Power prices are on the rise, which means many households are looking to install much larger solar systems in Melbourne and across Victoria.
An 8kW or 10kW system is now a common system size, and many households are going even larger still in an effort to protect themselves from rising power prices. Solar power can save you thousands of dollars every year on your power bill. Talk to an expert today for more information and personalised pricing, otherwise read on to get our top tips and ballpark price guides:
Let’s have a look at a few of the key numbers including the price of an 8kW solar power system and the brands that should be considered for a system of this size.
Price of an 8kW Solar System In Melbourne
For a system of this size, it is important that you get good-quality panels. A top-quality system with Twin Peak panels from REC starts at $9,790. Most of our customers chose smart solar from Enphase with panel-level optimisation. An 8kW Enphase solar power system starts at around $13,500 fully installed.
Many households also qualify for a rebate from Solar Victoria. There is a $1400 rebate on a solar system, plus an additional $1400 interest-free loan. This reduces the out-of-pocket cost by $2800.
It is important to note that with solar panels you generally get what you pay for and most of our customers choose to include high-efficiency panels from manufacturers such as REC Solar.
It is possible to find cheaper 8kW solar systems on the market, however, this will typically require buying low or mid-range panels manufactured in China, and often without any after-sales support.
For a larger residential system it is important to maximise reliability, output and of course longevity, so spending a little more upfront can save you a lot of money over the life of the system.
Solaray customers love our full-service warranties, plus our systems include full technical support. This gives our customers the peace of mind that if something goes wrong – it will be fixed. Not a single Solaray customer over 10 years has ever had to remove one of our systems because it isn’t working.
As a rough guide, an 8kW system can save you up to around $2,500 a year on your power bills.
Of course, to save $600 on a quarterly bill you are going to need to use a lot of power during the daytime – as much as 35kWh during the daytime in summer.
Price Of An 8kW Solar System With Battery Storage
An 8kW solar system with battery storage will often be enough to eliminate a household’s power bills completely. This will be the right-sized system to eliminate your power bills if your daily power usage (24 hours) is around 30kWh, and up to around 40kWh in the summer.
Tesla Powerwall battery storage is approximately $15,000, fully installed, plus around $450 if you have 3-phase power. This includes installation and connection to the solar system. Solar Victoria offers a $2950 rebate on battery storage, but you can only claim one rebate from them, so you can only claim this rebate if you haven’t claimed the Solar Rebate (not the STC rebate but the one from Solar Vic). More info: Solar Victoria Rebates
It is worth noting that it isn’t much more to upgrade the solar system to a 10kW array because of the larger Federal Government Rebate on a larger system. We can help you compare the prices and potential benefits on a 15-minute discovery call.
The output of an 8kW Solar System
According to the Clean Energy Council guidelines, an 8kW solar system in Melbourne facing north will produce an average of 29 kWh a day, outputting more power in summer and less in winter.
Typically the peak output of an 8kW solar system will be around 6-7kWh during the middle of the day, and it will vary depending on the weather. This is a good example of output across the day with a system of this size when there is patchy shade from clouds:
We have found that this guideline of 29kWh from the Clean Energy Council is a conservative estimate and that by using the top brands you can get considerably more out of a system.
For example, our Enphase systems give our customers on average 110% of expected output. On an average day in summer, an 8kW system will often give our customers over 40 kWh of power. If this ends up being too much power for a household, we recommend considering battery storage so that any excess solar power can then be used during the evening.
The Key Numbers
The Key Numbers| 8kW System | |
| Number of Panels | 22 x 370W Panels |
| Output | 29 kWh a day average |
| Potential Savings | $600 a quarter depending on your cost of power |
| 8kW System Cost | From $9,790 after the STC rebate, but before the Solar Victoria rebate |
| 8kW System With Battery Storage | Tesla Powerwall is an additional $15,500. Further rebates are available. Ask us for more information. |
| Repayments | Replayment plans are availalbe. Ask us for personalised numbers. |
| Suited to | Medium to large homes using on average around 30 kWh a day during the daytime (or over 24 hours with battery storage) |
* Repayment numbers can vary depending on a number of factors and are an estimate based on a 5-year term. 3-to-7 year terms are available. More information is available here: Solar & Storage Finance
How much will an 8kW solar system save me?
The potential savings of an 8kW solar system depend on how much solar power you are able to use in the home at the time of generation.
You will typically save around 22 to 28 cents a kWh + GST (depending on how much you pay for your power) for every kWh of solar power used in the home.
Depending on your retailer, you will be paid a feed-in tariff of around 5-12 cents a kWh for the power you send back to the grid.
Based on this, an 8kW solar system can save you up to around $600 per quarterly bill.
More information about how solar power can save you money is available here: How Solar Power Reduces Your Power Bill
Number of solar panels for an 8kW System
The larger the system, the more important it is to buy quality panels to ensure you maximise reliability, increased output in all weather conditions and the longevity of the system.
The other consideration is roof space. By installing high-efficiency panels, we can use 20 x 400W panels instead of the older 300W panels.
8kW Micro Inverter System
Solaray is the largest and most experienced installer of Enphase Micro Inverter systems in Australia, and our system design team are experts at putting together a professional solar array that will maximise solar output in all conditions.
The main benefit of micro-inverters is that each panel is independent of the others, making it possible to design an array across different orientations and at different angles. A common panel layout is to have some panels facing north, and the others west to spread the output of solar power across the day, making it easier to use more of the solar power as it is generated.
On larger residential systems, the panels in the middle of the array can get quite hot during summer as airflow under the panels is less than ideal. When panels get too hot, the output can be significantly reduced. Because of this, we recommend using microinverter technology and in fact, over 80% of our customers now decide to install this technology.
Find out all you need to know about Enphase: 10 key benefits of microinverter systems.
Request a callback today for more information and personalised pricing:
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