Solar Power As An Investment

Apart from considering solar power for your Brisbane home  from the perspective of the benefits of lower electricity bills and reducing your carbon footprint it is interesting to note that the financial benefits are increasingly becoming an added consideration in deciding to install a solar power system. From purely an investment point of view solar power installed in your Brisbane home can possibly offer;

• A 3 percent increased value in your property . Figures from the U.S. and particularly California have indicated that , on average , properties with home solar power systems installed fetch a 3 percent price premium .
• The Australian Financial review has reported that for States such as Queensland that offer a high feed in tariff like the 44 cents available to Brisbane solar panel system owners , that the return on investment of the initial cost of the solar power system (which is subsidised by the Federal government) , over the life of the system (working on 25 years) is greater than the long term average stock market return . As electricity prices increase this ‘effective return’ increases as the value of the solar electricity produced by your Brisbane solar panel system increases .
• As with all investments there are risks. For example what if the Queensland State Government cuts the feed in tariff as they did in N.S.W. where it is now zero. However , even in this case the solar power system will still reduce your electricity bill. Given it is very likely that electricity prices will rise in coming years , this minimises risks associated with a reduced feed in tariff.

Click here to get 3 no obligation solar power quotes from Clean Energy Council Accredited  Brisbane solar power companies.

The Brisbane solar panel market is booming due to a combination of 3 factors;

1. Federal Government solar power rebate. The initial installation cost of the solar power system is subsidized by the Federal Government. This rebate drops each year so potential Brisbane solar power customers are looking to lock in these subsides now
2. As discussed on the solar panels Brisbane home page , the Queensland State Government 44 cent feed in tariff . Brisbane solar panel owners effectively get paid twice as much for solar electricity that they feed back onto the grid than they pay.
3. Concerns that the carbon tax will push electricity prices up over the next decade in Australia.

Solar Energy Advantages

• With the Brisbane and Queensland solar feed in tariff , the solar panels system will pay itself off quickly and/or reduce you power bills
• Solar Panel systems are ‘passive’- that is they have no moving parts . Solar Panels should produce solar electricity for at leat 25 years (most Brisbane solar installation companies offer a 25 electrical warranty on the electrical output of the solar panels , specifically that the solar panels will produce 80 percent of their rated output after 25 years.
• Solar power systems are remarkably low maintenance systems. You should not have to pay a lot of money over the years in maintaining your solar system. (Occasional cleaning of the panels if a dust storm etc hits)
• Help reduce carbon emissions from coal fired power stations.
• Solar energy systems are basically very simple. There is little to go wrong provided solar installers do a competent job and quality components (solar panels , solar inverter , wiring and quality installation)
• If you have enough roof space , solar panel systems in Brisbane complement solar hot water systems . With other household energy efficiency measures such as home insulation , L.E.D lighting and solar airconditioning you can achieve energy self sufficiency. Many Brisbane homes already are.

As discussed on the solar panels Brisbane homepage the pricing on solar power systems offered by Brisbane solar installers is generally offered in 2 or 3 tiers of pricing as they try and cater for Brisbane solar power customers who may be buying on price and another group who are buying on specification and performance. We strongly recommend adding these requirements to your Brisbane solar power system requirements list:

• Establish if an extended inverter warranty is available. Partcularly on 3KW solar power systems and above , a solar inverter failure , when out of warranty can be a very expensive solar component to replace. Frankly, many ‘low end’ Chinese manufactured inverters have had a very high failure rate , certainly NOT all , some are excellent . Our advice is ,that for the larger systems , 3KW and above , go for a quality inverter , SMA , Eaton etc .
• See if the Brisbane solar installers you are talking to offer an extended warranty on their installation . Some solar companies in Brisbane offer a one year solar installation warranty whilst a few offer up to 10 years!

• 1.5W           $2400 -$4990
• 2KW           $4800- $7990
• 2.5KW       $7100-$9990
• 3KW           $7500-$11990
• 5KW           $14900-$17500

• Ensure that you check if the solar meter is included in the quotation. A small number of Brisbane solar installation companies are offering 10 year warranties on installation (as opposed to the inverter and solar panel warranty).The standard is 5 years so it is worth enquiring about.

Get 3 No obligation Solar Power Quotes From Brisbane solar panel installation companies

Solar Panels Brisbane

Thank you for visiting the Solar Panels Brisbane web site. We have over 20 years experience in the Australian electronics and electrical market and offer independent information about renewable energy ,solar power systems ,the latest updates on the Queensland and Federal Government solar rebates and feed in tariffs.You can get easy access to 3 solar power quotations for your home from Clean Energy Council (C.E.C.) Brisbane solar power installers – (totally obligation free), via the solar quotes form at the bottom of this page or the solar quotes Brisbane page or call Martin on 0466986046 for help ,advice or to arrange 3 solar panel quotations for you.  

 Update 6 May 2012 – Prices for solar installation in Brisbane will increase by up to $3000 from 1 July 2012 as the Federal Government solar credits scheme which subsidises your up front cost of a solar panels system installation decreases.  It may be prudent to take advantage of this current Federal Government rebate along with the very generous 44 cent Queensland feed in tariff while they are available. – Access 3 quotes from Brisbane Solar Power Installers here

Solar Panels Brisbane - Solar power calculator

Solar Panels Brisbane. If you propose to take advantage of  the current rebates for solar energy and the solar bonus scheme available to Brisbane home owners, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of a ‘solar calculator’ , to appraise your current electricity usage and have an idea of what size solar power system (1.5KW , 3KW solar system etc) you may require . Do this before considering cost of solar panels and the various solar deals on offer (more about this later!).

