Hi we are getting to the stage where we have to decide which way to go with the power supply on our new house.
we had the tasnetwork guy come out to the block and run thought it withh us regarding getting power to the block, he thinks about $15 grand but will get back to us with a quote soon.
We are keen on solar with battery but the costs seems to high still. Anyone got ideas?
Its a 3 bed brick veneer,double glazed, with hydronic wood powered boiler and radiators for heating.
Huon Valley and seem there are a few power outages at times. Only 2 people living at house most times.Just undecided which way to go and the most cost efficent way as well.
cheers
Lorri
Solar in Tasmania?
(6 posts) (5 voices)-
lorri
MemberPosted Monday 3 Apr 2017 @ 1:46:16 am from IP # -
Lance
Key MasterFirst thing to do is to calculate your energy use, you can't make a decision without knowing that, as usage will determine system size and hence cost. Sounds like your energy use should be pretty low though. I assume hot water is also coming from the wood heater? How about water heating in summer?
Posted Monday 3 Apr 2017 @ 2:57:15 am from IP # -
Morbo
Member15K just for grid connection? This would buy you a better quality 1/5kW PC and a battery pack already.
But 1st of all, you need your daily energy consumption and hourly insolation data.
I got 1.5kW and on average 4kWh per day. But that on its own is meaningless. In summer the PV does 10kWh per day, but even then in cloudy melbourne mid summer I got less than 2 kWh some days. In winter it could be several days of 1.5kWh per day. But consumption could be 7kWh or so, cloudy day, SHW tank empty and baking bread. So you need all that data, what would be your worst generation, your worst consumption and from there set up the system. A generator for a few 100 bucks might be thinkable for worst case just run for a few hrs, cheaper than overkill the PV and/or battery pack.Posted Monday 3 Apr 2017 @ 5:08:02 am from IP # -
moblet
MemberSome things to consider (apart from the already-mentioned quantifying your usage):
- Beyond the $15K cost of connecting to the grid, what will your quarterly network access charge be? I know someone with several hundred metres of poleage across their property who gets charged $300 a quarter, but I don't know how much of that access charge is due to the poleage on their property and how much is due to being in an area with a low density of customers.
- If you are reliant on solar panels and batteries I'd expect you to need to run a small generator for maybe 30-60 minutes many days in winter (presuming other arrangements are made for your water and space heating) because of lack of sunshine. I know someone in NW Tas who needs to do this. If your system can even half-survive winter then summer will be a cakewalk.
- If I was taking the off-grid route I would specify the PV system to have excess panels at different orientations to make the most of whatever sunshine appeared whenever it appeared.
- How much inconvenience will the local power outages generally cause you? Are they usually fixed within a few hours?
- Can you find anyone else in the area who is off the grid?
- If your space and water heating would not be served by the grid then unless you're engaging in semi-industrial activity your electricity demand will likely be fairly low, which means you won't get a great return on your $15K connection cost and your access charge will exceed your consumption charges. It also means that you shouldn't need a massive off-grid system unless you're aiming to get through winter without ever running a generator.Posted Tuesday 4 Apr 2017 @ 3:48:11 am from IP # -
Morbo
Membernetwork access charge are more than $1 per day, rising 10% pA. That means doubling every 6 years. So will power costs. So it won't take long until you save big times.
Just put lots of panels steep angles. Get solar hot water, or gas, or wood fired. This is 2nd biggest energy consumer. 1st is heating/cooling. 3 cooking 4 light, 5 fridge
Go LED lights. Fridge runs less in winter, so that helps.Posted Wednesday 5 Apr 2017 @ 5:09:17 am from IP #
