run.

Hope that helps a bit.

Regards

Wazza

 the tarrif is down to 8 cents maybe less now , when it was 26 cents a unit it made sence but those days are gone , i have 12 250 watt pannels , sold to me as a 3k watt unit i have never seen more than 2.1 k watts out of it , another thing is they do need regular cleaning 10% of your pannels covered with dust , leaves , or bird shit equals a drop in 80 % effiency  of your pannels

 Agree that batteries take 1 to 2 times their stated warrenty time to pay for themselves, by which time they would have needed to be replaced. There is an alternative that is not a perfect solution but is worth considering.  That is to store your excess energy as hot water. Chances are, if you have an existing inverter you will need to replace it. The obvious problem is that the time you could benefit the most (winter) is the time when you are least likely to have excess energy available. Still probably better than getting a pitance for it, by putting it back into the grid.

 I use solar when I am camping,and don't do it by halves. Had 4x80watt panels feeding into parallelled 105a/hr batteries this year instead of running two separate systems.  Dirty certainly makes a difference, shading even more. Just the shadow of my head was enough to drop charge (early morning, sun low)  from 16amps  to 12amps, shading one panel with my complete body shadow droppped it to 6 amps. Hitting 21 amps on the bounce when the sun broke through, normally 17.5 to 18 on steady sun.

I think you can count on more than 10 years from the panels if you buy quality--the panels I referred to above are 20 years old, original BP Solar, bought when they dismantled the old Kalbarri solar farm, for $20 each. I looked up the specs of these panels, and they were still delivering over 90% of their original short cct current/open cct voltage. Can't speak for the inverters, obviously.

 And I do not regret for one moment investing in the system we have....just should have gone 5kw rather than opting for 4 

Look long term not short......  and since when does anything we buy give a full return on investment, you think nothing of blowing five grand just driving a vehicle out of a showroom ....this tech gives an immediate and ongoing return but if investing go bigger than you think ...you won't regret it

 Does the calculted pay off periods inclue the price hikes power puts on u s regularly? Who knows what the will charge in 10 years. Anothercouple of year until they sort out battery life and mass produce electric cars, more competition and the cost come down on products like teslas powerwall. 

 You have to crunch the numbers to see if it suits your situation.

As a basic rule, the more generated power you can use, and less you export, the less your payback period will be.

Went with a 24 panel system with a 5kw inverter. On average it its knocking off $200 to $300 per bill and should pay itself off in just under 8 years.

 Good info fellas and I guess i knew i was going to again be asking myself if its worth it. 

I live down south in a newish subdevision and one reason i justify it to myself is its the only bill i can reduce. We have to pay 2k in rates, we have to pay 1200 in water/sewage and obviously power as its used. 

I spent about 10k on rainwater tanks and 2 x pumps to have rain water 80% of the year at every tap and a small tank to have rainwater all year at the kitchen sink for the 20% of the time i flick back onto scheme. The worst thing is although its great harvesting and drinking rain water the cost of running the pumps far out weighs the cost of scheme water itself. 

 Yeah, pumping water should be one of the most efficient things, it is just when you make heat or make cold your power gets sucked up. We run on house batteries at 24v and we're very efficient.

 Im not a greeny by any measure.

But money aside isnt it good to have just knowing youre not burning fossil fuels to create your power.

Or does the energy used to make the system cancel out the energy made by the system over its life time.

Genuinely dont know and am interested

 A good solar panel usually has a 20-25 year warranty, so they will pay for themselves you'd think. Those new power walls are still very expensive. When they get cheaper I reckon it would all be worth it then. 

JMO. 

 The Quartz mined then trucked to a Silicon Smelter

Put through a Electric arc with CharCoal, Woodchips and Coal to produce Silicon.

Then reheated to over 1500 deg and cooled over 2-3 days to remove more impurties to make it 99.9% pure for Solar grade

 there is no chance on Earth it will produce more power then was used to produce it.

Most of The power used comes from Coal.

Run a business from home so a/c pool pumps etc run during the day so going between 5-10kw. Depends how many i can fit !

Change timers and stuff to run during the peak periods!

 tesla has the wall mounted battery coming out soon, once thats out it will greatly make it more effective to have panels, if you are going to produce enough energy during the day to run all your stuff, especially if you use a lot during the day then its worth it.

 Do what doc does for 12 months, then learn what you can and can't have to remain efficient "off" the grid.

 Yep, only use about 30% of our battery capacity. Any more of that kills the batteries. We're using normal deep cycle batteries, been in the bus now for about 30 months, and they're still very good. No reason why we won't get another 30 months from them. Just about everything is 24v, but the bigger stuff that is 240v is powered by the genny. We don't really miss out on too much, we can't have the a/c on all the time, but when it's hot and sticky, you learn that with the windows open and a nice wind will cool you down. Can't have the genny on all night like some people do.

 Still got the original bus air cond that works when the motor is running?

 Yes, absolutely, wouldn't go without it.

 Been reading this thread with interest.

I wouldn't mind betting that as time goes on the structure of power bills will change.

To one of a larger "service fee" and smaller unit costs.

Especially if privatisation becomes more likely.

Then something similar to water will be brought in, where you have to pay for the service at your gate whether you connect to it or not.

This will push up the value of the power company sale and head off mass disconnections once a viable battery system is produced.

 We installed a 4kw system 6 months ago, we put dishwasher, washing machine etc. on while it's still light, , we are all out during the weekdays, we save 50% each bill which means we pay for the system in two years, after that is all bonus; not sure why you wouldn't do it if you have the money or can get interest free. Same story with others I know who have solar.

 i will pm you solar is not worth it

 Installed 5kw system when the Gov rebate system was first offered. Great rebate at 47c. Powerbills are very rare. Have had no problems. Good decision to jump at it at the start.Looking forward to getting a stand alone battery setup and get off the grid when the rebate finishes. Tread your own path.

 anyone else got any recommendations on installers. looking at a 5kw system. wife is home for about 2 days per week and we have a pool so the numbers seem to add up for us. have already got a quote off solar footie 

 Footie, Solargain, Solar 2020, infinate energy....... All were good choices when I took the plunge, but things do change.

Have a look here....... quite an indepth forum on Perth solar instals.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2453175

 Sorry to not get back to you earlier.

No i dont use an accumulator on my pump mate.  

I figured i'd try and get solar to kill the power cost instead of putting more $ in.

Rob H, you make a good point. Do you think it will be a case of everyone will have to pay that has been or can be connected or do you think that they will hit those that remain connected harder. I'm guessing the former. Surely the cost of power will rise along with the service charge.

 Ive recently gone with solar harness. Quality components used. should pay for itself in six years if the billing doesnt change. Inverter can take more panels and is storage compatible.

 Like Vin says we do most of our stuff through the day by setting timer for dishwasher, wash clothes  etc, we have taken a good third to half off our bills. We used Solargain in Belmont, no bullshit salesman. Just don't go the Modern group, they're  a farkin rip off.

 thanks for advice re the installers. can anyone please flick me a pm with what they paid? i am looking at  a 5kW system.

chers,

Jarrid