Vector Solar panel trial

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110 posts

Master Geek

#930376 10-Nov-2013 20:02

Looks to be nice and tidy, grow some vegetation each side and perfecto.

Porboynz

110 posts

Master Geek

#930982 11-Nov-2013 19:08

Dav4122: Some photos of the cabinet going in for those of you wondering about size/contents

Were you given a guided tour of the components? Looks like batteries in the bottom, switch panel mid rhs, maybe battery charger/controller mid lhs and inverter top. I presume there is some sort of cellular connection to monitor alarms and battery state, plus I suspect its locked up nice and tight now? I wonder what the process is when you want to paint the house or similar activity and need access? Any audible noise or heat given off? Last of all can you post a close up of the PV panels, they seem to have a bevelled flashing along the bottom edge. Thanks for sharing.

naggyman

697 posts

Ultimate Geek

#930994 11-Nov-2013 19:18

Porboynz: Last of all can you post a close up of the PV panels, they seem to have a bevelled flashing along the bottom edge. Thanks for sharing.

Click on the images to go to his flickr page with other photos.

Morgan French-Stagg

morgan.french.net.nz

Dav4122

73 posts

Master Geek

#931032 11-Nov-2013 20:41

Porboynz:
Dav4122: ...

Were you given a guided tour of the components? Looks like batteries in the bottom, switch panel mid rhs, maybe battery charger/controller mid lhs and inverter top. I presume there is some sort of cellular connection to monitor alarms and battery state, plus I suspect its locked up nice and tight now? I wonder what the process is when you want to paint the house or similar activity and need access? Any audible noise or heat given off? Last of all can you post a close up of the PV panels, they seem to have a bevelled flashing along the bottom edge. Thanks for sharing.

I wasn't given a tour of the components as I was at work but my partner snapped these pictures for me.
I agree it must be the battery at the bottom, not sure about the others though - a large hex bolt is keeping the door shut to stop me having a look myself.

No noise or heat (other than what you would get on any other metal on the sunny side of the house)

there is a cat 5 cable coming through my floor to the router currently, although the tech said this could be changed to WiFi later if needed

The flashing on the bottom of the PV panels is to hide the rest of the frame / help with water run off from what I can see.

Here are some pictures of the online dashboard that gives some idea what is being monitored by Vector (if sanitised for the home user)

Dav4122

73 posts

Master Geek

#1026339 16-Apr-2014 17:53

Thought I would give a quick update on how having (Vector) solar panels have been

On my meridian power bill over the past 6 months I have exported back (reduced my power bill)
Oct - $32.90
Nov - $33.35
Dec - $22.42
Jan - $6.08
Feb - $35.52
Mar - $12.98

Now bearing in mind that I pay $70 to Vector each month ontop of my bill this doesn't look great so far...
But my normal day to day electricity usage has dropped as we use power off the battery for most of our always on circuits (like water pump, lights, fridge)

Side note: If you do upgrade to an export meter don't just say you want an export meter (i.e. the stupid has to be read by a person type) ask for one of the smart export meters that calls in an actual reading itself each month. Our estimated readings have been Wildly off with our actual usage because they are using our pre-solar readings and the actual readings of other homes (who don't use solar) in our area to generate these estimates - Its a small thing but having to take your own reading and send it in every second month is a chore I'd rather you avoid

So as a purely economic prospect Solar doesn't break even for my place with our power usage

However when there is a power cut (seems like fortnightly in my part of west Auckland) I enjoy having the lights on and surfing the web while my neighbours walk around with flashlights. Don't have to reset the microwave clock either!

Porboynz

110 posts

Master Geek

#1026408 16-Apr-2014 19:36

Great feedback, I am planning to do the same once I get a few more months data. Are those monthly charges inclusive of line charges etc or is that the power only fee less whatever was exported? My monthly has been about $80 - $90 inclusive of export credit, line charges and imported power. That's based on about 20kWh power per day overall usage. The last 2 days have been appalling, only about 5kWh generated each day and a tiny amount exported.

