• Designate6361@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    its still costing me 30k AUD to put in a decent solar and battery system, i mean prices have come down but they are still well beyond what is affordable by the avg person.

    • tal@lemmy.today
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      1 year ago

      and battery system

      That’s the catch. The generation isn’t the expensive part. The storage is.

      • Designate6361@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        That’s the thing, without the Battery it’s not cost effective, we’ll pay more for the system then it would recover. Our peak usage is at night when the sun is not there.

          • Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            My utility gives a 50% credit on excess generation. Thing there is the utility is still the one taking responsibility for having the capacity and scalability to respond to variation in demand and production. When I was getting quotes, adding storage would have doubled the cost of the system for a day or two worth of storage. Probably would cost double again to have a system that would keep up through the winter.

          • Designate6361@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            Yeah we get nothing from any excess power generation that goes back into the grid. It used to be worth it years and years ago but they stopped because it was costing the energy generators too much.

        • beefcat@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          wouldn’t most people’s peak usage be in the afternoon when the air conditioner is running?

    • abhibeckert@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I paid $5k recently without the battery - it’s not just affordable, it’s cheaper than drawing power from the grid. Pay off on the upfront investment will be about 7 years and it has an expected life of 30+ years (we paid extra for long lasting panels).

      Battery prices will come down - in the mean time it’s still better to just get that power from the grid.

    • Audacity9961@feddit.ch
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      1 year ago

      I’m curious what sized system you are putting in that costs that much.

      An 8kw solar system usually costs a bit over $8k and at least in many areas seems to have a ROI of a bit over 6 years at most and often much less.

        • twei@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          that battery is way too big for the energy produced by the solar array

          • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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            1 year ago

            Yet the battery could produce more savings than the solar.

            Electricity prices can vary by time of day, as demand varies. Charge it at cheap-o-clock, use it at normal times, you make savings.

            • Audacity9961@feddit.ch
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              1 year ago

              It can produce more savings sure in terms of electricity costs, but when including capital, solar is presently much more cost effective. In my area some 6.8kw panels have a four year ROI.

              • Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca
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                1 year ago

                This is entirely regional though. The further you are from the equator, the more seasonal variation there is in sunlight levels, and heating/cooling loads. Around here our solar production is minimized during the season when our energy needs are maximized. We also don’t have variable rate billing, though we only get partial credit for excess generation, so battery storage will never pay for itself until something changes.

          • Designate6361@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            95% of what we generate during the goes to the battery and once fully charged we can go days without needing to recharge it

            • sanzky@beehaw.org
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              1 year ago

              and then your solar panels are doing anything for you in days. you seem to have been offered a very bad deal. I suggest you find other company to analyse your case

              • Designate6361@beehaw.org
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                1 year ago

                Nope that’s literally the only way you can make solar viable here. We get no credits or anything for the excess power we generate and we use hardly any power during the day. So literally any excess power the panels generate goes to waste. And if we go to a smaller unit the money we save is negligible again

                • Auzy@beehaw.org
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                  1 year ago

                  You do get paid for unused solar, it’s just less than it used to be. The idea is that you’re meant to shift your loads to the day. Even without the additional feed in, 6.6kw only costs 2.5k and pays itself off within 4 years if you’re shifting your loads to the solar peak

                  Also, it feels like you’ve installed an overly big battery system.

                  Panels and batteries are subsidised here in Victoria and the panels only costs 2500aud for a 6.6k system. Most people spend 20k on batteries or less

                  • Designate6361@beehaw.org
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                    1 year ago

                    How can we shift our peak power use when no one is there to use it?. Again we did all the math even with the company and we all came to the same figure. If we did solar only then the system would cost us more in the long term as we still need to draw power during our peak usage. Battery was the only way to make it viable.