• 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

      • 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

        • 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.

            • Do things like turn on the dishwasher/dryer/washing during daytime instead using timer
            • Also, switching a heat pump hot water system and turning it on during day is effectively like a battery too. I got rid of gas (electric is healthier anyway). Most heat pump hot water systems are designed to turn on during day only

            You can get devices which hook into your smart meter and measure energy usage, and optimise for that.

            The reason you don’t get much feedin anymore (unless you’re a Virtual power plant, at times more power is needed), is because previously, people were just generating too much excess power during the day, and forcing non-renewables to turn on again at night (so it was pointless). Ideally, you should be trying to export 0kwh back to the grid