Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Solar Power Array

I recently received my power bill for the last 66 days. The solar panel array is paying off as well as the fact that I am living alone and watching my power use. The bill amounted to $2.80!

The solar subsidy in this state, Western Australia, has been drastically reduced by the government. People who bought a solar setup after the subsidy cut-off point receive only seven cents for each kilowatt fed back into the grid. I, Helen and James and brother Graham signed up when the subsidy was 40c a kilowatt for electricity fed back into the grid. And as you can see it gives a good return on investment for the $1900 outlay for the panels. The subsidy is for 10 years and at this rate I should pay mine off in a few years.

There are a few tricks to getting the best results. Do washing and ironing and use the dishwasher etc when the sun is not shining and get as many units back into the grid @ 40c whilst the sun is out. Use the grid power for those power hungry jobs @ 4c a unit. Makes sense!

Today Helen finalised the Bali accommodation bookings and I paid by PayPal. All done. Helen and James may have house sitters for the 8 days we are away. I am not sure about my place...maybe talk brother Graham in dropping in every 3 or 4 days to check on things and crank up the reticulation.


If you want to check out the accommodation see it out here.

2 comments:

Bernie said...

Good for you Kev, you are right on top of the energy savings. It doesn't seem to be very hard to do chores at those hours. I wouldn't even hint at what my energy bill is a month, although I don't have the panels I do watch the time I use my applicances. I think we may be a bit more expensive here in Canada.
Bali accomodations look lovely, will be a great trip....:-)Hugs

Anonymous said...

Kev, $2.80 compared to my bill of $225.65, My previous bill was $90. When I complained they said that the meter hadn't been read because I have a dog on the property and so they just take an average. He hadn't read next door's either because they have a dog. All the dogs are kept inside,..Your accommodation in Bali looks great Kev. You'll have a really relaxing time with the kids, you deserve it, Marg