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Forum Index : Solar : Solar experiment
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| M Del Senior Member  Joined: 09/04/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 155 |
The smart meters have the ability to record in 5 minute blocks. For some reason the retailers seem unwilling to release the information in 5 min blocks to us plebs. Took me a little bit of work to get the info in hourly blocks on my electronic bill, then they changed their system and it's back to quarterly figures  .It would be easier to monitor yourself and modify behaviour to suit your useage. Mark |
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| Warpspeed Guru  Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
My energy supplier makes hourly blocks available via the internet. Wednesday was pretty typical, but Thursday was serious airconditioner weather, and after the sun set my grid consumption soared to just over 1Kw, so I could get a decent sleep. The upper curve with the blobs is the average household consumption in my suburb. You can see during daylight my grid consumption drops to zero 7am to 7pm, and at night there is not usually much running, only the refrigerator.  Cheers, Tony. |
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| Mulver Senior Member Joined: 27/02/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 160 |
Interesting! I have a meter like this. https://goo.gl/images/uFzjPb I don't get any kind of daily usage. It's all quarterly and only available after it's been read. Maybe it's a dumb smart meter !! |
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| Dazza123 Newbie  Joined: 03/11/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 34 |
as in buy and have installed a commercial system or just fly under the radar. I currently have disc meter and can do as I please ;) have been advised by supplier that in the near future all meters will be changed over to smart meters and wish to be prepared. Warpspeeds system/idea complies with all laws as its not directly connected to the grid any more than a fridge is, but gives the convenience of the grid, its simply brilliant. . This is what attracts me to his idea. |
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| Dazza123 Newbie Joined: 03/11/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 34 |
The beauty of your method is you are not Grid tie or back feeding and even if they worked out how you were doing it its not grid connected and they cant do a thing. the last part of your system that is connected to the grid is at the point your charger/transformer and diodes are connected via a plug just like every appliance in your house, after that point its all too bad for them. |
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Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
But would having a legitimate grid tie system be so bad, I don't know what rebates etc you get, if it broke even dollar wise then it may be worthwhile. What it would allow you to do is run everything off solar during times you have sufficient daylight. I am not trying to steer you in one direction or the other but it is worth considering all options. Once you get a smart meter you can be sure your power bills we go up without changing your usage. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Grid tie is only a good idea if the feed in tariff is high enough to offset your daily grid consumption. Whats the point of feeding back several times the energy you consume, and STILL get slugged with a massive power usage charge ? Cheers, Tony. |
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| Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
I agree that getting eff all back sucks, but everyone's power usage/rebates are different. All I am saying is do your homework before jumping in any direction. Getting your knickers in a twist because of a low rebate where live does not mean someone else is not going to be better off. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
That is certainly true. The problem is the rules keep changing, and always not in our favor. They keep reducing FIT and placing restrictions on how many panels you can install. Best to just go completely feral and fly below the radar. Cheers, Tony. |
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| Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
That's why I am off grid, they can stick the grid where the sun does not shine. Where I moving to the only service coming into the property is the road, I would like a fibre optic cable too but have to settle for fixed wireless NBN for now. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| Dazza123 Newbie Joined: 03/11/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 34 |
I have had a couple of quotes, the cheaper ones are fine apart from the fine print that makes the quote useless and allows them to charge what ever they like. It was for a 5kw system with what amounts to no name panels and a cheap inverter at around $4k I would give it a go if the quote didnt have so many catches that made it useless with two pages of very fine print that I had to zoom in on at 300% on a 32' screen to even be able to read it. The next quote was for a quality system at $7.5k the best FIT here is AGL at .16c normal useage here during day light hours (solar producing) is around 5kw and night time about 8 kw for a total of 13kw. That has been blown out of the water the last few days with 40+ temps here and doubled to 21kw a day I would be happy with taking the edge of the bills by covering my day time usage with solar. |
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Revlac Guru Joined: 31/12/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1024 |
Well I'm feral Then.  Have been running the the 2 air cons most days now and the bore pump for the garden, thats just over 2kw all day on that alone , easy off grid stuff the grid. You will find that you will use a lot more power if the power is yours. Taking the edge off the bills is how i started, it just nice not getting a big bill, or better, no bill. Cheers Aaron Cheers Aaron Off The Grid |
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| Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
If you work out what you will save during daylight hours plus a little extra FIT will it pay for itself. Also keep in mind power bills are not going down. If a grid tie system pays it's way then it is the easiest way to take advantage of solar. A 5 KW system would easily make more than that 21 KW on a hot day and it will power your AC and whatever else you have running within reason. Here is another under the radar solution, I have a Zeversolar 5KW GTI that can be connected to an energy meter and setup so that it will not export power. It will just run everything it can with the available sun, any extra and it throttles back. I am sure there other brands that have something similar also. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
Ain't that the truth. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| Phil23 Guru Joined: 27/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1664 |
