We live off grid, but if we build would do solar water and wet back system. Would not do grid tied system. As for grid tied system we believe you have to be home using it to get any benefit from it.
echoriath,
Nov 7, 11:26pm
Am I right in thinking that the typical grid-connected system would be cheaper because it would not involve batteries? My understanding is that there is a battery-free system where you sell everything to your energy company for a credit on your bill, or a battery system with lower voltage appliances, etc., with any excess sold back to company. The latter is less likely to have surplus because the batteries have to charge first, and there's quite an expense in the batteries alone, though they are getting smaller and more efficient.
maccachic1,
Nov 7, 11:31pm
Looked into pricing approx. 10-16k for 80% I think replacement of power usage and approx. 3x those prices to go fully off grid.
remember the prices you sell it to the electric company for is less than what you pay - so you want appliances on timers to run during peak generation and off at night.
There was a study done and actual savings two people in different island apparently they would have saved money on their power had they not increased their use of energy using appliances :)
ira78,
Nov 8, 1:25am
$7000 is for a 3kw(Or whatever it was) system. You could set up a few hundred watt system for a fraction of that.
This thread better explains why grid connect solar won't work on a large scale.
t_naki,
Nov 8, 6:59pm
for $7k you would likely be looking at around a 2kW system at a guess. You are right a few hundred watts would be several hundred but it would be mostly pointless for connecting to your house, maybe if you were going camping it would be useful.
differentthings,
Nov 8, 7:13pm
Meridian Energy currently buys solar electricity at 25 cents a unit for the first 5 kilowatt hours generated, and 10c after that.
But today the rate for new customers has been cut to 7c/kWh during summer, and 10c in winter.
General manager external relations Guy Waipara said after Contact Energy slashed its buy-rate by more than half, from 17c/kWh to 8c, Meridian had been left with the most attractive rates in the market.
t_naki,
Nov 8, 10:22pm
That would be right and they cannot sustain that level of cross subsidisation without it affecting their competitiveness in the market for other customers.
kindajojo,
Nov 8, 11:49pm
We have a solar system just heats the water . but that is a big chunk of the power usage . especially with teenagers. washing can be done in warm water as well. anecdotely ie comparing our household with similar in the a area our bills are about 30% cheaper.
deanna14,
Nov 10, 6:02am
Our 10 kWh system has been in for 6 weeks, we have used (at night) 380 units and we have exported during the day 1484 units.
Yes both power companies that buy back have dropped their price by just over half.
For us it was preparing for retirement and we gaged that we could leave the $36,000 in the bank (leaving the temptation to touch it) or invest in cutting down our out goings. Even at 7cents a unit we will not be paying for any power and will reap a small pay back.
tintop,
Nov 10, 6:47am
The talk that I heard on the radio covered that.
In places like Germany that has only a small component generated from renewable sources it makes sense to subsidise home schemes.
NZ power has about 75% generated from hydro, geothermal and wind.
For those people that install a PV system and feel that a subsidy on their outlay is due - where would the money come from? Overall it looks like those that can afford a system are looking for a subsidy from those that cannot. In short there is an expectation that the rich are looking for a subsidy from the poor.
That is why the Gvt are sitting on their hands at the moment.
macandrosie,
Nov 10, 8:23am
Australia has embraced this home solar power & have provided the government initiative subsidies if you have it installed. Their power is about one quarter of what ours is. The power companies in NZ are ripping the public off. They control the pricing. I take my hat off to those clever people who get off the national grid!
planespotterhvn,
Nov 10, 8:55am
Interesting interview about Solar /Wind to electricity technique using Hydrogen as a storage and transmission medium. istributed Generation
Electrolyser in converted rainwater tank and wind turbine
The converted rainwater tank, where the electrolyser uses wind energy from the turbine to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen (images IRL)
Twenty kilometres north-east of Woodville, in the Wairarapa, is a small farming community in the Totara Valley, where some novel energy producing technologies are being trialed.
Massey University and Industrial Research Limited (IRL) have installed various small-scale power generation systems on the farms, including micro-hydroelectric, solar cells, and a wind turbine. In what they believe is a world first, the hydrogen produced by this wind turbine is then used to both store and carry energy.
Known as distributed generation, the electricity from these renewable resources can then be connected to a grid.
Ruth Beran visited the Totara Valley and met with Geoff Smith, who drove her to the wind turbine on a hill on his property, and Eion McPherson from IRL, who explained how the system worked. http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2041171
tintop,
Nov 10, 9:00am
Australia is very dependent on coal fired power stations. about 78%
It makes sense to go PV
tintop,
Nov 10, 9:13am
Google eiggtricity :)
ang_ck,
Nov 10, 9:39am
wow, 10kWh, that is "huge". Do you store the energy? Any pictures you can share with your system?
Update: Aus Govt has recently pulled back on private PV support. Solar energy cmpanies are brassed off.
tintop,
Nov 10, 7:23pm
Mean ? Power companies buy power from the generators for about 7c a unit. To buy from private pv systems at more than that amounts to a subsidy. The money has to come from somewhere. Profits? Other consumers?
What a load of bollocks. Their power is not a quarter of ours. Try about the same/more expensive.
Firstly, I am a big fan of solar, but. you can't compare Australia with NZ. The reason they have embraced solar is that their peak loads are during the day when everyone has air conditioning running to keep cool. Therefore it makes sense to back technology which produces power during the day. They also have a lot more sunshine.
NZ power companies are not ripping the people off. Their profit levels are in line with most power companies around the world.
tintop,
Aug 3, 6:09pm
Ah - Thanks for that, I was searching in the Nine to Noon segment, that's where I heard the PV one - not realizing it was a retread of Kim's Saturday one.
I will listen again tonight.
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