Grid Connect Solar

[artme]

How many members have had these systems installed and how do you rate them for money saving?

Amate of mine says that tsome people in the building industry are not impressed, and tis includes electricians.

So, some thoughts please.

[powderpost]

G'day Artme,
We are about to go ahead with a solar grid system. My first thought was no, I am almost 70 and we have a 6 acre rural block that takes a fair bit of maintenance. Not to sure we would get full value from the system. The Rep did the calcs and suggested it would take about 7 years to recoup the expense. We then considered the pending rise in power cost, and we are about to install air conditioning in the lounge area.
We travel a fair bit and the system will generate income, albeit a small one. It was hard to convert all this into a dollar value to make a rational decision. Then we considered the resale value and the emotional value of "Your own power supply", plus the desire by a lot of people "To help the environment". So for better or worse we bit the bullet.
Another interesting issue was, like computers, the technology most probably improve, but some body has to be the guinea pig? Time will tell..
Jim

[Harry72]

You need a fairly large system just to support a small house to cut out the power bills completely.
We worked out for our current usage(18kwh average) we would need a 6Kw system, we wouldn't get any change from $50k even with the REC's, and this wouldn't fit on the average house either(not without compromises). But we are lucky as we have 10ac of land to play with... if we go ahead

[artme]

Thanks for the replies fellas.


I had done Some searching on the net before I posed this question.
Generally what people say is pretty much in line with what you have both said.

We intend to eventually sell up and move house so one thought was the resale value of the property. It may not add much value but it will make the place easier to sell.