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Finn Peacock, the founder of SolarQuotes, recently interviewed Philip Clark of ABC Radio Nightlife to have a long conversation about household solar energy and batteries; and answered the caller's questions.

You can use the player below to listen to the discussion, or continue reading a summary of some of the topics covered.

The discussion began with Philip's comment on Australia's solar energy usage recently reaching 3 million systems. Finn recalled that when he first started working in the solar industry, Australia had only one thousand grid-connected systems.

Another important recent milestone was in South Australia. On November 21, the rooftop solar system met 95% of the state's electricity needs—albeit for a short time. But Finn said such incidents will become more common.

Last year, solar energy accounted for approximately 11-12% of Australia's electricity generation.

Philip commented that the popularity of solar energy in Australia is changing the economics of installing panels with very high feed-in tariffs. Finn believes that the on-grid electricity price will continue to remain at a low level, but the rooftop photovoltaic system is now so cheap that even in Western Australia, where the on-grid electricity price is only 3 cents, the payback period for Perth's solar energy system investment is only about 5 years.

Finn resolved the confusion regarding reports that solar owners will be charged for exporting surplus solar power during grid saturation in 2025.

"You won't be fined for putting it on the grid, it's just less."

Another point that has not been widely reported is that, closely related to these changes, when the grid needs it, solar owners will be paid more for exporting electricity.

"I have calculated the numbers, and I am quite confident that smart solar owners, if they change the way they use energy and have smart solar systems, they should be able to lead."

Philip asked Finn what is the cost of a basic solar system in Australia (6.6kW). Finn said that for a high-quality system, it's about one dollar per watt or one thousand dollars per kilowatt. A system of this scale will reduce the electricity bills of ordinary households to zero within a year.

The simple payback period is 2.5 to 5 years, depending on power consumption and location. To estimate the return on investment of the system, try the SolarQuotes solar calculator.

Finn asked about the life expectancy of the solar system. He pointed out that the solar panels purchased today have a product warranty of 10 to 25 years.

"Good modern solar panels should last 25 to 30 years"

A caller stated that the price of solar panels made in Australia is twice that of Chinese panels and that they are too expensive. He will not go to solar energy because he refuses to buy Chinese products. Someone pointed out to him that the call he made might have Chinese components.

But when it comes to the topic of China's solar panels-like everything-Finn said that some are definitely better than others. You can view the panels and inverter brands approved by SolarQuotes here.

Finn was asked how difficult it is to convert household batteries to a 10-year-old solar system.

"It's actually relatively easy. Every solar system installed in Australia can be retrofitted with batteries. There is a technique called AC coupling; you - well, a little more complicated than this - basically get two wires; you will They are connected to your switchboard and battery system-you can start using them."

Another caller asked if the solar power system was included in the home insurance policy.

"Yes, please consult your home insurance company. But most home insurance companies, if you tell them about your solar panels, they will provide them with protection, which is really a good idea."

The most common damage to the system comes from large hail, such as the hail suffered in parts of southeast Queensland in late October last year.

Callers in Queensland used the previous high-paying electricity bill, with a system power of 1.6kW. Upgrading the system will mean losing premium rates.

Finn recommends that solar installers calculate the number of upgrades to larger systems at the current lower feed-in tariff, as it will vary according to the energy consumption of the household.

Philip revealed that he has not installed panels on the roof of his house.

"My roof has been on for 20 years, what should you do in this situation?"

Finn said that if Philip's roof needs to be replaced in the near future, it must be done first, because it is really painful to pull the panels from the roof and then reinstall them. This pain includes paying for it.

The caller asked Finn the best solar panel direction/direction; that is, which way they should face to get the best results.

"The best direction to point your panel to Australia to get the most energy in a year is north. But many people face east and many people face west. For panels facing east or west, you will lose about 15% of your Annual electricity generation, so it’s not a big deal. But the advantage of the east and west panels is that you will get more energy in the early morning (east) and evening (west)-this is what you usually tend to use electricity when."

Finn pointed out that when you consider that the feed-in tariff is much lower than the retail consumption rate, self-use solar energy is the most valuable energy source.

"Despite a 15% hit rate, the east-west panel still makes a lot of sense."

Finn said that given the low cost of solar energy today, even panels on south-facing roofs are economically meaningful.

Philip asked Finn how much space the 6.6kW system takes up.

"According to my experience, the roofs of most houses will receive 8 to 10 kilowatts of electricity-without the use of south-facing roofs -".

The caller asked what would happen after the solar panel's service life expired. Finn said that in the past year or so, more solar panel recycling plants have appeared.

"It took too long to recycle solar panels, but we are only just beginning to deal with it now."

An industry-led national solar panel waste disposal program design will be completed in June next year. Regardless of recycling, as for how much precious aluminum frame space a pile of solar panels occupies in a landfill—not much.

A caller commented that although the panel can be used for 25 years, the solar inverter cannot. He is right.

“Inverters are power electronic boxes mounted on the wall. Usually, they have a 10-year warranty these days. With luck, they will last about 15 years,” Finn said. "If you want to evaluate the 25 years of savings, you should consider replacing the inverter."

The cost of a high-quality inverter is approximately US$1,500. You can use our solar inverter comparison table to compare inverter specifications and estimated prices.

Philip asked if the solar cell was worth it if you already got a zero bill.

