Vector Solar panel trial

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#1026638 17-Apr-2014 09:35

berend:
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.

I didn't sign up, no-one told me so!

berend: 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.

Electricity is electricity, there's no variation. Cars vary hugely by size and quality. The comparison is flawed.

xontech

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#1026640 17-Apr-2014 09:36

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

Not sure that the sums don't work, for example if I based my sums over the past 2 months I've been on the system and if I had been on the low user rate with my electricity retailer from the start then I would have had a clear saving of $50 per month on my previous $170 per month electricity bill. This saving takes in to account the cost of having the solar.

I say I'm not sure yet because as I said above, really need a full year to know the full picture.

berend

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#1026679 17-Apr-2014 09:55

timmmay: Electricity is electricity, there's no variation. Cars vary hugely by size and quality. The comparison is flawed.

Should we generate electricity using solar? Hydro? Coal? Nuclear? Who can tell you that answer unless various companies try that out? And how? On what scale? Multiple smaller installations or one big one?

Your analogy is simply flawed: a car is a transport mechanism. So from that perspective every car is equal to every other car.

timmmay

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#1026682 17-Apr-2014 09:57

The generation mechanism is important, but in the end electricity is a simple commodity that's the same no matter how it's generated.

Though I can see people here like to argue just for the sake of it, so I'm out.

berend

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#1026691 17-Apr-2014 10:03

xontech: Not sure that the sums don't work, for example if I based my sums over the past 2 months I've been on the system and if I had been on the low user rate with my electricity retailer from the start then I would have had a clear saving of $50 per month on my previous $170 per month electricity bill. This saving takes in to account the cost of having the solar.

I say I'm not sure yet because as I said above, really need a full year to know the full picture.

You wrote the system did cost you $92.50. Does that include the up-front payment? To do the correct calculations, the simplest way is to do this:

1. Assume you would have put the up-front cost in the bank.

2. Assume you leave it there, and it would start earning interest of 4%.

3. At the end of 12.5 years you would have $4,942.05.

4. Unfortunately you need to pay taxes over your interest So the calculation is imperfect.

See http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm

So include that in your 12.5 year term calculations. I.e. you need to add about $30 every month to the cost.

PS: updated post, just saw that the interest.co.nz calculator had a 60 month maximum, and we need to do it over 150 months, so my initial numbers were off.

Dav4122

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#1026694 17-Apr-2014 10:03

Here is the math for my situation:

6 months total bill = $398.81 (all charges and exports included)
6 months of Vector charges = $420

So total charges of $818.81

The average customer (so meridian tells me) would spend $715.38 in 6 months.

So roughly an extra $200 a year for all the non $$$ benefits of solar

berend

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#1026700 17-Apr-2014 10:09

Dav4122: Here is the math for my situation:

I suppose that does not include the up-front cost?

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xontech

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#1026707 17-Apr-2014 10:20

berend: You wrote the system did cost you $92.50. Does that include the up-front payment? To do the correct calculations, the simplest way is to do this:

I may not have explained that bit very well earlier on.......
The $92.50 is the monthly lease cost to Vector for a 4kWh system.
I had spread the cost of the installation across the 12.5 years, making the monthly cost to Vector plus spread out installation costs around $114 per month.
This doesn't include putting an interest cost on to the installation costs, like I mentioned earlier my calc's weren't factoring in every variable, mainly because it was getting very difficult to factor in every variable and was risking getting numbers based on a lot of guesses (eg how much will I export).

I think your comment about adding $30 per month on to the Vector charge isn't too far off the mark as a good guide. For our installation we opted for a full main board replacement, so we did spend more than we needed to but it gave us a modern main board with all the benefits, replacing a 30 year old one.

Dav4122

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#1026765 17-Apr-2014 10:58

berend:
Dav4122: Here is the math for my situation:

I suppose that does not include the up-front cost?

No I left that one out - it will be in an earlier post, but around $2k from memory

richms

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#1026806 17-Apr-2014 12:02

I looked at my usage and right now I would massively lose out going for this as I am only there to use the power 2 days of the week.

Might be workable once I have the pool fixed with the pump pulling just over a kw all day during the day...

Richard rich.ms

gchiu

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#1115900 26-Aug-2014 14:50

Is the design of the SunGenie system open source?

I'm wondering if this could be done, or similar, by other installers/retailers around the country.

I've seen quotes for $1k per kwh of battery, but then wondering why we can't use a Holden/Chevrolet Volt car battery ( Lithium Ion) which are about $3k US for similar kWh.

Dav4122

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#1115913 26-Aug-2014 15:15

Not open source as far as I can see, but the values it sends are fairly simple and then the solar genie site just graphs and logs them. The though bits would be the UI and the password stuff

Vector is a lines company rather than a power company so that may skew the cost/benefit for other companies doing this

gchiu

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#1116019 26-Aug-2014 17:50

I was actually referring to the system design .. components etc.

I was wondering if everyone had the same gear ( batteries, inverters, battery management software ) whether that might help grid stability in the future as the number of grid interactive installations increases.

And at least if someone has already done the design, we will know it all works. Just then need an installer to put it all together.

xontech

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#1116285 27-Aug-2014 09:52

gchiu: Is the design of the SunGenie system open source?.

AFAIK, the Vector system is re-badged one from Sunverge - http://sunverge.com/

gchiu

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#1116369 27-Aug-2014 11:42

Good to know.
Has anyone priced up the individual components?

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