Reading with interest.... I'm still progressing with the Hybrid up in the "Shed". It's now got 13 of the 15 panels I picked up attached. Slowly moving load to it. Output is peaking at about 2300W between around midday thru to 4. Total output for the past week has sat at around the 17kwh per day mark. Still on old disc meters here, & the last bill showed a daily average of 59kwh/day. Did have an eye roll when the $1690 rolled in, a reduction of 2.47% in usage, while the amount to be paid increased by 34.6%. Phil. |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
[quote]Did have an eye roll when the $1690 rolled in, a reduction of 2.47% in usage, while the amount to be paid increased by 34.6%.[/quote] Ah, the management and shareholders of the power utilities expect and DEMAND that profit increases every single year. Its in their business plan so it must happen. They really deserve their bonuses. Cheers, Tony. |
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| George65 Guru Joined: 18/09/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 308 |
I have at the moment 30 panels in total. 7 Kw total. Bought another 16 last weekend and another 16 to pick up tomorrow.Done a deal with someone else in the same distant area but organising pickup may not work out so have to let them go. I have been getting around low 30's Most of this week from the 7kw, did 34 today. Highest has been 36. Was a partially cloudy day too. Cloud edge effect. I hooked up 7 of the other 16 panels I bought temporarily through the week and got a high of 44Kwh which was great. I have 7 KW now and another 7 To go up. If I get the other array that will be another 2kw. Shed is pretty much covered already so starting on house now. Probably could get 20 Kw up without much trouble. Inverter location will be more difficult than panel space. Me too and going feral and milking them for all they are worth. I spin them backwards through the day and use the power I have " banked" at night, on cloudy/ dull days and most of all on hot days running the AC. It's the best possible scenario with a 1:1 return. I want to have enough generation so I can heat with the AC in the lower radiation winter months and still be paying a minimal power bill. In summer, I can either run the AC to my hearts content or switch off an array so I don't go negative. What a lovely problem to have! I don't understand how so many other people can have such low consumption as that they say. Maybe being out all day has a lot to do with it but working from home does bump up the power you use I suppose. $1200 round here seems very normal. I put my panels up half way through the last cycle and paid half what I would have expected otherwise. This whole FIT of something like .6 -15C for what you generate and .30+C for what you use is Complete and Utter BS. Really shows the commitment to all this green motivated save the planet mindset as pure and utter hype. If gubbermints were not in bed with teh big biz power companies you could put up all the panels you like and they would pay you a 1:1 rate because they could be buying it from you, selling it to the person next door and not having to generate it and send it to your neighbour with all the associated losses. I'd wear something like 25c in, 30 C out but they are too damn greedy and as said, always chasing profit and to get the most out of their Victim...... errr,,,, Customers. When they come take my spinny meters away, which they will sooner rather than later in their profit harvest cost cutting fixation, I'll have to assess what I'm going to do. At least if I have plenty of generation set up I'll be that much prepared in advance. Couple that to 6 KW waste oil fueled generator with auto start on the voltage and current sensing and I might be OK with batteries when the time comes. |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
[quote]I don't understand how so many other people can have such low consumption as that they say. Maybe being out all day has a lot to do with it but working from home does bump up the power you use I suppose. [/quote] I cut my consumption by more than half by simply doing a power audit, and replacing inefficient appliances with something better. Out with the old fridge, my CRT computer monitor, and all my 60 watt fluorescent tubes. I modified other things such as my garage door opener, and tumble dryer (which is now heated by natural gas). I use gas for heating, hot water, and cooking. And being retired I am home all day. Here are the numbers from my smart meter right up to this very minute. About 100 watts at night typical, and almost nothing during the day. If its cloudy sometimes just a tiny bit during the day like yesterday. At this time of year its about 50 watts average per day {1.2Kwh)  Cheers, Tony. |
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| Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
It costs 4 cents per KWH to generate power in a coal-fired power station, that is why the FIT is so low, they won't pay you 30 cents when they can make it for 4 cents. Someone had to pay for the poles and wires too. Here there were FITs up to 55 cents, that was to get the solar industry started. Now it is back to reality and whatever conspiracy theories you may have no business is going to you more for something they can buy elsewhere for less if they can. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| George65 Guru Joined: 18/09/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 308 |
Of Course! Once again, I'm an Idiot! I'm ALL electric. No natural gas here and bottled gas is more exy than electricity ( especially for me now) so that goes a long way to explaining it. The double ovens and the stove were pulling over 5KW when the Mrs was using them at Christmas. Not used all the time obviously but she does like her ovens. We have 2 Fridges and a little bar fridge, Multiple large TV's, and a biocycle which runs a large air pump, 70W non stop and then has a 2Hp pump for the discharge which kicks in several times a day. The bill for that in the month we bought the place but hadn't moved in was $130. I'm counting on the AC to heat the place in winter as that is the cheapest and most efficient heating anyway. Whilever I have spiny meters, the cheapest thing for me will be back feeding and using electric. I would like to be able to back feed the electronic metered phase but it seems well over my head to do. Supposed to be 42 here again today and that's another reason our consumption is what it is. In the city, supposed to be 30. That difference makes a big difference to the amount of power you need to put into the AC to keep the place liveable let alone cool. I'll have to wire up the sensors I bought for the solar inverter. Going to put them on so when they get to 40o it kicks in a fan blowing down the heat sink to try and keep the things at a temp you can put your hand on. I don't like Hot electronics, especially not as hot as those things get inside the shed in the shade. |
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