CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Tim in Phoenix · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 2252 Location: Phoenix

Guys!

Anyone? Tell your story. Hum bars, noise, money savings not what you were promised?

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CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 1971 Location: QLD, Australia

I do.

2.66kW system, Xantrex inverter.

It is not an issue, and nor should it be. Power from the panels is DC, and if you use a decent quality inverter, there will be no noise from it.

Where i live on the east cost of Australia, we had more than 8 months of total sh*t weather here, and i didnt have to pay for any electricity the whole time. In winter, my energy consumption is up abit due to the solar hotwater system being shaded by the tall trees all around my land, and my energy production is down due to the same reason.

I paid $6,719 Australian Dollars for the whole lot installed over 18 months ago, so it was a fair outlay, but since then, i have not paid for power, and im in credit with the company i buy my power through.

It wont have any effect on your setup, unless its a rough as guts cheap sh*t install, which i dont think you have, and i doubt youd blow the money on a cheap sh*t install for solar either.

Gerbrand · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 196

My HT is in the attic and the solar pannels (3.3 kWp) are right overhead. No hums, noise, etc. whatsoever. It even keeps the HT a bit cooler.

Actual savings depend a lot on the local electricitiy price and the amount of sun light. Over here (Netherlands) I earn my investment back in about 10 years.

Gerbrand

Tim in Phoenix · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 2252 Location: Phoenix

Guys

No shortage of sunshine here! And I have a big a$$ed air conditioner that needs 30 amps of 220v to cool the place. My power bill in July and August can nudge $200, so solar is worth a look here.

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**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:08 pm Post subject:

Hey, screw all you guys with too much sunshine. Now, if they'd make a water powered system that worked off the rain pouring into our gutters here in the NW, THEN we'd be talkin'! Wink

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 1971 Location: QLD, Australia

If youre saying $200 for 2 months with that sort of consumption you should consider yourself very lucky my friend, in Australia we pay alot more for electricity than that.

It is 22 cents per kWh here, in my house i consume around 3 to 5 kilowatt hours per day, and that is a very efficient house, some of that consumption is due to my onsite waste water treatment system.

At this time of the year with the roof spending most of the day in shade, i make about 3.5 kWh a day from the solar, and the company pays me 52 cents per kWh for what i dont use. I have 3 phase power on here, so almost all of my produced power goes back into the grid and i get paid for it.

During summer, i make around 10 to 14 kWh a day, it gets off to a late start due to large trees on the eastern side of my house. In the summer months, i make a fair profit, which in winter is mostly used up, and over the course of 12 months, i come out ahead, having not paid any further power costs.

If that A/C is hooked up to a 30 amp supply, that is max load, and it will rarely pull that, probably only for a few seconds when the compressor kicks in, or the big fan in your air handler unit starts up.

You may want to look very seriously about quality insulation for your roof space, as this may help reduce the load on the A/C system.

How much are you being quoted for solar?? How big is the system? What brand are the inverter and panels? The last 2 questions there are quite vitally important!! Smile

Tim in Phoenix · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 2252 Location: Phoenix

Hello

The sales rep is visiting next week, so I do not have the equipment details just yet. Cannot insulate the roof any further as it is flat with no access from up top or below, a 12 inch attic space.

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zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 1796 Location: Cloverdale

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:11 pm Post subject:

Believe it or not, I did that as a kid. There was a rainwater runoff in the creek by the ravine at the side of our house, and I did just that, a tiny motor with a waterwheel on it. Ran a wire into my bedroom with a #47 light attached to it.

Yes. that has NERD stamped all over it. Smile

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 1796 Location: Cloverdale

righteous!!

drice1234 · Joined: 07 Oct 2006 Posts: 1310 Location: Allen, Texas

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 3919 Location: Comedy Central

What Drice said on power bill. I think mine is going to approach $300 in the summer months.

Gerbrand · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 196

Current prizes for panels are about $3 / Wp. They have come down from around $ 5. Add around $1.5 k for the inverter. So a 3 kWp system would cost you around $10500. My system covers around 80% of my electricity use.

Gerbrand

stefuel · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:54 pm Post subject:

If you live in Vancouver you won't need solar.
When the Bruins take home the cup tonight, there'll be enough (Vancouver fan) steam generated to light the city
for a month Laughing

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 1971 Location: QLD, Australia

cinema mad · Joined: 25 Nov 2009 Posts: 219

Aussies are currently eligible for a goverment Solar Power Rebate, It subsides the cost of installing a Solar Power System
at least in most states such as victoria.. So there is A fair insentive for Australians to go Solar & is starting to become popular over here..

http://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar-rebates-explained.html?gclid=CMaO29XTv6kCFY4NHAodlzj2eg

Jase..

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 3919 Location: Comedy Central

cinema,
The US has pretty good rebates as well.
http://www.fpl.com/landing/solar_rebate/index.shtml?cid=aliassolarrebates

Even though I believe in the free market, I wonder if for the good of society that there was a way to get solar installed cheaply for the middle class in the US. There is a government works program for Obama. Smile

case,
The US and Aussie dollar are about equal. I would expect prices to be roughly similar.

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 1971 Location: QLD, Australia

No mate, i wouldnt. Your stuff there is WAY cheaper when your dollar is up. Our prices havent gone down at all when our dollar went up.

Peterpeters · Joined: 20 Jun 2011 Posts: 1

Usually the return on investment time frame on a home solar power installation is approx 3 years. The only way you can get a faster return on investment time frame is if your local government has a solar power rebate given to you, and this can sometimes get your return on investment cut by half. I know there have been some great government rebates on solar the past 10 years, but they are starting to cut them back down. Also, its not only the solar cells cost that is the trouble, its also the installation of the system and all the other components such as the inverters, wiring, and the labor to hire a certified electrician. But as the costs are coming down every year, its always looking good.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 7098 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Three years!?!? You have different economics than we do. Take a look at e.g. this site -- it's an actual quote for a 5.4kW system in the San Francisco Bay Area. It cost $22,725 AFTER all rebates and incentives, and the owner is going to save about $885 per year in energy costs. The site claims that means a payoff of about 13 years, but last I checked 22725 / 885 = over TWENTY-FIVE year payoff. But either way it's nowhere near three years. Here is another quote that specifies roughly a 15-yr payoff.

If solar panels paid off in 3 years, we wouldn't need incentives. Without incentives they'd pay back in 4-5 years, and the solar installers would be swamped.