Solar options for home in 2022.

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885 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#3252895 25-Jun-2024 09:48

BlargHonk:

Has anyone here looked into Solar Zero before? Their system of Solar+Batteries and using them as a "powerplant" during times of high spot prices is interesting. Just not sure I would want to be locked in for 20years

I recently made an offer on a property and had to back out over the SolarZero. I currently have LG Panels and a Powerwall 2. Love it. I was looking at downsizing, and the property sounded great, but the Agent was totally misleading buyers. I could get no details on system size, and it sounded like it was a VPP with no control over it. A big bunch of research led me to believe not to go near it. You are locked in unless you transfer, payout or a new buyer takes it over. It sits as a covenant on the property. She kept saying they pay $20, but the bill showed no usage, no unit rates, just a lump amount. What you pay is based on your past power bills. I could not make the 20k maths stack up vs the system I had now.

eonsim

398 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#3252949 25-Jun-2024 11:32

BlargHonk:

Has anyone here looked into Solar Zero before? Their system of Solar+Batteries and using them as a "powerplant" during times of high spot prices is interesting. Just not sure I would want to be locked in for 20years

Solar Zero is okay if you can't afford the upfront cost of solar.

The consequence is you'll be locked into a 20 year contract with fixed power prices, and the system they install will not be fully under your control, they'll use it to export power during grid emergencies and similar. If you sell the house you'll need to get the buyer to take over the contract, or simply include the buy-out cost of the contract in the house asking price, or ask Solar Zero to remove the system.

If you can afford the cost of installing solar then you'll be the one getting all the benefits of the solar system plus full freedom to do what you like rather than just cheaper power from SolarZero.

tweake

2391 posts

Uber Geek

#3252967 25-Jun-2024 12:04

be very wary of those solar contracts.

a mate has a neighbor who went with a crowd based out of oz many years ago. all good at the start, but then all the maintenance stopped and your locked into their power pricing which went up.

i would make sure you have a good exit clause in the contract.

LightbulbNeil

57 posts

Master Geek

#3253011 25-Jun-2024 13:06

BlargHonk:

Has anyone here looked into Solar Zero before? Their system of Solar+Batteries and using them as a "powerplant" during times of high spot prices is interesting. Just not sure I would want to be locked in for 20years

We looked into it. Decided it was not what we wanted to do in the end.

I know someone who has Solar Zero with their home, it was already there, and were talked into keeping the contract.

For her, it is not a good deal at all, but is cheaper to keep the current contract than the cost of buying out of it and bowering the money to do so .

I only know 2 people who have had or have Solar Zero, and neither are very impressed with it, and strongly recommended I did not go with them.

It maybe a good deal for some people, but you really need to do some looking into it before the commitment that is for sure. We ended going with a company that could do a 3phase solar installation, rather than getting a percentage rewired to single phase configuration.

No doubt, their variety of plans they offer, may be the right fit for you.

In our case, we don't have a battery, have a 3phase system that allows over 15kw to be sold to the grid, in our case Meridian (5 year fixed contract), and we have no power bills. If we borrowed the money to do what we did, would be around 8.5 to 9 years to be paid off, if we went with the Westpac 5 years interest free. The power bill saved plus the excess solar credit , in our case becomes a total of around $4300 per year, after 5 years , paid off $21500 or so, of the 30600 initial investment. That will leave about 3 years of power bills for the rest. I have allowed for the 5% of degradation of the panels performance after 8 years, and not getting a credit after the 5 year fixed pricing from Meridian ends.

What suites one family or household, may not be the best option for another. Also , do check and talk with someone from the lines company in your area , and then also check with your solar installer what can be exported or saved or have a car connected etc, as even since September last year when we looked at the solar side, things have changed alot. With different inverters, newer panel technology that is less effected by shading, and better battery options (I'm on the fence about batteries) as well as some systems allow for adding more panels latter through the spare channel on the Inverter.

Think about the placement of the inverter, as they do make a noise while working in the day. Ours is placed outside under the eave of the house, for example, you may wish to have it in the garage or close to the power meter box. If you want batteries, where will you put them? inside, outside another consideration. Is the roof or the area you are looking for panels mostly unshaded and the general condition of the roof.

The company that you decide to go with, can advise you on all the above, but it is good to have an idea about what you are getting. It pays to get several quotes from at least 3 different companies, and see which of the various options you like.

I think it is very competitive the solar installation side of things. Do check with insurance , which ever system you are getting as well. On our drive around on Sunday, we have noticed alot more places with panels on the house roofs, while at the same time, (am looking at a new development across the road), and no consideration for panels has been done for the roof design.

