Solar options for home in 2022.

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13457 posts

Uber Geek

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#3370398 4-May-2025 19:31

prob:

Stu1:

On the 1st of May we have had our system for a year now 😁

Recap on what we have here in Auckland

Fronius Primo 8.0 GEN24 Single Phase Hybrid Inverter + 24x REC Solar's Alpha REC420AA Pure Black solar panel (10.08kW) and a Fronius Wattpilot EVSE

16 Panels facing 297° and 8 Panels facing 117°

Years stats:

Total Consumption 18698.02 kW/h
Energy From Grid 11271.14 kW/h

Consumed Directly 7358.97 kW/h
Energy to Grid 4964.66 kW/h
Total Production 12409.72 kW/h

Average Production 34.04 kW/h
Self Sufficiency 39.10%
Own Consumption 59.68%

We has saved about $2800 there or there abouts.

What did it cost?

Payback is between 7 and 8 years

cruxis

480 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3370583 5-May-2025 13:51

2 month old install 25 degree pitch, The rain we just had in christchurch I was expecting the solar panels would get a good clean, Kinda disappointed in the result. What do people use to clean the panels? Is there a lazy way, like attach a spray bottle to the garden hose on a rainy day? Or I need get off my butt climb the ladder use a brush.

VeNoMouSNZ

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3370593 5-May-2025 14:28

I just had harrisons out here doing a quote, guy was super nice and walked me through everything

With 15 x aiko and a pw3 (rough word of mouth quote, have to wait for the official quote ) i'm looking at ~$33k

richms

28168 posts

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#3370596 5-May-2025 14:33

cruxis:

2 month old install 25 degree pitch, The rain we just had in christchurch I was expecting the solar panels would get a good clean, Kinda disappointed in the result. What do people use to clean the panels? Is there a lazy way, like attach a spray bottle to the garden hose on a rainy day? Or I need get off my butt climb the ladder use a brush.

I have one of these. https://www.bunnings.co.nz/raven-telescopic-water-brush-1-6-3m-1-6-3m_p0444169 - Its not quite enough to get all of them as I have a awening so can only get to them from the ends so the middle top panels miss out on a good scrub.

Richard rich.ms

fastbike

212 posts

Master Geek

#3370601 5-May-2025 14:41

VeNoMouSNZ:

I just had harrisons out here doing a quote, guy was super nice and walked me through everything

With 15 x aiko and a pw3 (rough word of mouth quote, have to wait for the official quote ) i'm looking at ~$33k

How long is the payback ?

Otautahi Christchurch

timmmay

20575 posts

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#3370608 5-May-2025 14:51

I was told you should be quite gentle with solar panels, our installer has a cleaning service that uses specially cleaned water so as not to scratch or damage the panels. The thing is there's going to be dust and dirt in the air anyway, so I'm not sure if they're just trying to sell stuff.

For most people the payback period on a solar system is 6 to 8 years without a battery, with a battery half as long again to double. The feed in rate that you get paid for power is still pretty good in New Zealand, until it goes down I think the only reason to have a battery is to mitigate power cuts or having power in an emergency.

HarmLessSolutions

969 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#3370612 5-May-2025 15:10

timmmay:

I was told you should be quite gentle with solar panels, our installer has a cleaning service that uses specially cleaned water so as not to scratch or damage the panels. The thing is there's going to be dust and dirt in the air anyway, so I'm not sure if they're just trying to sell stuff.

For most people the payback period on a solar system is 6 to 8 years without a battery, with a battery half as long again to double. The feed in rate that you get paid for power is still pretty good in New Zealand, until it goes down I think the only reason to have a battery is to mitigate power cuts or having power in an emergency.

Our original 5kW system was upsized to a 9.5kW so with the installation done in two stages and some tricky onsite issues to work around we are looking at around 9 year ROI.

We are currently having major house renovation works done which includes reroof and associated scaffolding so have decided to add another ~6 kW of panels on the new roof to utilise the 5kW inverter we had gathering dust after our previous upgrade. ROI on that will be 6-9 years depending on what value we put on the repurposed inverter.

We have two phases and intend to export virtually all of the new 5kW portion via a currently unutilised 'spare' phase. The export rates on offer make this viable currently but if FITs decrease significantly and or lines charges increase the ~15kW of generating capacity will provide the opportunity to cut ties with the grid. As V2G becomes more likely our 30kWh Leaf will become the primary battery for this though falling home battery prices may make them a viable option. In the meantime the ~$1,000 worth of surplus generation will be a nice annual windfall.

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

fastbike

212 posts

Master Geek

#3370613 5-May-2025 15:14

timmmay:

For most people the payback period on a solar system is 6 to 8 years without a battery, with a battery half as long again to double. The feed in rate that you get paid for power is still pretty good in New Zealand, until it goes down I think the only reason to have a battery is to mitigate power cuts or having power in an emergency.

