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

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    Power prices, gas prices- ouch or Solar perhaps?

    I have solar. No brainer at work. it paid for itself very very quickly. At home its not quite as quick to get my money back



    An article on is Solar worth it in this link
    may be of interest to some

    Personally I think if you can use the power its a no brainer. If trying to make money selling it to the grid I think its not at all a good idea now.

    Wholesale gas up 800% is a bit more than WOW. Im 95% electric based so gas is not a bother for me except it also powers the grid to some degree.

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    Quote Originally Posted by NavyDiver View Post
    I have solar. No brainer at work. it paid for itself very very quickly. At home its not quite as quick to get my money back



    An article on is Solar worth it in this link
    may be of interest to some

    Personally I think if you can use the power its a no brainer...........
    I think you mean use the power during the day due to the low feed in tariffs, which is also why your system at work paid for itself so quickly.
    2005 D3 TDV6 Present
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    I guess that it's a question of how much do you use and at what time of the day. For me, the most compelling reason for solar and also the best "fit" for usage is when you run an AC. When there is the most sun (and thus heat) you generate a lot of power whilst also using a lot. Other than that, in most parts of the world and I should think oz is no exception there is an abundance of power during the day due to solar and a shortage during the night because of all those duracell gokarts (ie tesla's) charging. This imbalance needs to be offset by the grid using mostly fossil fueled power generation and is pricey to do (since your standard large power plant is fairly slow to ramp up and down) and is actually hiking up electricity prices!

    So, over here solar is starting to become limited by the grid owners to feed in during certain hours or feeding in at all. (a local school has a roof full of solar but they are not allowed to hook it up since they did not ask for permission beforehand and there is already too much solar in that area for example) The ROI time for solar is around 8-10 years around here and the current stimulation package and pricing rules are going to be changed by 2030 so we have just passed the point where you can be guaranteed your money back. Might be a good thing to see what the government is planning to do in the future regarding solar before you commit.

    As a side not, I reckon some sort of tax is bound to follow on both EV's and solar production etc since governments do not like losing tax income...

    Cheers,
    -P

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    Air conditioning in summer and in winter uses most of my Solar at work. The old gas heating ducting now has most of my CAT5/CAT6 cabling in it.

    The studies suggesting gas inside is as bad or worse for kids and adults with Asthma with gas (methane) and particle polution from wood fires is another issue.

    The interesting bit of a news yarn I read this morning matched my experience both 4 years ago and 18 years ago at work. A person moving heating, hot water and cooking to electricity found many tradies and retailers arguing gas was betterMy plumber, builder and others all said gas gas gas.

    The UK on fires "Domestic wood burning has become the single biggest source of small particle air pollution in the UK, producing three times more than road traffic, government data shows.Just 8% of the population cause this pollution by burning wood indoors, according to a separate government-commissioned report. It found almost half of those burning indoors were affluent and many chose a fire for aesthetic reasons, rather than heat"

    I think as much about cost savings myself. I do have one person with asthma at home. That has been almost a non issue since we changed during a renovation. Not science just an observation of course.

    The best bit is the prices and choices for solar systems is much better and much cheaper. Noting a big rush likely may see inhalation and supply issues.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Saitch View Post
    It's wasn't me! You can't prove a thing!

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    Quote Originally Posted by V8Ian View Post
    Garden mulch?
    But, of course!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Saitch View Post
    It's wasn't me! You can't prove a thing!

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    No fear Satich. My bush walking still needs sticks for cooking mate

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    Don't get me wrong, I have been using electric for over 20 years now. First I switched to electric underfloor heating, no more maintenance and 100% efficient. Then I moved to electric hot water (on demand so no boilers with losses) and the only thing I use gas for is the one thing it is good at: for cooking I have not found a proper electric way for proper stir fry.

    Other than that, I do tend to light a fire outdoors yes, as often as I can. The funny thing is, I suspect that global warming has also been due to the fact that we only worked on one part of the pollution problem. There used to be a thing called global dimming, ie the particulate pollution actually dimmed the sunlight hitting the earth, slowing down heating and such. The fact that fires pollute more than traffic in the UK is not because there are more fires being lit but I suspect it's because cars and trucks have gotten that much cleaner.

    -P

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    Quote Originally Posted by prelude View Post
    I guess that it's a question of how much do you use and at what time of the day. For me, the most compelling reason for solar and also the best "fit" for usage is when you run an AC. When there is the most sun (and thus heat) you generate a lot of power whilst also using a lot. Other than that, in most parts of the world and I should think oz is no exception there is an abundance of power during the day due to solar and a shortage during the night because of all those duracell gokarts (ie tesla's) charging. This imbalance needs to be offset by the grid using mostly fossil fueled power generation and is pricey to do (since your standard large power plant is fairly slow to ramp up and down) and is actually hiking up electricity prices!

    So, over here solar is starting to become limited by the grid owners to feed in during certain hours or feeding in at all. (a local school has a roof full of solar but they are not allowed to hook it up since they did not ask for permission beforehand and there is already too much solar in that area for example) The ROI time for solar is around 8-10 years around here and the current stimulation package and pricing rules are going to be changed by 2030 so we have just passed the point where you can be guaranteed your money back. Might be a good thing to see what the government is planning to do in the future regarding solar before you commit.

    As a side not, I reckon some sort of tax is bound to follow on both EV's and solar production etc since governments do not like losing tax income...

    Cheers,
    -P
    The solar at work paid for itself inside 2 years. Still have a $2K per month bill (the Boss let’s us know at every chance Power prices, gas prices- ouch or Solar perhaps?). That’s a 40KW system that takes up about a 1/4 of the roof. Boss is thinking of bunging on another 40KW and we might be close to covering what we use. The Supply Authorities have no issues with big solar installations in industrial areas as the overall consumption is still way more than all the solar put together in our area - by an order of magnitude. In fact there probably isn’t enough roof space everywhere to make that happen, even if there was a desire for all businesses to do it.
    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

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