I'm happy to say that the first bill just arrived today for electricity consumption (we don't have any gas so this is our total energy). Actually it shouldn't be called a bill, it's more of a wage slip. ;O)
I won't mention the energy retailer as I know the forum has had a few ads lately, but it's one of the payout ones. I'm in Vic by the way, so it's a net FiT...
In a nutshell, here's the figures :
Service charge : $59.77
Peak use : 214kw/h @ 22.29c per kw/h - $47.99
Off-peak use : 164kw/h @ 8.75c per kw/h - $14.45
Green energy tariff (100% wind) : 378kw/h @ 5c per kw/h - $18.90
Total costs : $141.11
Exported solar electricity : 507kw/h @ 66c per kw/h - $334.62
Total net : $193.51 payment.
We produced an average of 8.36kw/h per day, and exported an average of 6.2kw/h per day. We imported an average of 4.71kw/h per day, for an average total consumption of 6.86kw/h per day and an average net consumption of -1.51kw/h per day.
It's important to note that the actual figure is even better than $193.51, because as most here will know the average Australian households spend approximately $400 per quarter on energy ($250 on electricity and $150 on gas). This means the house is in fact $593.51 cheaper to live for this 'billing' period than in than the average house next door.
At this rate the 1.4kw system will pay itself off within 4 years, and will save/earn real money for a long time after that. Not to mention the carbon savings and contributing to supporting the renewable energy industry.
Oh one other thing - the service charge HAS gone up, and the peak rate has also gone up, but I feel that's a very reasonable compromise for not needing to buy/live with/maintain a battery bank.
Yep I'm very happy with it. Anyone else got good-news PV stories?