That's my view this week. In a years time it may be all different again.

Neil

Dilbonius

16 posts

Geek

#3253041 25-Jun-2024 15:04

LightbulbNeil:

In our case, we don't have a battery, have a 3phase system that allows over 15kw to be sold to the grid, in our case Meridian (5 year fixed contract), and we have no power bills. If we borrowed the money to do what we did, would be around 8.5 to 9 years to be paid off, if we went with the Westpac 5 years interest free. The power bill saved plus the excess solar credit , in our case becomes a total of around $4300 per year, after 5 years , paid off $21500 or so, of the 30600 initial investment.

Having a 5 year green loan hugely decreases the net present value. Unfortunately we've only got BNZ's 1% 3yr green loan. Who did you get your solar off? Does the inverter do unbalanced phases for that price? Any more details on your location, roof angle etc? I figure when I'm using my own solar I save about 18c/kWh but selling it only gets 12c/kWh. It may not make sense for me to farm solar to export.

LightbulbNeil

57 posts

Master Geek

#3253101 25-Jun-2024 16:01

Dilbonius:

LightbulbNeil:

In our case, we don't have a battery, have a 3phase system that allows over 15kw to be sold to the grid, in our case Meridian (5 year fixed contract), and we have no power bills. If we borrowed the money to do what we did, would be around 8.5 to 9 years to be paid off, if we went with the Westpac 5 years interest free. The power bill saved plus the excess solar credit , in our case becomes a total of around $4300 per year, after 5 years , paid off $21500 or so, of the 30600 initial investment.

Having a 5 year green loan hugely decreases the net present value. Unfortunately we've only got BNZ's 1% 3yr green loan. Who did you get your solar off? Does the inverter do unbalanced phases for that price? Any more details on your location, roof angle etc? I figure when I'm using my own solar I save about 18c/kWh but selling it only gets 12c/kWh. It may not make sense for me to farm solar to export.

On page 29 and 30 are my roof installation pictures. Its a shallow 15 deg roof and we use about $3600 is our power bill including the line charges. We went with Harrisons and a 15kw Fronius 3ph inverter SYMO-15-3M . We are in Hamilton and do have some roof shadow from Council planted trees. We went with the 500w industrial panels instead of the 400w domestic panels, mainly because it meant 30 panels for 15kw, which actually is a 13kwh system as the 2 east west arrays are a combined 8kwh peak. In Summer we have seen over 17kwh on the meter and produce over 100 kwh exported in a day. I looked at the various plans etc , and for us went with Meridian and are locked in for 5 years the low user rate, and the 17c sell rate, but have the nearly 30c buy rate. Over the next couple of months will use about $300 of the credit, and by the time November 17 arrives, I will have a good idea of how much actual credit we will get in a year. It is looking like around $1400 or so. After the 5 years is up, we will look what offers are around and then look at battery options again as well. Our inverter is compatible with a Telsla powerwall, but would require 3 of those to be on 3phase power. The Gen24 inverters, look like they will allow 3phase power off of 1 battery , and does not have to be Tesla. The other option for our inverter is another device that is AC connected between the inverter and main supply, that will allow for the BYD batteries, that are a module system, and for more storage capacity , just add another when needed. We also could add 4 more panels to the East West array, making that come up to effective 10kwh, and that would make sense to do that when we get a battery of some type. Inverters last about 10years on average it seems, but some have had their inverters now for 20 years.

The inverter can have un even loads on any phase, but is limited in the software to 6.67 kw/phase I think . Certainly it will not go beyond the limit set in the parameters of the inverter. I will need some help to see what the max on any one phase has been through the inverter. The resultant or excess power is split fairly evenly through the 3 phases back into the grid. The highest load is when we had the 2 ovens going as well as all 4 hobs on the induction cooktop. Our house is fairly well balanced for the current draw per phase when we have all 4 heatpumps going in winter. Our hot water is on Bottle gas with an instant heater in the roof, that minimises the shunt time for hot water. Technically, the power sold does also pay for the hot water bill at the moment.

We didn't initially set out to be selling the most power we can, rather based it on how much can it generate over the winter months to pay for the home heating in the day. So some days in winter, we use way more than we can generate. Other winter days, it puts credit on the meter. All we wanted was No power bills when we retire, and it all paid for before we retire as well. And it will definitely be doing that.

Edit, January 1st, was one of the most productive days and exported 116kwh, all 3 phases were even from the panels to the house through the inverter, with a peak of 20.15 amps on each phase.

