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.
| Average Daily Solar Power Production In Brisbane | ||||
| 1.5KW SYSTEM | 2KW SYSTEM | 3KW SYSTEM | 5KW SYSTEM | 10KW SYSTEM |
| 6.3KWH | 8.4KWH | 12.6KWH | 21KWH | 42KWH |
- 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:
- 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.
- 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 .
- 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?
With the election win over the weekend by the LNP and Campbell Newman to become the next Queensland Premier, how will this impact the solar industry and in particular the Queensland Government solar bonus scheme which currently offers the highest feed in tariff in Australia at 44cents / kwh. As discussed above , this excellent feed in tariff effectively helps to pay your Brisbane solar power system off relatively quickly and can generate a credit from your electricity provider. The N.S.W experience when the Labor Government lost power (to the N.S.W. Liberal party) was not good for solar power and the solar industry in general. Effectively the feed in tariff was abolished by the new Government (the scheme is currently under ‘review’ , with a report on what is considered to be a ‘fair’ feed in tariff to be released in April 2012). So far the outlook for the solar industry and home owners in Brisbane looking to install a solar panels system seems more favorable with the new Queensland treasurer Tim Nichols outlining cuts to the Queensland Governments carbon schemes to offer savings of $650 million over 3 years, but it was reported that the Queensland solar feed in tariff is to stay. Whilst we all know that politicians regularly change their mind this, on the face of it seems good news for Brisbane residents contemplating a solar power system.
Solar Panels Brisbane – Queensland’s current Solar Bonus Scheme Key Points Reiterated:
1. A 44 cent per kilo watt hour (kwh) nett feed in tariff . This means all excess solar electricity that your solar system produces that is not used within your home and is fed back onto the electricity grid will be credited to you at this 44c/kwh rate.
2. The scheme ends on the 1st July 2028 ( we view this as an excellent time period for Brisbane solar power system owners)
3. Note, as mentioned above this feed in tariff is applicable to solar panel systems that are 5kW or less per premises.
Ok , so for the time being Solar power in Brisbane still looks worthy of consideration. Remember, if you are thinking about installing a solar PV system keep in mind that after 1 July 2012 the Commonwealth Governments’ ‘Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme’ which reduces your ‘up front’ cost of installing solar panels in Brisbane will decrease, so expect price increases in solar panels systems in Brisbane after 1 July this year.
As mentioned above you can easily access 3 Brisbane solar power quotations for your home from Clean Energy Council (C.E.C.) Brisbane solar panel installation companies totally without obligation- click here : solar quotes Brisbane
1.5KW, 3KW, 4KW or 5KW – What sized Solar System is best for your Situation?
There are several factors to thinks about when looking at which size solar system may be suitable for your home.
1. You obviously need sufficient North facing roof to accommodate the number of solar panels for each sized system.As a rough rule of thumb you can work off around 10 square metres of roof space per Kilowatt of installed solar panels – why is this? Well in ideal situation (correct orientation etc) , the sun radiates approximately 1KW per square metre of energy or 10KW for 10 square metres. Given an average ‘efficiency’ for solar panels used in Brisbane (eg Suntch etc) of around 15 percent efficiency 10KW of panels would produce 1.5KW of solar power – this is for an ideal pitch / orientation and no losses in the system – so 1KW per 10 square metres of solar panels is a “reasonable” approximation.
So using this calculation , you would need approximately 15m2 for a 1.5KW systems, 30m2 for a 3KW system , 40m2 for a 4KW solar system and around 50m2 for a 5KW system. The solar installation company should be able to assess the amount of ‘suitable ‘ roof space (in terms of pitch, orientation, shading, access etc). We recommend an on site inspection of your property by the installer, though many companies use google maps to try and assess your roof for placement of solar panels)
2. Ok, if you work from a very conservative figure of 4 hours per day electricity production from your solar panels you get the following power production per day per systems:
1.5KW= 6KWH, 3KW= 12KWH, 4KW= 16KWH 5KW=20KWH
3. Check your power bill and see what your daily electricity usage is – if it is, say 20KWH per day then a 5KW should eliminate your power bill completely..read on though..
4. Important Caveat – In Queensland, with the 44 cent feed tariff , any excess electricity, that is, power produced by your solar system that is NOT used by your home (say you are out at work most of the day and do not have a high electricity usage during daylight hours), attracts the 44 cent rate, roughly twice what you pay for power. So actually, in the above example a 5KW system would more than cover your power bill and a smaller system (a 3 or 4KW system) would probably be sufficient.
5. As you can see there are many ‘variables’ in determining what size system to look at. Your household electricity consumption pattern is an important factor when the feed tariff is as good as it currently is in Queensland. It is actually beneficial to use as little power in your home during the day and ‘export’ as much of your solar power back onto the grid , so you get credited for this 44 cent rate – interesting isn’t it?
Hopefully, with a little ‘background’ information about solar in Brisbane you can make a more informed decision.
Access 3 Brisbane solar power quotations for your home from Clean Energy Council (C.E.C.) Brisbane solar panel installation companies totally without obligation- Complete the form above or click here : solar quotes Brisbane