Thread: Power prices, gas prices- ouch or Solar perhaps?

Originally Posted by scarry

Heat Pump HW systems,i won't go there,only to say they are no where near as reliable or efficient as a Solar HW system,but that would depend on where in the country you live.

IMG_20230628_184243[1].jpg I have a 170 litre 'Midea', nah, I never heard of them either. 99bucks installed in 2018 thanks to guvvy subsidies, still going strong.

When our heat pump HW System dies won't be buying another one, they are too expensive to run compared to our large electric that only heated at night on off peak tariff. Every time we turn on hot water tap it starts & runs for 1/4 to 1/2 hr.

Originally Posted by 1950landy

When our heat pump HW System dies won't be buying another one, they are too expensive to run compared to our large electric that only heated at night on off peak tariff. Every time we turn on hot water tap it starts & runs for 1/4 to 1/2 hr.

You can have a changeover relay installed so it runs on off peak at night and peak during day if you have solar.

The time it runs is irrelevant if you are not measuring how much power it draws while running.

Your old electric element unit simply didn't make a fan noise so you couldn't tell how long it was running. And being on off peak you could easily see the cost compared to your total bill.

Just running the heat pump on your off peak will quickly give you a good comparison, taking into account off peak power pricing now compared to when you had the old element system.

A 3600 watt element old school hot water system draws 15 amps while running, the equivalent heat pump unit draws around 5-6 amps to produce same effective heat.

So to compare you need to run it on off peak only like the previous one or do the maths with real measured power draw if you run it on-peak .

They are cheaper to run when you crunch the numbers and by enough of a margin to justify their use.

On the other hand if they all started falling apart just out of warranty well I don't know how the running costs versus lifespan equation would work out.

The other thing to note is there is a lot of variation between brands regarding their heat pump conversion efficiency and power draw of the compressor/electrics/display etc.

You may have a mediocre unit, but I suspect with some actual electricity consumption readings of just what the heat pump system itself is using when running the cost will be different to your perception.

Hi,
No2 son is off grid and building. His solar will run a 1kW hot water cylinder to pre warm the water before passing through an instant gas tankless heater.
Hopefully gas will only be needed during cloudy winter weather.
Cheers

Originally Posted by 1950landy

When our heat pump HW System dies won't be buying another one, they are too expensive to run compared to our large electric that only heated at night on off peak tariff. Every time we turn on hot water tap it starts & runs for 1/4 to 1/2 hr.

Are you sure it doesn't have a timer setting? Mine do.

Just received our power bill, gone up $800 on last year same period & our usage has not changed in past year, according to the account we used 81% more power in the same 3 months. Sat on phone for 2 Hrs to be told that they hadn't been reading the meter & doing guesstimates & when they installed a Smart Meter, it flagged it up then & they sent me an account for $45 & told me we didn't owe any mor money. I never realized that when we receive our power bill the account is for the previous 3 months so A/C is for Dec to March but we receive the A/C in June so there is no way to check the reading on the account with the meter reading. I always see the meter reader in our street & we always received the bill within the week, the meter is at front of the house, the dog is inside the house & can't get to where the meter box is anyway. I told them it is not my fault that their agent is not doing his job properly & $800 is something we have not budgeted for.
On top of this we received a letter stating they are increasing the charges from the 1st July but not increasing what they pay us for what we are feeding into the grid. May look at how we can run house off our 13.3 Kw Solar during the day & just run off power supply at night when we don't use much power, only a couple of lights & TV. May be even look at Solar Batteries

Hi,
Friends use solar and a battery to avoid peak time draw from the grid. Cloudy days charge the battery if solar can't, but only at off peak times.
They seem happy with their set up.
Cheers

Originally Posted by 1950landy

their agent is not doing his job properly & $800 is something we have not budgeted for.

We just had an elecrticity bill for $1987.90 for three months.

I looked at the meter myself and it was easy to see the mistake.

Same comment from the provider,we are not responsible for a contractors error.

I wonder if the error was actually the contractor.