Solar Panels - So What?

So your house is covered in solar panels but when the sun goes down, you still have to purchase power from the mains and if the power is cut, you lose all your power along with everyone else in the street. That’s because your system is connected “back to the grid”. If you’re on a “Gross Meter”, you are constantly drawing on mains power anyway because all of the power your solar system is generating goes back to the grid.

Yes, it all made sense at the time ( pre Oct 27 2010) because the government was offering excellent rebates and the government was paying you 60c per kilowatt hour. They dropped it back to 20c after a short time when they realised that this system wasn’t “viable” – ie no money to be made. Everyone complained, and if it wasn’t for the fact that numerous politicians were also going to be financially inconvenienced, then nothing would have happened.

Predictably, the government caved in and those who signed up prior to midnight Oct 27 2010 got to keep their extra 40c. Andrew Stoner wasn’t the only one counting his pennies when he “reportedly” rushed out of parliament to sign up to the Solar Bonus Scheme before the stroke of midnight.

Did you know?

If you were "lucky enough" to be fully signed up to the scheme but you decide to move house and take your panels and transformer with you, you have to reapply to join the Solar Bonus Scheme – oh that’s too bad because the scheme is now closed to new applications (of 28 April 2011).

If you purchase a home that has been receiving the 60c credit, you default to the 20c credit – lucky you - for now!
Where’s the incentive to connect to the grid now?

“Customers are still able to connect new systems to the electricity grid without participating in the Solar Bonus Scheme. Those customers may wish to install net metering, to reduce their electricity bills. A number of energy retailers also offer separate financial incentives for customers with solar panels.”  Solar Bonus Scheme FAQs
Some are offering as much as 6c credit – woohooo!

What good is Solar?

Anyway, my point is that when the power is cut for any reason, even if it happens in the middle of the day when the sun is lighting up your solar panels, you lose your power supply along with everyone else – even your neighbours who don’t have solar. So the point of having solar power is what? To make money – or to save money on your power bills? Sounds stupid now in the light of all that is happening – frequent power outages due to overloaded systems, wild weather, solar flare threats, global economy collapse and the offer of 6c per kilowatt hour credit.

Get Off

Of course it is possible to have your solar system wired separately from the grid by using batteries to store power. This is called an “off-grid” system. You still need the inverter to run your appliances and lighting but as long as you have stored power in your batteries, you get to use your appliances at night and when the grid is down. Makes sense doesn’t it?

Off-Grid DC

Another option is to forget about using an inverter and stick to DC powered products. Solar panels produce DC (Direct Current) and inverters change it to AC (Alternating Current). Led lights use DC but most appliances are designed to run on AC. You can get DC appliances – everything from TVs to fridges and they’re more affordable than you think. DC power is safer and inverters cost money and have a warranty of just 5 years. Read earlier GBLOG (EMF & ACDC)

Living off-grid has many advantages – getting out from under the utility companies’ control is the biggie.