Solar for all
Solar for all
Release: Doubling rooftop solar to reduce bills & emissions
This is a fantastic initiative. Hopefully all parties subscribe to this.
It's win win for all involved. Only power companies would be against this.
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Putting solar panels on the roof of a building that is empty during the day, and in use at night is exactly the type of thinking I'd expect from Labour.
We should be putting it on the roofs of businesses, because they're there during the day
The policy says the rebate is for a battery as well. However I prefer the Greens policy that goes even further than Labour's.
And let's be honest, we already know the power companies and businesses do not pass on savings to the consumer and will just keep it all to boost profits. I would much rather solar directly benefits households, no matter how little it may be.
The policy says the rebate is for a battery as well.
How very environmentally friendly, the process to make any battery is absolutely filthy.
It's far better to use that power as it's made, or use something like grid scale pumped hydro.
It's slowly improving and will only get better with the popularity of EV's. Even LiFePO4 batteries are considered much more environmentally friendly than previous tech. I got a quote a few months ago for solar + battery and that already included LiFePO4 battery storage.
The tech won't improve unless there's uptake and demand, which is starting to increase now. Australia has had subsidies for solar installation for a while now and costs for rooftop PV there are some of the lowest.
It's up to you if you want to trust the power companies, but in the 5 or so years of living in this house our power prices have only ever increased.
Still far from ideal from an environmental perspective, when the alternative is the power being used in the same building that is generating it.
I just don't think this is a cost effective policy myself
Ideally we should incentivize both residential and commercial installations.
Ideally, yes. We certainly shouldn't be incentivising house batteries though.
Grid tied solar doesn't care if your home is empty while collecting sunlight. The grid will carry the power to areas of demand.
Yes, but the power company typically buys it from you at roughly half the price they sell it for, so a system that is offsetting power used on the premises is far more cost effective than one on an empty house.
There's also transmission losses to consider.
Put in a larger battery if you are interested in using site produced solar at unlit hours.
Those are expensive, and not particularly environmentally friendly either.
Less usually. Half the time it costs you to supply them with power. It's a rip off
There’s also transmission losses to consider.
This is hilarious. How far do you think power travels from a centralised generation plant?
Why do you think we step up the voltage as far as 220 thousand volts? You can lose a maximum of 5% of the nominal supply voltage between the switchboard and the load inside a building, and 7% from the point of supply to the load.
Transmission loss on low voltage is definitely not insignificant.
Both. Both is better. Also I use my power during the day. Lots of people do. Maybe you don't. Kool
I'm typically at work, yes.
Kool. Some work from home. So daytime solar would still be an advantage
I put solar in. It dropped my power bill about 40%.
Why you always argue we shouldn't do good things because it's not perfect is beyond me.
Solar on houses is good. Solar on houses and businesses is better. But just because the latter isn't happening right now is no reason to not do the former.
Agreed. I added solar when I moved to the Bay of Islands which has about the most expensive electricity rates in the country. I also work from home. It will pay for itself in 6 years at current electricity rates (which, some people tell me, are only going to get more expensive).
Unfortunately I'd need a battery to increase resilience against power cuts, and the maths doesn't add up for that yet, at least for me.
Nice!
Yes batteries are currently not really worth it at the prices we pay. I had 2 small batteries installed (IIRC they are 4kwh total), but they really add nothing. Slightly offset costs,but weren't worth it. I got a good price on them, however, so I'm not too upset, but in hindsight I wouldn't have added them.
I'm a big fan of centralised storage. Using excess generated power during the day on a pumped water storage system, or similar, and then returning it to the grid at night. I think the economies of scale make the most sense this way, and then buyback rates should be equal. That would require some radial overhauling of the current power landscape, however. If only the power companies hadn't been privatised back in the day, we would be in better shape then we are now.
My argument is there is a far better way of doing solar than what is being proposed, not that we shouldn't do it.
If you actually read and understood my comment, you'd know I'm advocating for solar on buildings that are using power during the day.
Sure, but there are other considerations. Many businesses do not have appropriate roofs, or are in shared buildings, or are surrounded by tall buildings so get little sunlight.
Also, just because you won't benefit doesn't mean others won't. Like I said, combining running washing etc during the day, keeping the house cool/warm for free during the day, and the buyback (small but significant) has dropped my power bill almost 40%.
I personally think residential solar is a great idea. I think commerical solar is a great idea. I'm happy with anyone adding solar to anything.
ETA: oh, and if you are in favour of solar, then I suggest you vote Labour or Greens. They are the only parties with concrete plans to increase solar uptake.
Have you done the numbers on how long it will take to pay this system off?
Yes, I have it somewhere. I think it was in the order of 10 years but I'd have to find the details to confirm that.
I didn't do it with the thinking of return on investment however. To me, it is an increase in property value, and a reduction in day-to-day costs which were big factors, and of course reducing my environmental impact.
I actually installed my panels in two stages. The second stage added 60% production, but cost slightly less than the initial 40% did. The costs are even less now. Couple that with input from the government, and the pay-off time would be much less if I installed it today with this policy in effect. Much more appealing to people whose main concern is strictly reducing costs.
I'm also a big fan of residential solar for redundancy and disaster resilience.