Solar Panels Systems – Review Of Our Experiences

We had solar panels installed in our mothers home in Adelaide in December 2016. Because she is at home during the day and uses air conditioning virtually all day long in summer solar panelsand reverse cycle air conditioning in winter to heat her home, she manages to run up a $1,500 per quarter electricity bill! We talked to John Grainger (see http://solarenergyinformation.com.au/ for details and his thoughts on the Adelaide / S.A. solar industry), who has been in the renewable energy sector for well over 20 years and is an ‘authority’ on anything solar. He looked at mum’s electricity usage – both daytime any night time to get a thorough understanding of the usage patterns and to establish if we could ‘justify’ installing solar panels on Mum’s roof.

Solar Panels – How The Figures Stacked Up

John calculated that by installing a 5 kilowatt solar system, comprising 20 x 250 watt Jinko solar panels and a 5 kilowatt SMA ‘sunnyboy’ inverter at a cost of around $6,800 fully installed could result in the following returns:

  1. a ‘payback period’, that is, the time taken to recover the initial cost of installing the solar system, of around 4.8 years. Given that the system, subject to being expertly installed, should run reliably for at least 20 to 25 years, this is a very acceptable return on the installation dollar investment.
  2. an annual ‘greenhouse gas emission reduction‘ of 8,400 kg – this is an amazing figure and, on environmental grounds, makes solar power a ‘must have’ for any ‘green’ household.

how solar works image

(image above courtesy SMA)

What Our Experience Of Solar Panels Installation Taught Us – Solar Advice:

We learned a huge amount from this experience. The advice that John Grainger gave us was invaluable. Some ‘take away’ points for anyone looking at getting a solar system installed:

  • only use tried and tested solar panels. These could include ET Solar, Jinko,  Trina solar panels and Canadian Solar. Just because the solar panels are made in China does NOT mean that there quality is inferior to European made panels – indeed, the majority of U.S. or European panels are actually manufactured in China.
  • do not ‘skimp’ on the quality of the inverter. John recommends going with SMA inverters as they have solid Australian back up and an excellent long term track record in reliability. See here for details.
  • use a local South Australian (in this instance) solar installer. Check their reviews and longevity in the industry. Note: many solar companies have gone into liquidation over the last few years as the solar industry ‘matures’ in Australia. It seems that the solar companies that have survived and indeed thrived, have been the companies installing the ‘higher end’ or ‘premium’ solar systems. Companies installing solar power systems on price alone are to be avoided!

Useful Resources On Solar

How solar systems work:

Consumer advice when buying a solar system:

https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/shopping/energy-products-and-services/solar-energy