... or if the difference between your time of use tariff allows you to effectively run the house 24x7 at the cheapest rate, or you don't want to be too actively managing your loads etc.

I think each case has to be evaluated on its merits. Our primary PV system will have a payback approx 4.5 years, secondary PV (on the garage) < 9 years and battery ~7.5 years. The battery also allows us to export more of our power without running foul of the export limit the PowerCo has set, which is lower than the export limit the LinesCo allows - this means we get a better FIT (17c vs 12c) from PowerCo so that has a positive $$ effect.

And we now also have the option to run the house bit warmer through the cooler months so that is a bonus as well and was another reason to get a battery (the garage was a vanity project LoL).

We have a 18kW of panel, a 26kWh (usable) battery with a 3 phase 10kW inverter plus some Enphase micros on the garage.

It's quite nice to be using bottle sunshine to cook dinner when the sun has gone down :)

Edit: for grammar.

Otautahi Christchurch

RobDickinson

1524 posts

Uber Geek

#3372734 13-May-2025 11:39

VeNoMouSNZ:

With 15 x aiko and a pw3 (rough word of mouth quote, have to wait for the official quote ) i'm looking at ~$33k

That seems spendy

dustysmurf

22 posts

Geek

#3372768 13-May-2025 13:16

Yup can confirm it's a bit high.
My Brother just had a quote for 19x440 Ja Solar & PW3 for $28,8 k (inc gst installed).

VeNoMouSNZ

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3372770 13-May-2025 13:23

dustysmurf:

Yup can confirm it's a bit high.
My Brother just had a quote for 19x440 Ja Solar & PW3 for $28,8 k (inc gst installed).

Can i ask whom that was by, because harrison quoted me 29k for 15 ja's & pw3

LightbulbNeil

57 posts

Master Geek

#3372856 13-May-2025 18:15

We went and bought last year, a solar cleaning kit, Basically this one. I got the 8lt unit with the 6m pole with the tillable head. I did my own cart and reel assembly and did a small change to the tap on the handle assembly. I can either get onto the roof to clean or do it from the ground with ladder frame. It is quickest to clean from the rooftop on a calm evening in the late afternoon. My roof is a shallow 15deg pitch, so is a lot safer angle than a 25 deg. The real trick is developing a system so that you can clean without walking on any wet area.

The pole is not round, so does not rotate as it is extended or retracted as you are using it. That I really like.

If you don't have the safety gear for being on the roof, then clean from the ground. We just use water with the special brush head. Bee poo is the hardest to shift from the panels. From the rooftop our 30 panels, 15kw takes about an hour from initial set up to all packed away. From the ground takes about 1-3/4 to 2 hours depending on the bee issues. Neighbours have bee hive. They do share the honey when they get enough to share, so that is nice.

The filter makes mineral free water. Great for cleaning the shower, house windows, car window washer reservoir and the car windows, as well as the panels. The panel brush is only used on solar panels. We also have a general brush for washing the house, and house windows with the mineral free water.

Yeah not cheap, but I am very happy with the quality and how well it does clean the panels essentially chemical free. I have heard of people using a weak dish washing liquid mix for cleaning very dirty panels. We clean 2 times a year. Around early September, and then in the last week before Christmas day.

This is the link to what we have.

https://purewatercleaning.co.nz/products/complete-solar-panel-cleaning-package-1

There maybe many other places selling something similar.

cruxis:

2 month old install 25 degree pitch, The rain we just had in christchurch I was expecting the solar panels would get a good clean, Kinda disappointed in the result. What do people use to clean the panels? Is there a lazy way, like attach a spray bottle to the garden hose on a rainy day? Or I need get off my butt climb the ladder use a brush.

dustysmurf

22 posts

Geek

#3372858 13-May-2025 18:25

VeNoMouSNZ:

dustysmurf:

Yup can confirm it's a bit high.

My Brother just had a quote for 19x440 Ja Solar & PW3 for $28,8 k (inc gst installed).

Can i ask whom that was by, because harrison quoted me 29k for 15 ja's & pw3

Was solarpulse

19 x 440w Ja Solar JAM54D41-440/LB/1500V Deep Blue

3 x MPPT's PW3 10 kw inverter , 13.5 kWh Battery storage.

$28,878 inc GST, installed.

VeNoMouSNZ

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3372985 14-May-2025 09:17

thanks for the info dustysmurf

nissde

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

ID Verified

#3375486 22-May-2025 00:31

Lucky i found this thread thanks dustysmurf

Solar Pulse is very knowledgeable and offers better pricing with or without battery.

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