• Establish what your average daily electricity usage is-this is shown on your power bill. Obviously it varies from season to season , we just want an average. 16 to 20KWh is an average range in Australia but many households can use up to 50KWh power day!
• In Brisbane , on average ,solar panels produce power for 4.2 hours per day. The following table shows how much solar electricity different sized solar power systems will produced , on average , per day in Brisbane.

• So if you use , say , 20WKH of electricity per day , you will need around around a 5KWH solar power system , right? Wrong!  Well not necessarily… Because the current solar feed in tariff (solar rebate)  in Queensland is 44 cents per KWH , which is roughly twice what you currently pay for power , so if you were to feed ALL the so solar electricity back onto the electricity grid a 2KW solar system would just about eliminate your power bill!

• In reality your home will consume some of the solar power that your solar panels produce during the day. Because of the generous feed in tariff you may be better setting appliances like dishwashers ,clothes dryers ,washing machines etc to switch on later in the day when the solar panels are not producing power so you benefit most from feeding the maximum amount of solar energy back onto the electricity grid and being paid 44 cents per KWH as opposed to the 22 cents or so that you pay for power!

• So even a 2KW or 3KW solar panel will be very beneficial if you consume the ‘average’ Australian electricity usage of around 16 KWh per day. Solar energy advantages are magnified with the 44 cents feed in tariff currently available , hence Brisbane solar panel installation companies are very busy presently.

Solar Panels Brisbane – Solar Energy Quick Facts

•  Premium solar panel manufacturers include Sharp, Suntech, Schott, SunPower, Kyocera , Conergy .Premium IInverter manufacturers include SMA ,Eaton ,Xantrex ,Selectronic ,Sunnyboy etc
• Buying Considerations. A Solar power system should last for 25 years plus . Our view is that it is beneficial for you to use the best quality components -solar panels and solar inverter that you can afford and particularly components that have strong local representation should the solar company that does your Brisbane solar installation not be in business in years to come. At least this way , you have more chance of recourse should there be issues or failures with the inverter or solar panels. Warranties are only as good as the company that issues them so trying to stay with the most reputable ,long established brands may be worthwhile long term.
•  There are many solar energy advantages .Even on overcast or even rainy days ,solar panels generate some solar power, though obviously less than if the solar panels were in full sun. Solar panel efficiency varies from 14 percent to 19 percent . Some panels work better in low light (eg cloudy days) conditions. SunPower brand solar panels are up to 19 percent efficient (and claim to have the highest efficiency of any solar panels). If you have a small roof , for example , you can fit more wattage of solar panels into the same area with higher efficiency solar panels.
•  Solar Panels are generally warranted for 5 years mechanical and 25 years electrical output (generally guaranteed to output 80 percent of their rated electrical output after 25 years)
•  Optimum panel orientation is North although NNE or NNW are fine with around a 10 percent loss (from true north). Avoid shading onto your solar panels from trees , chimneys etc.
• Get everything in writing when requesting solar quotes , including expected solar electricity production , warranties offered on solar panels, solar inverter and the installation itself .Is the cost of the solar meter included in the solar quote? Are the solar installers C.E.C. accredited? Who pays for any damage to your home should that occur during the solar panels installation.
• Best angle for solar panels Brisbane ? The optimum angle is around 28 degrees which is close to the pitch of most roof’s. On a flat roof’ aluminium adjustable frames are used to ensure that the solar panels achieve the optimum angle.

Solar Panel Quotes Brisbane:

Complete This Form (Below) To Receive Three Solar Power System Quotes from experienced  C.E.C. Accredited Brisbane solar power installation companies ,who will contact you within 24 hours ,to arrange a time to visit you and discuss your Solar Power needs and arrange a no obligation quotation:

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 Solar Panels Brisbane – How Does Solar Power Work?

Solar Panels Brisbane-A home solar power system is actually quite simple and only has 3 major components:

1. The PV or photovoltaic solar panels . Your Brisbane solar installation company will install your solar panels onto your roof , generally via an aluminium frame which is attached to your roof . The solar panels are then mounted onto this aluminium frame.
2. The PV solar panels are wired together and the DC (direct current) solar electricity is then fed into the solar inverter . The solar inverter will be installed by your Brisbane solar installer generally somewhere in close proximity to your meter box. The inverter converts the DC electricity from your solar panels to the AC electricity that is required to power our household appliances .
3. Whatever solar electricity produced by our solar system that is not used by our household is fed back to the grid. The amount fed back to the grid is measured by the solar meter (shown as utility meter below) . You will be given a credit based on the number of KWH of power you feed back onto the grid times the ‘feed in tariff’ currently 44 cents per KWH in Brisbane and Queensland.

Get easy access to 3 solar power quotations for your home from Clean Energy Council (C.E.C.) Brisbane solar power installers – (totally no obligation)- click here : solar quotes Brisbane

Solar Panels Brisbane – Update 26 March 2012.  Will the new L.N.P. Queensland State Government Impact Solar Power in Brisbane?

Solar Panels Brisbane – Queensland’s current Solar Bonus Scheme Key Points Reiterated:

1.5KW, 3KW, 4KW or 5KW – What sized Solar System is best for your Situation?

Solar Panels Brisbane – Useful links 

Solar Panels Brisbane