Tesla just changed everything

[benfti]

I know the guy who runs that website.

[BLOODSTAINED_DEVILS]

The interesting thing was the incredible rate of decay in the Powerwall, financially it makes it completely unviable.

I need a battery that can be recharged from the off-peak mains supply. If I charge the battery from the solar system I lose 60cents/KwH in rebate only to use it off-peak at 22cents Kw/H. Much better to charge at 22c and use it during t h e 27c peak hours and minimising to use of solar.

With a 5Kw system that only averages10.1Kw daily with a max. of 21.8Kw and a min. Of 0.32Kw and an average daily use of 15.4Kw peaking at 52.9Kw in summer you can see how big a battery is needed.

Some of the posters on here assume that the output of a solar systemis nameplate times hours of sunshine when in fact you are lucky to get 17%.

Point in fact, Windorah Solar Farm has 5 x 14 metre dia. solar collectors costing $4,500,000 that produced 100,000Kw in the course of one year at one of the sunniest locations in Australia serving a population of 100 people. It uses diesel generator backup and for 2 months of the year it is useless.
Opened in 2007 it now has 4 collectors unservicable.

Are you saying you are STILL getting a 60c p/kwh feed in tariff??

I thought that was all phased out back to 2 fifths of fark all a while ago.

[Jezz]

I’m not certain, but my understanding is that if you signed up under the old 60c scheme, the retailers are required by law to keep paying you that for 15 or 20 years as long as you don’t modify your system.

[wimmera1]

Congratulations.
Maybe get someone to edit for you, though.

[Soulnet]

The interesting thing was the incredible rate of decay in the Powerwall, financially it makes it completely unviable.
I need a battery that can be recharged from the off-peak mains supply. If I charge the battery from the solar system I lose 60cents/KwH in rebate only to use it off-peak at 22cents Kw/H. Much better to charge at 22c and use it during t h e 27c peak hours and minimising to use of solar.
With a 5Kw system that only averages10.1Kw daily with a max. of 21.8Kw and a min. Of 0.32Kw and an average daily use of 15.4Kw peaking at 52.9Kw in summer you can see how big a battery is needed.
Some of the posters on here assume that the output of a solar systemis nameplate times hours of sunshine when in fact you are lucky to get 17%.
Point in fact, Windorah Solar Farm has 5 x 14 metre dia. solar collectors costing $4,500,000 that produced 100,000Kw in the course of one year at one of the sunniest locations in Australia serving a population of 100 people. It uses diesel generator backup and for 2 months of the year it is useless.Opened in 2007 it now has 4 collectors unservicable.

Are you saying you are STILL getting a 60c p/kwh feed in tariff??

I thought that was all phased out back to 2 fifths of fark all a while ago.

I’m not sure what he is criticising here. It goes from batteries (telsa powerwall as opposed to powerwall 2) to anyone quoting their kw production to a solar farm…?

@sorfed can you provide us some references for your figures? The max one in particular. Is that on your system? If so what’s the bearings on your panels? Do you have software to monitor your production etc…? What panels do you have? How old are they? What inverter are you using or are you using micro inverters?

[sorfed]

I was one of the first ones in, started at 68c for the first years then a long term contract until 2022 or 2023, one the cheating bastards can’t get out of. Mind you the cost of t h e system was high.

[sorfed]

I was pointing out the faults in Powerwall and that information came from a solar installer, not me. If you care to check , they are not the only ones that have issue with Tesla, one thing to consider is Musk is a salesman who is extremely good at prising money out of investors and governments.
The solar farm was an experiment in an ideal location that has failed miserably and yet the Queensland government is going ahead full bore on new projects. Interestingly enough most are a long way from the coast. My sister lived in Mackay and later Alligator Creek and was unable to get insurance if she had solar panels installed.

System was installed in 2011, I think the inverter is a Sun and I kept the reading for the first year, unfortunately my computer self destructed and I only have reading from the first week of Oct 2011 to July 2012.

[sorfed]

Oct 2011 to July 2012

Sorry Oct 2001 to Mar 2013

Last two years electricity bills

2015
Usage & Supply Cedits & rebates Total new charges & Credit GST Total Due (inc. GST)
March
$335.37 $567.23 -$231.86 $33.54 -$198.32
June
$368.57 $229.91 $138.66 $36.86 $175.52
August
$388.01 $76.72 $311.29 $38.80 $350.09
November
$279.50 $437.05 -$157.55 $27.95 -$129.60
2016
February
$534.45 $511.23 $23.22 $40.49 $63.71
May
$391.75 $185.11 $206.64 $39.18 $245.82
August
$470.63 $96.10 $374.53 $47.06 $421.59
November
$278.13 $423.70 -$145.57 $27.81 -$117.76

As a note, my son had a 1.5Kw system in Alice Springs and he paid virtually no power bills.

[Soulnet]

That’s neat. I was asking cause I have a recently installed 5.12kw system and still pulled 8kwh today and my max has so far been 32.8kwh.

Just on the QLD plant as well, you’ll should see most ‘new’ plants have removed all the moving parts. It wasn’t worth the upgrade or the extra cost to track the sun.

[sorfed]

i am up against the hills and not in an ideal location.

[Soulnet]

Reading your update you should get separate solar panels if you were to get a battery! Use that to charge the battery and then find a system where you can use the battery as the ‘booster’ or ‘peak’ power usage.

[sorfed]

No room left on my roof.

[Deckham]

Can you get one of them caravan things that have that retractable solar array that you can position over a neighbour’s roof? They may apreciate the shade, win win.

[Incoming]

An indoor horticulturalist?

Getting off the grid would indeed be a good idea, power consumption can raise suspicion.

LED’s (allegedly)

[sorfed]

Tallbloke's Talkshop

How much are you paying for your power?

[Houli_Dooli]

Tip from Chris Judd.

Invest in Cobalt.
It is used in Lithiium iron batteries and that industry is expanding.

[Deckham]

Tip from Chris Judd.

Invest in Cobalt.
It is used in Lithiium iron batteries and that industry is expanding.

What colour is cobalt again?

[Albert_Thurgood]

Tip from Chris Judd.

Invest in Cobalt.
It is used in Lithiium iron batteries and that industry is expanding.

Why wouldn’t you invest in lithium then? Lithium is also used in lithium batteries.

Most people do not know Australia has one of the world’s richest supplies of lithium.

In true Australian fashion, we no longer have it. The Chinese bought it.

[Soulnet]

Tip from Chris Judd.

Invest in Cobalt.
It is used in Lithiium iron batteries and that industry is expanding.

Why wouldn’t you invest in lithium then? Lithium is also used in lithium batteries.

Most people do not know Australia has one of the world’s richest supplies of lithium.

In true Australian fashion, we no longer have it. The Chinese bought it.

Who are number one in producing lithium iron batteries.

Feel free to look up BYD who are the worlds number one battery maker. They are also making our battery buses.

[hambo]

You can’t really invest in lithium. The big companies that own the lithium mines are big and diversified such that an investment in them will only be about 7% lithium and 93% other crap that you don’t necessarily want to be exposed to.

Cobalt is a good idea, gonna look into it.