Archive for August, 2008

Welcome to this Blog that Shows How to Make Solar Pay

It’s great that you are considering making the switch to solar. Here you will find a wide variety of information designed to answer all your questions about putting solar power, solar hot water or a heat pump in your home.

To start you off, you can receive an instant, on-line proposal tailored for your situation simply by answering some questions about your rooftop and household.

Our on-line calculator will work out the best solution for you instantly. You will also be given a series of valuable information that explains the benefits of solar technology for your household, in terms of energy savings and how our systems pay for themselves – everything you need to go solar.

Are you buying green power? Have you paid to offset your carbon emission? What if you did not pay for it – but got paid?

We hear everywhere that it is good to purchase green power or offset your carbon emissions. But what are we really paying for when we do that?

Solar Hot Water – the Single Biggest Impact on Carbon Emissions.

When you install solar hot water, you reduce your household’s carbon emissions by around 25%. They are not just offset, they are eliminated. Not once, but for the lifespan of the solar hot water system (often 20 years).

Our government knows that and is paying you to do it: $1,600 federal rebate.

On top of that, you receive payment for REC’s (Renewable Energy Certificates). And guess who purchases these REC’s? It is mostly energy retailers. Up to $2,000. They then pass that charge on to consumers who pay for green power.

The same is true for some carbon offsetting schemes. They purchase REC’s, which gives them the right to the saved CO2.

So what are you really paying for when you buy green power or carbon offsets? You are subsidising someone else to reduce their carbon emissions. It feels good, but you can bet that the subsidised person feels even better.

Here are the two choices:

• Continue to pay the electricity company and let others benefit from the subsidies you pay.

• Or take control, make a real difference in your carbon emissions, get paid for it, slash your electricity bill at the same time and do not get caught with future increases in electricity.

If you have questions about your particular situation or want help in deciding which solar hot water system is most suitable, call me on 5400 1800 or get an instant online quote below.

The best solar hot water position depends on a few factors:

Orientation of the House

To make the best use of sun, you obviously want a roof area that is not shaded. The ideal orientation is North, so that a maximum of the sun’s energy can be used to heat your water.

As a rough guide, North is where the sun is just before lunch-time. If you are uncertain, you might want to type in your address into Google Maps and see an areal picture of your house. North is at the top.

It is no problem if you are slightly off North, anything between North-West and North-East will work well.

Check for Shading

If you have trees around your house, it is best to look at the roof at different times during the day to find the best position. When you do that, remember that the sun’s position varies widely from Summer to Winter.

Position of the Tank

With the tank location, you want to make sure that it is as close as possible to where you use the hot water. Why? Because the water in the pipes is cold. So when you turn your hot water on, the cold water has to run out of the pipes first before the hot water reaches you.

To minimise wasting that cold water, you want to have the tank close by.

Normally an existing tank is positioned in such a way that it is close to water usage. That is why the tank of a split system goes at that same place. The piping to the panels should not be more than 20m, or a larger pump needs to be used.

That is also the reason why we only recommend on-roof systems when the distance between the North-facing roof and the existing tank is under 10m.

We’ll Make Sure

All you need is to roughly estimate which direction your roof faces and how far the tank is from that unshaded roof position. With that information you can use our instant online quoting process and see whether solar hot water is suitable for you.

Our plumbers will always check for the right position and give you the best advise when they actually install the system.

Here is a short video that shows what to expect during a solar hot water installation.

The video shows a split system, where the tank is on the ground.

The installation took about 4 hours, but I’ve cut the video down into 90 seconds. It still shows the most important aspects:

• Taking the old tank away
• Placing the new tank
• Connecting the tank to the plumbing in the house
• Running the pipes up to the roof
• Installing the pump
• Mounting the solar panels on the roof
• Running the plumbing inside the roof
• Cleaning up

The only thing it does not show is how the electrician connected the tank. I was up on the roof at that time and missed it. That’s how quick he was…

According to The Australian, there is discussion about the exclusion of solar hot water heaters from the REC (Renewable Energy Certificates) Scheme.

Anyone currently installing a solar hot water system, receives payment (usually as a point of sale discount) for REC’s. The quantity varies depending on the system and location, but price reductions are substantial (between $1,200 and $2,000).

So if the government really goes ahead with this decision, solar hot water will become much more expensive to purchase and take much longer to pay for itself.

No decision until October

However, I just talked to a very friendly and helpful officer from the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator. He pointed me to the Department of Climate Change, where a short report outlines the review process of the mandatory renewable energy target which is currently happening.

The conclusion: nothing is decided yet (recommendations will not be finalised until October) and the earliest that new regulations come into force is mid 2009.

One of the biggest changes is that the mandatory renewable energy target is supposed to be extended to 2020 and reach 45,000 GWh. That represents 20% of Australia’s energy consumption and would be a good start.

Not quite like the challenge Al Gore put to America: 100% renewable in 10 years, but another step forward.

Prices for Renewable Energy Certificates are falling again.

It was only 4 days ago that the Renewable Energy Certificate price dropped from $49 to $47. Today, we got notice that the going price is going to be $43.

What that means is that the cost for a standard roof mounted system is $186 more than it was last week.

Good or Bad?

Of course is is bad that the you have to pay more for a solar hot water system. However, compared to what the prices were like in the past, $43 is still a huge rebate ($1,333 for the standard system and $1,935 for the 400 Litre split system). And that is in addition to the $1,600 federal rebate you might be eligible for.

The other good thing is that the price drop shows that there are more REC’s being offered than companies wanting to purchase them. That means we are well on the way to increasing the renewable energy production.

The Decision

Naturally, you want to get the best price for your REC’s. So the question is whether to wait and hope that the price will increase again (with the risk that it might fall further).

Or to purchase now to get what you can before prices for REC’s fall even further.

Unfortunately, I do not know what the future will bring. So I cannot advice on the best course of action. But looking at the volatility of the REC prices in the past, I would not be surprised if they continue to fall. On the other hand, significant rises are unlikely.

And when you look at the lifetime benefit from a solar hot water heater, the significance of the REC payment pales in comparison.