Neil

Dilbonius

16 posts

Geek

#3253144 25-Jun-2024 19:11

Out of curiosity I plugged Neil's output and system cost into my spreadsheet and it only got an ROI of 5% or so vs 8.5% for smaller ~7kw systems. I guess our winters are super cold down here so it doesn't pay off.

Scottyd89

14 posts

Geek

#3253925 27-Jun-2024 19:40

Hi All,

Have been reading on here for a while. Just got solar installed yesterday. 7.2kw panels, with 6kw inverter. Obviously the installer turned the switch off left, but me being curious turned it back on. Very pleased with 19kwh produced today under a clear Auckland sky. I guess the question is, without having the import/export meter yet, does my current smart meter recognise the difference between import vs export. I'm not concerned about not getting the feed in tariff, but more so about getting charged if my meter thinks any thing going through it is all imported. Anyone with recent experience have any advice? Yes I could just switch it off, but it's a new toy!

HarmLessSolutions

969 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3253931 27-Jun-2024 20:03

Scottyd89:

Hi All,

Have been reading on here for a while. Just got solar installed yesterday. 7.2kw panels, with 6kw inverter. Obviously the installer turned the switch off left, but me being curious turned it back on. Very pleased with 19kwh produced today under a clear Auckland sky. I guess the question is, without having the import/export meter yet, does my current smart meter recognise the difference between import vs export. I'm not concerned about not getting the feed in tariff, but more so about getting charged if my meter thinks any thing going through it is all imported. Anyone with recent experience have any advice? Yes I could just switch it off, but it's a new toy!

Hi, Welcome to the 'solar club'.

In our case Wells took their sweet time (~2 weeks) in fitting our export meter and from memory there was no suggestion that export was monitored (or charged as import) so I think you're safe in that respect.

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

Scottyd89

14 posts

Geek

#3253935 27-Jun-2024 20:25

HarmLessSolutions:

Scottyd89:

Hi All,

Have been reading on here for a while. Just got solar installed yesterday. 7.2kw panels, with 6kw inverter. Obviously the installer turned the switch off left, but me being curious turned it back on. Very pleased with 19kwh produced today under a clear Auckland sky. I guess the question is, without having the import/export meter yet, does my current smart meter recognise the difference between import vs export. I'm not concerned about not getting the feed in tariff, but more so about getting charged if my meter thinks any thing going through it is all imported. Anyone with recent experience have any advice? Yes I could just switch it off, but it's a new toy!

Hi, Welcome to the 'solar club'.

In our case Wells took their sweet time (~2 weeks) in fitting our export meter and from memory there was no suggestion that export was monitored (or charged as import) so I think you're safe in that respect.

Thanks. We have inspection over the weekend, and I guess it's up to the gods as to when Meridian want to change the meter. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy watching live numbers. How long until the novelty wears off?

Jase2985

13457 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3253938 27-Jun-2024 20:32

my meter was installed well before my solar install.

at the moment, you just wont be getting any credit for any export.

Scottyd89

14 posts

Geek

#3253941 27-Jun-2024 20:51

I thought sign off had to be complete before the retailer would come out and change the meter. It's just hurry up and wait for the time being. Never realised I was so impatient.

HarmLessSolutions

969 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3253943 27-Jun-2024 20:53

Scottyd89:

Thanks. We have inspection over the weekend, and I guess it's up to the gods as to when Meridian want to change the meter. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy watching live numbers. How long until the novelty wears off?

We've got our Fronius app, SolarAnalytics, Evnex and Polestar apps and the Paladin readout to watch. Keeps me entertained for hours even after close to a year since install.

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

HarmLessSolutions

969 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3253944 27-Jun-2024 20:55

Scottyd89:

I thought sign off had to be complete before the retailer would come out and change the meter. It's just hurry up and wait for the time being. Never realised I was so impatient.

Not so bad if you have an EVSE and HWC diverter operating. At least that way all that generation isn't being given away.

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

LightbulbNeil

57 posts

Master Geek

#3253945 27-Jun-2024 20:57

In our case, they were telling me the existing meter just needed a firmware upgrade. So I started looking at what Fronius was saying I was importing and then exporting. The meter in our house was quite a bit different. Eventually , Meridian got Well/Wells to change out the meter and they put in 2 new meters. Now Fronius data and the Meridian data is very close, within a few kwh per month.

Using your solar power during the day is to your advantage, especially in winter. So any solar power you use, is energy that you are not needing to import.

Today was a really good day for Hamilton solar people, as it was about as good as can be expected with almost no clouds and makes that nice arc shape.

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