Dav4122

73 posts

Master Geek

#1026488 16-Apr-2014 22:07

Porboynz: Great feedback, I am planning to do the same once I get a few more months data. Are those monthly charges inclusive of line charges etc or is that the power only fee less whatever was exported? My monthly has been about $80 - $90 inclusive of export credit, line charges and imported power. That's based on about 20kWh power per day overall usage. The last 2 days have been appalling, only about 5kWh generated each day and a tiny amount exported.

Sorry that was the exported credit I was getting on my bills

I will take a look at the details of my bills to work out accurate power usage for you - with the estimate bills being so off some bills are high and then the next are in credit or for short dates when I have taken my own readings

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Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

timmmay

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#1026541 17-Apr-2014 07:08

Since you use much of the power you generate isn't the export credit only part of your savings? If you total your power bills for the same period the previous year how much lower (including exporting credit) are the bills after the solar system went in?

Exporting is really just a bonus, generating and using your own power and reducing your own bill is the major advantage AFAIK.

xontech

268 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1026587 17-Apr-2014 08:41

Yes that was what I was going to chip in with.
We had our Vector Solar installed about 2 months ago. Since then our power bill has dropped from around $170 per month to the last 2 being around $65. With the system we got costing $92.50 per month I did some very rough calc's to include install costs such that we need to see around $114 per month savings on our power bill over the 12.5 lease term to be winning.
We are close to that now, obviously it will change over winter and we will really need a whole year to assess the financial viability.
In saying that, we have just now managed to sign up as low users (less than 8000kWh per year) which means our daily fixed charge drops by around $48 per month with a nominal increase in per kWh rate.
I see the Vector Solar as locking in our per kWh rate for the solar generated power for the next 12.5 years, so were are effectively banking on electricity companies increasing their per kWh charge over that time and making savings then.
Meanwhile, its a cool thing to have around, and if nothing else it has given us more tools to manage our power usage.

timmmay

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#1026588 17-Apr-2014 08:46

It sounds like it's barely viable, and won't save any significant money until the system is fully paid off, by then it may need replacement or maintenance. I think the win here is for Vector, who keeps getting paid and reduces the load on their grid.

xontech

268 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1026592 17-Apr-2014 08:51

It is a lease model, you don't own the equipment at the end. So yes, you need to be making savings during the 12.5 term of the lease if it is all about saving money.
For me, every way I cut the numbers I seem to be within $10 or so a month difference either way. Obviously if electricity companies raise their per kWh rates in the next 12.5 years this system will become more financially viable.
Another way I have considered this from Vectors perspective is that not only are they are able to reduce peak loadings on their infrastructure, they have also kind of become a generation company as well as a lines company. I do wonder how that will impact their relationships with the other generation companies.

timmmay

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#1026607 17-Apr-2014 09:01

Given how little is exported they're not really a generator yet, around half of their customers would have to have solar to be a net exporter.

Plus, THEY'RE THE SAME LINES EVERYONE USES. It's just an accounting exercise. If we had one efficient company running the power system the whole country would be better off. Right now we have half a dozen companies doing the same thing. Sure we get competition which can drive prices down, but the duplicated effort will be costing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

berend

62 posts

Master Geek

#1026629 17-Apr-2014 09:31

timmmay: It sounds like it's barely viable, and won't save any significant money until the system is fully paid off, by then it may need replacement or maintenance. I think the win here is for Vector, who keeps getting paid and reduces the load on their grid.

The people who did the calculations before signing up already told you so :-)

The sums don't work, unless we see substantial increases in electricity prices.

xontech

268 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1026630 17-Apr-2014 09:31

I still think they are a generator, they are generating electricity for me.

berend

62 posts

Master Geek

#1026633 17-Apr-2014 09:32

timmmay: Given how little is exported they're not really a generator yet, around half of their customers would have to have solar to be a net exporter.

Plus, THEY'RE THE SAME LINES EVERYONE USES. It's just an accounting exercise. If we had one efficient company running the power system the whole country would be better off. Right now we have half a dozen companies doing the same thing. Sure we get competition which can drive prices down, but the duplicated effort will be costing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

Why have multiple car manufacturers, surely one would be more efficient! Just as one thought people would have learned from the experiences in the USSR, North Korea, and Cuba, then you learn that people don't learn from history.

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