Chloyster [she/her] ( @chloyster@beehaw.org ) 40•7 months agoAm I wrong or is this article 3 years old?
true! i updated the title
Designate6361 ( @Designate6361@beehaw.org ) 25•7 months agoits 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 ( @tal@lemmy.today ) 26•7 months agoand battery system
That’s the catch. The generation isn’t the expensive part. The storage is.
Designate6361 ( @Designate6361@beehaw.org ) 9•7 months agoThat’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.
beefcat ( @beefcat@beehaw.org ) 1•7 months agowouldn’t most people’s peak usage be in the afternoon when the air conditioner is running?
Designate6361 ( @Designate6361@beehaw.org ) 1•7 months agoNot with us, after 4pm is our peak usage sun won’t be up for much longer
abhibeckert ( @abhibeckert@beehaw.org ) 16•7 months agoI 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.
Designate6361 ( @Designate6361@beehaw.org ) 5•7 months agoMust be nice
Audacity9961 ( @Audacity9961@feddit.ch ) 8•7 months agoI’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.
Designate6361 ( @Designate6361@beehaw.org ) 3•7 months ago6.2kwh solar panels 14kwh battery
twei ( @twei@feddit.de ) 6•7 months agothat battery is way too big for the energy produced by the solar array
Blackmist ( @Blackmist@feddit.uk ) English5•7 months agoYet 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 ( @Audacity9961@feddit.ch ) 2•7 months agoIt 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 ( @Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca ) 2•7 months agoThis 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 ( @Designate6361@beehaw.org ) 2•7 months ago95% of what we generate during the goes to the battery and once fully charged we can go days without needing to recharge it
sanzky ( @sanzky@beehaw.org ) 2•7 months agoand 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 ( @Designate6361@beehaw.org ) 1•7 months agoNope 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 ( @Auzy@beehaw.org ) 1•7 months agoYou 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
guyrocket ( @guyrocket@kbin.social ) 10•7 months agoSweet! Those panels I paid so dearly for are worth next to nothing!
heeplr ( @heeplr@feddit.de ) 13•7 months agoyour own fault. get a nuclear reactor next time d’uh…
FlyForABeeGuy ( @FlyForABeeGuy@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) English14•7 months agoDon’t you hate it when you have another control by the atomic agency just because you had a little meltdown in the garden. All that because the neighbours complained that their grass became fluorescent to the cops. Silly scared people!
pufferfischerpulver ( @pufferfischerpulver@feddit.de ) 2•7 months agoOk, but hear me out, we can make atoms go boooooom so what about that???