More often than not, the first question most customers ask is how do I calculate my expected solar savings in Brisbane? When working out if solar is the right option for you then of course this is always going to be one of the most important factors influencing your decision.
There are 3 Key Factors for you to consider when calculating your expected solar savings:
- Ensuring you have a great routine around how you use your electricity, during the day and at night.
- Driving the hardest bargain from the Electricity Retailers to get the sharpest price for what you use and for what you sell (export).
- Installing a high quality system from a high quality solar installer.
Let us break this down a bit for you…
How much electricity are you able to use during the day while your solar system is producing?
This is important to you because of the price difference between what you are charged for your usage and what you get paid for your excess. Understanding this concept and implementing small changes to your electricity usage patterns will directly impact your solar savings.
For example if you have an electricity plan (after solar installation) with:
15c Feed in Tariff Rate (what the retailer pays you for your excess production)
22c Usage Charge Rate (what the retailer charges you for what you use)
For every KWh, (KWh =kilowatt hours which is the unit of production) that you use instead of sell, you are essentially saving an extra 7c. This is why it is important to maximize your usage during the day for things like washing clothes, using the dishwasher, cooling your home and running your pool etc. Having a focused routine is an easy way to boost your solar savings to ensure you are getting the highest possible return on your solar investment.
How to get the best deal from Electricity Retailers
There is only one way: Shop Around! Retail electricity is a competitive market. Like it or not you if you don’t ask, then you wont get.
You can do some initial research online and then jump on the phone but that 15c for Feed In Tariff Rate and 22c Usage Charge Rate will not be offered to you unless you do the legwork.
Like your habits around your usage this is crucial to maximising your return on your solar investment.
A quality solar installation is a long term investment
Think of it as a 10 year investment. The biggest blow to your potential savings and future return on your solar investment is a poor performing solar system. If at any time your system fails during that 10 year period it will cost you money! Just like any poor investment.
In a recent national audit by the Clean Energy Council it was found that 1 in 5 solar installations were not deemed “Fit For Purpose”. Now that can mean any number of things but the one thing all of these systems would have in common is that they are costing their customers money.
Bottom line is if you combine all 3 Factors you will maximise your return on investment and never look back.
So what are the average savings with solar with a solar system in Brisbane?
A very generic rule of thumb for calculating achievable solar power savings in Brisbane would be $100 per quarter per kW (kilowatt) rating of the inverter.
What does this mean? Let’s say you have a 5KW Solar PV Inverter. (Standard for a residential home). It is possible to achieve approximately $500 per quarter in savings from your solar system.
This figure will obviously change depending on the 3 Factors above. Which is why we say it’s achievable.
For example if you generate 29KWh of power in a single day from a 5KW inverter the solar savings will differ depending on your usage.
18KWh of power used = 18 x 22c = a saving of $3.96 per day.
11KWh sold to the grid = 11 x 15c = a credit of 1.65$ per day.
Total saving of $ 5.61 per day = $516 per quarter.
While another household’s savings with the same quality system just different usage habits could be.
25KWh of power used = 25 x 22c = a saving of $5.50 per day.
4KW sold to the grid = 11 x 15c = a credit of $0.60 per day.
Total saving of $6.10 per day = $564 per quarter.
The factors used in these calculations are going to be slightly different for everyone. This means that everyone will have a different solar savings outcome. The return on your solar investment will always be a positive. It just means that some will be more so.
For a more accurate individual assessment to work out your potential solar power savings and to find the right solution to get rid of your power bill, just give Goodhew Electrical and Solar a call today and we can arrange a free no obligation house visit with one of our Qualified Solar Consultants.