I'm looking at purchasing solar panels, thinking about getting the deal that Harrison energy solutions are running. 8 x 255w panels, installed for $6990.
Just wondering if people in here have any comments or advice. cheers
devine-spark,
Feb 25, 8:53am
Check out the quality of the panel. If good go for it! We put in a 5.2kw system and last month our power bill was $25 ! Best yet and we are thrilled. We reckon we save over half our original power bill each year. I know the figures are hard to justify but there is a real feel good factor in generating own power.
zl2adl,
Feb 25, 9:11am
Look at AA Solar to see what panels cost, then add on the rest, 7K looks good to the seller!
taieri3,
Feb 26, 4:57am
How much did that cost?
johotech,
Feb 26, 5:14am
That sounds simple, but it's not that straightforward.
Sure, the panels and a grid-tie inverter only cost around $4k, but the extra $3k must include all the panel mounting parts, cabling, installation and electrical inspection. It should also include all arrangements with the retailer for permits and changing the metering.
Installation is not a simple DIY job.
devine-spark,
Feb 26, 6:01am
We bought before the prices dropped quite a bit so we payed around 12k for 5.2 Mitzubishi and a good inverter. Now they are a bit cheaper. Ours were professionally installed by CPS - and I was very pleased by their service. Ours have been up for over 2 years and we are thrilled.
210sback,
Feb 26, 6:55am
so say that saving of yours is $110/monthx12=$1320/year it's going to take over nine years to get pay back on your investment,that's not taking into account if you had of put that $12000 into a bank account with compounding interest at say 5% after 9 years you'd have close to $19000 so really after having a solar power system installed for 9 years you have gone financially backwards by $7000 and I haven't allowed for anyrepairs and maintenance costs.yep great feel good factor!do the math correct.the system will never pay for itself even after 20 years and by then your've probably moved on from that house.
stevo2,
Feb 26, 7:57am
whoa. way to make someone feel stink.
devine-spark,
Feb 26, 8:09am
I don't feel stink. We chose to do solar as an ethical thing. At the moment our latest power bill was $25 as opposed to last year being $350 at the same time. Our saving last year was approx $2300 and that is being conservative. The life of our system is approx 25 - 30 years. Our maintenance is assisted by my son who is an engineer. Our system is designed to be able to be removed and taken with us, and that is why we got a very good quality of PV panels and a top inverter. We are very happy with our system and when batteries come down in price we will get one of them too. I don't criticise or dictate what people do with their money, I had a wee windfall and did something I felt good about. and still do.
captaingraham,
Feb 26, 8:10am
If the true costs were known?
210sback,
Feb 26, 8:16am
im not trying to make anyone feel bad about solar but financially it's not good?the cost of the systems still need to drop dramatically.I hope that people just actually do the numbers properly and not just look at the surface numbers and go wow a 10% return and not actually take into account everything.10% return on a depreciating asset is as good as nothing.but hey I'll still install a system for you if that's what you want.
serf407,
Feb 26, 8:56am
You are paying tax on that money in the bank and who knows how much the power companies will be selling their power for in nine years time if some energy hungry industry has started up in NZ and has mopped up the surplus grid generation.
devine-spark,
Feb 26, 7:10pm
And also, when we have a battery, we will be safe-guarded if there are power outages. We had a week with no power after our big quakes and it would have been most useful then. We believe we made a good decision for us. We do hope the systems come down further so that others can do the same. They have dropped significantly since we got ours. We got a 5.2 kw system and paid extra, but that was our choice.
daves01,
Feb 26, 8:11pm
Do the calculations above take into account annual power price increases? From what I've seen power prices go up by 4% year so surely that would have some impact on the payback time?
aredwood,
Feb 27, 11:48am
The problem is that with any calculations you have to make assumptions about what buyback rates will be in the future. If the lines companies start charging the power retailer for power injected back into the network. Then expect a big drop in the already low buy back rates. Vector (lines company in Auckland) in their latest pricing schedule that will apply from April. Have already defined charges for power injected into their network (excess solar generation) The charges are currently at zero. But the fact that they have already setup their accounting system to handle such charges is a worry. As if those charges become high enough.
Then your retailer might start billing you to send power back into the network!
Who cares about all that shit? At least they haven't lined the pockets of greedy shareholders and have given their money to someone they would rather give their money to.
210sback,
Feb 27, 8:22pm
greedy share holders?you mean investors trying to make their own way in life also probably paying your benefit or wff.
hilt_dwane,
Feb 28, 4:11am
Our 3kW system was installed 18 months ago by Solar City. It was under $12,000 and is an Enasolar inverter. There are 12 panels on the roof. The rep keeps in touch with us giving us any updates on info. The latest is the likely availability of batteries for storing power in December (for night time use) instead of feeding back to the grid as the power companies are reducing their buy back rates, in part defeating the purpose of installing a solar system. If we add batteries, we will still remain grid tied. When we were considering going with solar, it was recommended that we didnt exceed the number of panels over and above our needs - only install sufficient panels for our needs. The purpose of generating an income was not a consideration as the NZ situation is very different from Australia with regard to income generation.
stevo2,
Feb 28, 4:38am
A customer of ours has just put 32 panels on the roof of his implement shed to power his house, pool, and orchard irrigation. he has no battery bank.
hilt_dwane,
Mar 1, 11:01am
My understanding is that those 2kW (8 panel) systems dont really generate enough power to be viable for the average family. I agree, it is better than nothing. As I said, we have a 3kW system (12 panels) and our household consists of 2 adults only. We are careful users of electricity and still buy in power in the winter months so were not over sold on system size. If you plan on adding to the number of panels as finances permit, do bear in mind that you MAY have to change the inverter to one that will take a larger amount generated. The inverters are an expensive component.
survivalkiwi,
Mar 1, 6:20pm
So you believe we should have not real economy on nz? You want us all to live live we did 200 years ago?
t_naki,
Mar 1, 6:43pm
Wellington Electricity network has just dropped their prices and buy back rates have been slashed and could possibly go further. A workmate put his panels in and was getting 20c per kWh now he is getting 8c for power he sells and his pay back time is now sitting at the approximate life span of the panels. Not to mention that the inverters will need replacing before that.
differentthings,
Mar 1, 8:58pm
Plus add in the fact that they are only good for about 15 years before the panels need replacing.
hilt_dwane,
Mar 1, 10:05pm
We were told the panels last 25 years NOT 15
differentthings,
Mar 1, 11:30pm
yes they can, but the output starts to drop off after 10 years. With a 25 year old solar panel the output will be bugger all. (around 30% compared with a new one)
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