How Much Will a 5kW Solar System Save Me?
A 5kW solar system in Sydney can save you up to around $400 to $500 a quarter on your power bills.
The payback of a 5kW solar system has become so good that many people are surprised to find out it is now possible to get a top-of-the-range system to pay for itself in as quickly as 3 or 4 years, with a potential profit of over $50,000 over the life of the system.
What’s more, you are taking $50,000 off the books of Australia’s coal industry, creating a huge impact on the future of Australia’s Renewable Energy Industry.
This is why buying a solar system is the most effective thing you can do to not only reduce your power bill but also to vote for a clean energy future in Australia.
Let’s dig into the numbers to see why millions of Australian households have made the decision to install solar power:
Total Value: $10,500
Government Incentive: Approx. $2200
Investment: $7,690 for a top quality Enphase System
Yearly Power Bill Savings: Around $1,500 to $2,000
Payback Time: Around 4-5 years
System life: Panels have a 25-year product warranty
Potential Profit over 25 years: $54,000!
How Much Power Does a 5kW Solar System Output?
The output of a system varies significantly depending on a number of factors including the orientation of your roof, the angle of your roof, shade, the quality of the brands you select and the standard of the installation. On average, a 5kW solar system in Sydney will output around 20 kWh a day. Importantly, this is not distributed equally across the year:
For more information on how to size up a solar system please refer to our comprehensive guide on How To Size Up A Solar System.
This annual output figure of 7117 kWh from the CEC is considered to be a conservative estimate, and from our own data, it is common to see 5kW systems significantly outperform this. On average, our internet connected Enphase systems with 24/7 back to base monitoring do 110% of their estimated output, reinforcing the importance of buying quality brands.
How Long Does a 5kW Solar System Last?
The life of a solar system is normally estimated to be 25 years which is supported by a 25-year product warranty provided by the best manufacturers such as REC and Q Cells Solar (everything else is typically 10 years). Typically, a panel will also have a 25 or 30-year warranty on the output of power as per the image below:
Panels lose efficiency over time, and so we recommend you factor in a loss of 0.5% per year for the better panels like REC Alpha Pure, and around 1% per year for most other panels.
It is important to note that solar panels degrade at different rates, which means if you go with a centralised inverter your system will degrade at the rate of the worst performing panel (because each string of panels is hooked up in series). This is one of many reasons why more than 3 out of 4 systems we install are Enphase Micro Inverters. In these systems each panel outputs power independently from the rest of the array, making sure you get maximum value from your investment over time.
The Full Benefit of a 5kW Solar Power System
Have a look at your power bill to see how much you pay for your electricity. If you have time-of-use billing, the average benefit of a solar system is well over 30 cents per kWh. If you have a flat rate it tends to be around 30 cents per kWh + GST.
Using this number and multiplying the estimated system output by how much you pay for your power, you can see that with an investment of around $6,000-$8,000 for a 5kW solar system you can save up to & over $500 a quarter, and an impressive profit of $54,300 over 25 years on your power bills! This number can be even greater if you are using most of your solar power during the peak billing period of 2 pm to 8 pm.
