Solar options for home in 2022

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#3418515 24-Sep-2025 15:00

Absolutely, in Australia the payout rate is just about nothing, in that case it might make sense for us to have a battery. Still, given we currently consume most of our power around the time we generate it except on the suniest days there's not all that much we would stick in the battery, though that will probably change in summer.

Given the current rates though it wouldn't make any sense at all for us.

cddt

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#3418516 24-Sep-2025 15:02

timmmay:

The only way it would make financial sense for us to get a battery would be if the export rate drops by I don't know maybe 50% or more.

Quite likely in a few years. See what's happening in Aus with the high penetration of solar deployment there. Buyback rates are 3-4 cents, or vary based on time, as low as zero during a window in the middle of the day.

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

HarmLessSolutions

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#3418525 24-Sep-2025 15:13

Be wary of using the Australian FIT situation as a predictor for where New Zealand will head. Aussie has dominance of coal generation in their grid which is far less reactive and easily controlled to complement intermittent renewable inputs. New Zealand by contrast is dominated by hydro which can be dialled up or down far more readily as demand and/or distributed generation inputs change, and if used sensibly could act in a huge battery capacity to buffer and store solar input if not for our faulty grid control structure.

Presently distributed generation is largely regarded as a threat by the gentailers rather than the resource it should be. If the electricity sector does get a badly needed revamp this could very well change with increased FITs and other incentives introduced to help drive change in favour of solar uptake.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

timmmay

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#3418526 24-Sep-2025 15:16

cddt:

Quite likely in a few years. See what's happening in Aus with the high penetration of solar deployment there. Buyback rates are 3-4 cents, or vary based on time, as low as zero during a window in the middle of the day.

Yeah. Though they get a lot more sun so they will probably always have more solar deployments. I think our buyback rates will go down over time, but we've also seen higher buyback rates occasionally here so who knows really.

If it makes financial sense to buy a battery we'll buy a battery. By the time that happens I expect batteries will be cheaper and higher capacity.

EgorNZ

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#3418527 24-Sep-2025 15:22

When thinking about batteries be careful not to oversimplify the situation.

If differential time-of-day tariffs are available to you then the benefit is not simply import rate minus export rate. A battery allows greater scope to time-shift and take advantage of the differential between tariffs, which can be much more significant.

timmmay

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#3418530 24-Sep-2025 15:31

I guess the converse is also true. If you're on a flat rate plan maybe it is a simple decision. We got tired of varying rate plans after we were on Flick a few years ago, we didn't like it. If there was a plan that made it a lot cheaper if you have solar we might consider it, but we'd rather have power as a utility we ignore rather than something we actively manage.

cddt

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#3418536 24-Sep-2025 16:35

HarmLessSolutions:

Be wary of using the Australian FIT situation as a predictor for where New Zealand will head. Aussie has dominance of coal generation in their grid which is far less reactive and easily controlled to complement intermittent renewable inputs. New Zealand by contrast is dominated by hydro which can be dialled up or down far more readily as demand and/or distributed generation inputs change, and if used sensibly could act in a huge battery capacity to buffer and store solar input if not for our faulty grid control structure.

Presently distributed generation is largely regarded as a threat by the gentailers rather than the resource it should be. If the electricity sector does get a badly needed revamp this could very well change with increased FITs and other incentives introduced to help drive change in favour of solar uptake.

That's a good point, you're absolutely correct.

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

wellygary

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#3418545 24-Sep-2025 17:22

HarmLessSolutions:

Be wary of using the Australian FIT situation as a predictor for where New Zealand will head. Aussie has dominance of coal generation in their grid which is far less reactive and easily controlled to complement intermittent renewable inputs. New Zealand by contrast is dominated by hydro which can be dialled up or down far more readily as demand and/or distributed generation inputs change, and if used sensibly could act in a huge battery capacity to buffer and store solar input if not for our faulty grid control structure.

Presently distributed generation is largely regarded as a threat by the gentailers rather than the resource it should be. If the electricity sector does get a badly needed revamp this could very well change with increased FITs and other incentives introduced to help drive change in favour of solar uptake.

The next few years will be very interesting for residential solar, as grid scale solar really gets cranking,

The number of plants being built and consented is HUGE, and will likely swamp residential generation

This article
https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/solar-power-on-course-to-power-every-new-zealand-home/

It uses EA figures from here,
https://www.emi.ea.govt.nz/Retail/Reports/GUEHMT?

and notes that total solar is about 660MW installed, with 350MW being residential,

this is due next year, (170WM)

https://contact.co.nz/about-us/sustainability/our-projects/kowhai-park

and there are a number of 300-400MW plants planned, for the next few year ( residential is adding maybe 100MW per year,- 10,000 installs @10KW )

Whether the Gentailers maintain interest is engaging with residential solar buy backs must be a moot point,

KiwiSurfer

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#3418546 24-Sep-2025 17:35

timmmay:

I guess the converse is also true. If you're on a flat rate plan maybe it is a simple decision. We got tired of varying rate plans after we were on Flick a few years ago, we didn't like it. If there was a plan that made it a lot cheaper if you have solar we might consider it, but we'd rather have power as a utility we ignore rather than something we actively manage.

Agreed. I did a lot of back testing based on our actual hourly data to see whether a TOU plan would be viable for my household and the TOU plans were always the most expensive ($500+ on TOU plans vs <$200 on flat rate plans) for our usage. The delta was enough that to make TOU work for us, we would basically have to entirely change our approach to using power and even so the savings wouldn't be that much money over just staying on a flat rate plan and just accepting our peak usage will be at the same peak as everyone else.

