Solar Power For Homes – Reduce Your Power Bills With Smart Solar Power & Battery Storage
I am pleased to be able to say that the system has worked flawlessly since commissioning and has exceeded my expectations.
Our last monthly bill was $10.53 – same bill was $198.79 (2015) and $163.67 (2016)
Peter, Solaray Customer
How Does Solar Power Reduce Your Power Bills?
In NSW, solar power is fed into the home as it is generated. The solar power is used first before you draw power from the grid, which means that for every kWh of solar power used in the home you are directly reducing your power bill by the amount you would have otherwise paid for the electricity.
Solar storage is now available. By installing batteries, any excess solar power can be stored to use when needed, such as in the evening or on rainy days. It is now possible to run your home almost entirely on solar power, with a number of our customers doing just that!
Detailed information on how solar power reduces your power bill is available here
The Right Size Solar Power System For A Family Home
The right size of solar system depends on what you want your system to do. For many people, it is about making sure it pays for itself in as little time as possible, for others it is to reduce their power bill by the greatest amount or to reduce their carbon footprint to do their bit for the environment.
Paying back your investment as quickly as possible requires sizing up a system to match your daytime energy usage. In a perfect situation, you would use all of the solar power that is generated and have the solar panels facing north or (north-west to maximise your savings during the peak time of use billing period). For example, if you install a 5kW system for $6,000 and it generates 7118kW/h over one year if you save an average of 30 cents a kW you would save $2,135 every year. This would result in a return on your investment in less than 3 years! In reality, it is difficult to use 100% of the power a solar system generates, however, if the system is sized correctly you should be able to get close to 80% and higher. The typical ROI for a Solaray Residential System is between 3-5 years.
Minimising your power bill is easy, simply buy the largest solar system you can afford and/or fit on your roof. As mentioned above, there is a good fit for everyone but there is no harm in getting a system that is a little bigger. This can allow for future increases in power usage if you are planning on buying a pool, spa, air conditioner or some other large user of power. The reason returns diminish when you have a larger system is that instead of saving money from your bill by using the solar power rather than buying power from the grid (eg. contracted rate of 25 cents per kW), you are selling solar power to the grid at your contracted feed-in tariff rate (eg. 7 cents to 10 cents per kWh).
If you are environmentally motivated, your roof space and budget are all that are stopping you! The bigger the solar system the better, as you are reducing your reliance on polluting industries such as coal and gas and helping to produce clean, renewable energy. Buying a solar system is one of the biggest steps you can take as an individual and as a household to help build the renewable energy sector and reduce our reliance on old and polluting technology. There are now millions of solar systems in Australia, and as this number continues to grow our voice becomes louder. Governments are starting to listen!
Solar Power Rebates in Australia – How it all works
There has never been a better time to buy a solar power system as system prices continue to fall and great incentives are still in place for eligible households. In NSW there are two main financial incentives for installing solar panels:
- Small Scale Technology Certificates– which can be used to reduce the purchase price of your system.
- Feed-in tariff– an agreement with your energy retailer whereby you are paid for the excess solar power that you feed back into the grid.
Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs)
Small-scale Technology Certificates (STC’s) – previously known as Renewable Energy Certificates or RECS – are created when a Renewable Energy System such as a Solar PV system is installed.
The number of STC’s depends on the size of the system and therefore the amount of energy generated. In essence, one STC is created for every megawatt-hour of the production capacity of the system. In simplistic terms, a 2kW solar system would be expected to generate between 2.4MW and 2.9 MW per year depending on location.
This is further multiplied by the number of years the system is likely to generate energy (for home solar systems, this is usually 15 years, although the life of the solar panels themselves is considerably more than that).
| System Output | STC’s | Rebate* |
| 5kW | 70 | $2520 |
| 8kW | 113 | $4068 |
| 10kW | 140 | $5040 |
* Based on an STC price of $36.
What does this mean for me?
Solaray will normally reduce the purchase price of the system by the value of the STCs created by your system. There is no additional paperwork, and you receive the value of the STCs at the current market price.
Find out more
Solaray Energy is a company dedicated to building a sustainable Renewable Energy business and industry in Australia. We are one of Sydney’s leading solar installers providing all the top brands at competitive prices.
Solaray is one of the most experienced solar installers in Sydney, and we have been installing both residential and commercial solar systems for the best part of 10 years. Our residential solar team has helped many thousands of households go solar, and our impressive Enphase Portfolio now generates many MWh of solar power on a sunny day. We are also Australia’s largest installer* of Enphase Micro Inverter systems, which is something we are very proud of.
Solaray is today one of the leading independent solar power installers in Australia and has an enviable track record of providing households with effective renewable energy and energy reduction solutions.
Solaray has solar solutions from small residential solar systems across NSW, to large commercial scale installations right across Australia.
If you are looking to install a battery ready solar system, or even if you just want to know more about it – call or email us today to find out why more customers than ever are choosing Solaray Energy.
As one of the largest and most experienced independent Solar Companies in NSW, Solaray is the best choice to ensure a smooth and expertly configured installation.
We offer a 100% guarantee on our installations, plus our systems come with a comprehensive 25-year power output warranty on the panels, full replacement warranties on the inverter and a 10-year warranty on the mounting kit.
Submit an enquiry today to find out why more customers than ever are choosing Solaray Energy.
Solaray is ranked in the top 5 solar companies in Australia. Have a look at our Platinum Service Guide to find out why. Our customer care, warranties and service standards set us apart from the competition.
With back to base monitoring on all of our microinverter systems, you are in safe hands 7 days a week. Solaray’s technical team monitor output, performance and system status in real-time to minimise downtime and maximise performance.