"So, it depends on why you need batteries," Finn said. "If you buy batteries just to save money, then for almost all the current conditions in Australia, no-they are not worth it."

"If you want to back up your house, they are a great way to back up your house without a generator. If you want to insure against rising electricity prices and falling feed-in tariffs, they are great."

"If your panel has zero bills-why buy batteries".

Finn said that his battery saved him $500 last year-a 30-year return.

"To save money, I didn't buy a battery."

While the cost of energy storage for electric vehicles and large-scale battery projects has fallen sharply, household battery prices remain stubborn.

"The storage cost we are talking about is at least $1,000 per kilowatt-hour."

When the grid voltage is too high, the inverter of the caller is ramping down or tripping. Finn said this is a fairly common problem, and it is the responsibility of the Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP) to solve this problem. The caller said that the transformer has been replaced and the problem is now more serious.

"They need to come back and see if there is still high voltage on the street," Finn said.

If you encounter similar problems, you can determine who your DNSP is.

Philips asked how to use the battery of an electric car to power the home.

"You can't use car batteries to power your house for no technical reasons," Finn said. "As far as I know, the only vehicle in Australia capable of doing this is the Nissan Leaf-the second generation."

But regulations need to change, and automakers need to make their cars possible. Two-way chargers also need a substantial price cut.

 "When you consider how much storage will roll on four wheels in 2030, it seems a bit crazy not to use it to stabilize the grid."

Regarding charging issues, Finn said that an electric car equipped with a 60kWh battery takes about 30 hours to fully charge from a standard socket.

"Usually, you want to upgrade the socket where you are charging."

This will enable overnight charging. But Finn said that many people reluctantly use standard outlets to charge at home because they rarely run out of battery power every day. If they need to charge quickly when the battery is low, they will use a DC fast charging station, which can fully charge the battery in 30 to 40 minutes.

If you are interested in learning more about electric cars, check out Episode 10 of SolarQuotes TV: The Ultimate Guide to Electric Cars

Finn was asked about installing solar panels on shared roofs, such as townhouses where a corporate body controls the roof.

Finn mentioned his own experience. He and a legal entity obtained a license to install solar energy on about a quarter of the roof, and an Australian invention called SolShare, which is the world's first solar energy sharing behind it. The system-also made here in Australia!

Philip asked how Australians can guarantee that they will get high-quality solar installations because there are still many cowboys in the industry.

Finn said don't buy the cheapest-make sure the price is not your only criterion. He also recommends checking the comments of solar installers. But be careful with the game review sites of some companies, but usually focus on only doing so on a site where they can get away with it. Check various review sites and make sure they have similar ratings on each site.

Learn how SolarQuotes ensures the completeness of reviews, and learn more about choosing a great installer.

Philip asked how far solar energy can go in Australia in the future.

Finn said: "I think that in the near future, every homeowner will install solar energy on the roof." "The challenge is to rent out the roof. I think this is 40% of the housing stock."

"It has appeared in about half of owner-occupied homes, but there are almost no rental homes."

Finn mentioned the introduction of "solar sponge" tariffs, you can get the cheapest electricity around noon in a day.

"We are starting to enter the stage where tenants actually own their own batteries and plug them into the distribution panels of rental houses. During the day, they charge from other people’s solar energy at these cheap tariffs, and then use the batteries at night when the electricity bill is much more expensive. Power. Then when you move, they will take the battery."

Finn said that he would love to see a standard that would make switchboards more "plug and play" for household batteries.

Michael discovered solar problems after purchasing components to assemble a small off-grid photovoltaic system in 2008. Since then, he has been covering Australian and international solar energy news.

If I can add some points to the discussion.

On the topic of solar panel placement

There are a fair number of panels on my standard sloping tile roof, facing west. There is no shadow. I do have panel-level monitoring, so I can see how many watts each panel generates. On cloudy days, it doesn't matter which direction the panel faces, my west panel is generated at almost the same speed as my north panel (also without shadows) during the entire (completely cloudy) day.

On a perfectly clear day, my west panel is almost identical to my north panel at the end of the day's generation. There is literally no difference.

If it is a partly cloudy day, then it depends on how long the cloud blocks the sun during the day.

Regarding the topic of solar panel waste, why can't work panels be reused as the first choice in the first place. It is great to see the emergence of recycling factories, which will be the second option, long before disposal.

Re-inverter and grid voltage problem-Soon after installation, I realized that my system had a problem when it dropped sharply on weekends, and the inverter would display an overvoltage error message. I don't know why on weekends, but I guess the grid demand on the street may be different. My solar production chart shows all these interruptions, and on a clear day, it shows a stop and start outline, not a smooth bump. The solar installation company I recommended told me to contact SA Power Networks. They came to test and told me that the power was within the guidance range. I'm at a loss, but I researched online and checked the grid parameters set on my Fronius. In my opinion, the grid parameters don't show what they should do. I went back to the solar installation company, and they finally let me get in touch with their installation subcontractor. They called me and told me how to change some parameters of Fronius Grid. Since then, the system has been running smoothly. So far, this is not a network problem, I believe it is because Fronius has not set it up correctly, and I want to know how many others have not set it up correctly.

Please keep the SolarQuotes blog constructive and useful through the following 4 rules:

1. Preferred real name-you should be happy to add your name to your comment. 2. Put down the weapon. 3. Assume positive intentions. 4. If you are in the solar industry-try to understand the truth instead of selling. 5. Please keep the theme.

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