Solar and battery system - 1 year later

[lmo0880]

@djwhalen Have you thought about replacing your gas cooktop with an induction stove? Way more efficient and you'll be using your solar to power it.

 

[hello]

@lmo0880

Whilst I agree this could be good if they started off with buying one when they first built the house, but to drop say ~$1,500 on a decent cooktop plus install and then its consumption I doubt it would be that financially beneficial.

The best benefit probably is less swapping tanks over as I know that hassle always comes at the wrong time!

 

[mrzaguilar777]

@djwhalen Great to see the numbers! Have you considered going with Amber for the feed in? They seem best if you have a battery. 12c is a pretty good fixed feed in, however!

 

[graceelaaaa]

@mrzaguilar777 I don' think they support this inverter+battery combination yet.

 

[mrzaguilar777]

@graceelaaaa Oh yeah that would make sense, when I was enquiring they just had LG, Tesla and a couple of others

 

[djwhalen]

@mrzaguilar777 Not particularly interested in Amber, or any VPP for that matter.
I can understand the appeal of a high feed in tariff during peak periods, but it's not for me.

 

[mrzaguilar777]

@djwhalen Sure thing, can I ask why? I get 44c feed in that I’ll lose if I get a battery, but that runs out in a couple of years so have been doing research on batteries/VPPs and if there’s something I’ve missed would love to hear it.

Some of the VPPs do sound terrible (Tesla is a good example) as they drain your battery when it’s best for them and leave you to go back to the grid.

 

[djwhalen]

@mrzaguilar777 QLD solar bonus 44c feed in tariff goes until 2028 my friend

As for reasons for not wanting to go onto a VPP scheme, it's pretty simple: I'd rather try and maintain electricity self sufficiency instead of draining my battery for a few dollars extra and then having to buy it back later.

 

[mrzaguilar777]

@djwhalen Ah I’m in SA so think it’s 2026 here i can’t upgrade my 6.6 or get a battery so getting limited value out of it! Ah yeah that makes sense!

 

[djwhalen]

@mrzaguilar777 TIL: SA also had a 44c scheme
Did you connect before September 2011?
https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/energy-and-environment/energy-bills/solar-feed-in-payments

 

[mrzaguilar777]

@djwhalen Oh just realised it’s 2028 too, jackpot! Don’t know where I got 2026 from! The old owners did around then. I only realised a few months ago when I moved in and wondered why I was getting so much for my exports lol.

 

[ttmarlene]

@djwhalen Am heading down the BYD route & already use Fronius, thanks for the info!

 

[graceelaaaa]

@djwhalen I'm looking at getting pretty much this exact setup (20kW w/ three phase, fronius gen24+standard+byd) in the next few months. Have you been happy with it overall, or wish you'd designed it differently in any way? Anything I should know before pulling the trigger?

 

[djwhalen]

@graceelaaaa The only thing I would do different is change the position of the inverter. Currently my inverter is sitting above the battery which means I cannot just add another battery module to increase capacity as there isn't enough space to maintain minimum clearances between them. So be aware of space required if you plan on adding additional modules later.

Maybe also allow for hardwiring for internet access? Ours is running wirelessly and has lost the internet connection maybe 5 times since installation, which needed to reboot the inverter to restore the wireless connection.

I am interested in seeing current pricing on your system though!

 

[graceelaaaa]

@djwhalen Excellent, thanks, the inverter position is a great tip. I have a quote for $32k for the whole system, though we will see if they change that as they understand my site specific challenges (though I don’t think there’s much). I do plan to run an Ethernet cable for it.

 

[kileycallaway]

@djwhalen based on my math you have about 6 year payback period based on your credit here of just over $900 this is not bad and a good investment on your behalf. I work in renewables for the past 6+ years now, I have a 13.28kw system on single phase using a Goodwe 10Kw MS series 3 string inverter and am about 4-500 a quarter in credit. I won’t get a battery just yet though as I’m enjoying getting free council rates from my feed-in tariffs.

 

[jennym1981]

@djwhalen We have a 16kw on the roof and currently evaluating how much we export to see if it's worth getting a battery - we have the AC on 22/7, 3ph ducted system, SEQLD as well