TOU only really works if (1) you naturally use power in a way that your high usage happens to to dovetail well with the cheaper times -- e.g. you have an EV, your work shifts puts your cooking/shower times outside the peak, etc or (2) you obsess over changing your lifestlye to fit what the power co wants you to do -- i.e. the tail wagging the dog.

dukezoid

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#3418551 24-Sep-2025 17:58

KiwiSurfer:

timmmay:

I guess the converse is also true. If you're on a flat rate plan maybe it is a simple decision. We got tired of varying rate plans after we were on Flick a few years ago, we didn't like it. If there was a plan that made it a lot cheaper if you have solar we might consider it, but we'd rather have power as a utility we ignore rather than something we actively manage.

Agreed. I did a lot of back testing based on our actual hourly data to see whether a TOU plan would be viable for my household and the TOU plans were always the most expensive ($500+ on TOU plans vs <$200 on flat rate plans) for our usage. The delta was enough that to make TOU work for us, we would basically have to entirely change our approach to using power and even so the savings wouldn't be that much money over just staying on a flat rate plan and just accepting our peak usage will be at the same peak as everyone else.

TOU only really works if (1) you naturally use power in a way that your high usage happens to to dovetail well with the cheaper times -- e.g. you have an EV, your work shifts puts your cooking/shower times outside the peak, etc or (2) you obsess over changing your lifestlye to fit what the power co wants you to do -- i.e. the tail wagging the dog.

?!(3) you have a sufficient (generally around 16+kWh) battery and peak shave, never shelling out for the expensy day/peak rate

The smartie (solar +) batt folks who got onto the ‘4 hours free’ plans are killing it. Very locked down now though, distributed gen metres blacklisted.

prob

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#3418553 24-Sep-2025 18:20

timmmay:

I read in the news not long ago that solar export is considered income and people should pay tax on the income. From memory the tax department had decided not to pursue this, though I guess it could be considered tax evasion.

Article

Income from selling excess power is taxable but a government bill now before the House would change that. Here is the explanation from the bill:

Income from residential supply of excess electricity

An individual can generate electricity from their residential property for their own use and, depending on the electricity retailer, can sell any excess back to the network. The retailer either pays or provides a credit or discount to the individual for the electricity supplied.

Inland Revenue has indicated that, although dependent on the particular facts and legal arrangements, in many cases amounts derived from the sale of excess electricity are likely to be assessable income.

Inland Revenue expects that tax compliance among these individuals is low, as they may not be aware that the amounts are likely to be taxable income. However, in many cases, the compliance costs associated with these obligations are likely to be disproportionately high compared with any tax revenue gained. This is because most individuals would not normally need to file tax returns as all their income has tax deducted at source from salary, wages, or investment income. High compliance costs may also arise from apportionment issues due to the private limitation on deductions.

It would be resource-intensive for Inland Revenue to monitor compliance among these individuals. It is also likely that many individuals would be in a tax loss position due to their expenses (for example, the cost of solar generation assets) outweighing any income.

The Bill proposes to introduce an income tax exemption for income derived by an individual from the sale of excess electricity from a residential property to the network. Under the exemption, individuals would not need to pay tax on, or file a tax return for, income derived from the sale of excess electricity. However, they would no longer be entitled to deductions relating to this activity.

The proposal would have effect for the 2026–27 and later income years.

Taxation (Annual Rates for 2025–26, Compliance Simplification, and Remedial Measures) Bill 2025 No 199-1

dantheperson

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#3418604 24-Sep-2025 21:58

timmmay:

We pay 21c/kwh and get paid 19c/kwh for exported power.

Where can i get such a rate please?

timmmay

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#3418607 24-Sep-2025 22:13

dantheperson:

timmmay:

We pay 21c/kwh and get paid 19c/kwh for exported power.

Where can i get such a rate please?

Meridian solar plan. You have to contact them for rates in your area, I guess they vary.

dantheperson

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#3418608 24-Sep-2025 22:22

timmmay:

Meridian solar plan. You have to contact them for rates in your area, I guess they vary.

Oh meridian, yes i'm about to run my spreadsheet against them, but only 17c buyback in auckland, and 29c anytime. I guess you are on high user which changes anytime usage to 22c, but i'd save more on on the daily charge with low user. I thought most people with solar would fall into the low user category. Keen to lock in the low user daily rate for 3 years before they disappear.

fastbike

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#3418618 25-Sep-2025 06:45

timmmay:

Meridian solar plan. You have to contact them for rates in your area, I guess they vary.

Unfortunately such sweet rate are not available in the Orion networks area (greater Christchurch) - here we have a plan with 17c FIT, imports are 18.14c from 9pm-7am and 30.31c during the day.

So a battery that is charged by sun, or at night on sunless days, makes sense if you need to use power at those peak times as you can avoid paying the higher rates: here's the daytime usage kWh from recent bills:
- 11 June   19
- 11 July    59
- 11 Aug    18
- 11 Sep    8
So a total of around 110kWh for the whole of winter. Last year the two highest were around 900kWh per month !

The other reason we got a battery is that we are limited to a max of 10kW export at that FIT, go over it and they will credit ALL exports at a measly 12c. At peak sunshine hours in the sunnier months (Sep - Mar) we could be leaving up to 24kWh/day of exports on the table (we have 15kW of PV/inverter). Having the battery allows us to export early in the day if required and then store that excess PV for later use / export. So a win - win for the power system and our bank account.
As I type we are exporting 5kW which will be powering a neighbour either side of us :)

Back to the video linked earlier, this why I and other contributors to this thread believe that simplistic spreadsheets are no substitute for better data, modelling and a deeper understanding of how a distributed generation system (PV + battery) will work for your own circumstances. I hope the solar broker does such an individualised analysis for their clients rather than just clipping the ticket for a preferred installer. Reading their website makes me think they are a lead generation firm for their installers.

Otautahi Christchurch

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