Now we get to Solar:- I was aware that the Government had offered 44 cents per K-Watt that householders fed back into the system. I was not smart enough to take up that offer until the buy-back-rate was reduced to only 8 cents per K-Watt. Off I go and get quotes and was able to purchase 22 solar Panels all inclusive for an investment of $9000. On the 31/5/13, the Supplier turned up and installed “My Solar System”. Most importantly the installer took a photo of the Meter Box when he had finished the installation. This was necessary to show red insulation stuck across the now un-used Hot Water Meter and the relay switches that were there so the Power Company could turn on and off my Hot Water at their will. Secondly, because my billing cycle had already had a month or so of power supply with both tariff usages, it was important to eliminate what I could be charged for, when the next bill arrived. The last account showed that I had a “Daily Usage of 51 units” each day for the 90 day billing period and I was advised that it is possible that the Power supply company could say:- 85 days from last billing cycle at 51 units per day = 4335 units at $x-oo..” 0r estimate the metre readings as if the solar was not installed or any one of many options available to them. At the time the Solar was installed, I still had the normal power metre and my hot water was connected to this normal tariff metre through a “relay switch and a time clock” … (This setup was already in place but connected through the lower tariff metre so I had control of how often power was being sent to the hot water unit while the supplier controlled when power was available or not) The installer set the time clock so the power to the hot water system can only come on between 11am to 12 noon, and again 2pm to 3pm in case there was a cloudy period during any one of these periods. That way, the hot water is being powered for only two hours maximum when the electricity is supplied from my Solar Panels. From 31st May 2013, to 12th July 2013, I still had the “normal power metre’ installed. When the electricity was used during the night of low light, the meter turned in one direction, and when there was little power usage in the home, and the power was being sent to the Power Suppliers Feeder, the metre would turn in the opposite direction. Now; I was calculating my usage daily and reading, and recording the metre numbers each day at 5-30pm. Lets not get too confusing at this point, but say the cost of each unit was 26 cents per unit,. Say the metre on Wednesday 5-30pm was 450, and Thursday morning it was 460 the difference of 10 units shower how much electricity was used during that evening, but, as the sun started and the day progressed, even though the washing machine and the like was being used, the solar was supplying power .. by 5-30pm on Thursday the metre may be showing only 455. That means that apart from what my solar was producing and was being used in my home. The power metre had only recorded an extra 5 chargeable units. Remember that prior to my Solar on 31/5/13 the previous electricity bill indicated that I had an average daily usage of 51 units. Now, my average usage, apart from my solar is only 5 units, or about 10% of the previous bill. If this was a full 90 day period, my electricity bill could have been reduced from $1037-00 to $103-70, a massive saving. I think it was about 26 cents per unit before 1st July, but increased to 30 cents per unit after 1st July. TARIFF 11 RESIDENTIAL PRICING STRUCTUREGST INCLUSIVE NOTIFIED PRICE All consumption - cents per kWh 29.403 cents Daily supply charge (service fee) - cents per day = 55.241 cents
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:21:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015