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Forum Index : Solar : Energex disconnecting homes with off grid
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Madness Guru  Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
I have heard from a few people that Energex does not like it if you are generating power yourself and not using much of their power. As a result of this people have been disconnected, this has only been hearsay so it may be bullsh*t. Has anyone else heard of this? My reason for asking is I am gradually increase my solar system size with the plan being to relocated down the track and then be totally off grid. However at present I am trying to use the gear I have as much as possible. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
I dont think there would be much truth in it. I know of power meters that may use $20 worth of power in a year, but remain connected. I think power would be part of a government guarentee that applies to some basic services, like phone. Companies like Telstra are required by the government to provide basic services, even if it's not profitable for them. For example, my telephone cable involved a team of 3 and a trencher operaing for a week, trenching in a 2km cable. That would have cost Telstra thousands of dollars, but they could only charge me the standard connection fee. Same with power companies, they would have to provide the service by law. Like of lot of rumors, this one would be started by those who cant afford to go solar. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
Solar is getting cheap now if you keep your eyes open, I have got 16 180 watt panels for under $1000. Outback MPPT charge controller for $300, new 2400 watt sine wave inverter charger from Taiwan cost me under $500 delivered. Also picked up heap of new reject batteries from the scrap metal yard for next to nothing, also got the proper wire for panels at the same scrap yard. Missed out on a complete 1 KW grid tie system the day for $300. Compared to the price of electricity now solar is better than affordable if you use your head. How long ago did you get that phone line in, I thought is all now pay the cost not like it used to be. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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| davef Guru Joined: 14/05/2006 Location: New ZealandPosts: 499 |
Madness, Was that a pure sinewave inverter? If so, that is an impressive cost ... would you mind posting a link to it? Thanks, Dave |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Be a little cautious on the cheaper inverters. I swear by my Latronics, but it wasn't cheap. The phone line trenching was along the street, Telstra have to pay to the front fence, after that its up to me. The closest pit was about 2km away, no cables running past my place, so they had to lay the cable and put a new pit out the front of my place. Its true I would have to pay for trenching costs from my front fence to my house, so I hired a Dingo for the weekend and dug the trench myself, hard work! About 150 meters long. Telstra then dropped in the cable, no charge. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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Bryan1 Guru Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1344 |
On the question of inverters I got a 3kw 24 volt pure sinewave from Kipoint in Taiwan and landed cost in Oz was $1,500 but I got stung by customs and the total cost was $1,900. I use this inverter in my shed and it has been going well now for over 8 years(touch wood). Before I bought the inverter I compared the spec's against our selectronic SA32 inverter and the kipoint one was damm close but without a lcd. If the SA32 ever goes down then the kipoint will be used and for RE I reckon this inverter is the best purchase I've made to date. Regards Bryan |
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Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
Like Bryan, I too use a Kipoint inverter. Its a 1200W 'L' series and it has no trouble starting & running my shed fridge, have not got round to wire in more shed loads. I also got two 15A MPPT solar controllers from Kipoint but retired those as they appear not to like working in tandem, changed them to a 60A job from an Australian maker. I use a 1800W L inverter to power my house, its from Latronics and has been faultless since installation. KLaus Klaus |
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| Madness Guru Joined: 08/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2498 |
The Inverter I have is available on Ebay the seller is Maximum_solar. I have just replaced the one I have with a much larger Trace 4.5 KW SW4548E. One reason for the change was I wanted to go to a 48 volt system as I could only use half the PV panels I have with my outback MX60 charge controller on a 24 volt battery bank. There was no other reason to replace the inverter which is a high frequency pure sine wave. It was certainly much easier to mount then the trace I have now which weighs 65 KG, had to use a jack to get it up to where I wanted to mount it on the wall. I have had a very large (750 litre) fridge running off it at the same time as a small fridge, a freezer, several computers, modem, phone, washing machine and small pressure pump. Never missed a beat doing this also has a 50 amp charger, transfer switch and solar panel regulator built in. If any one is interested this inverter is now for sale. ($500 with 4 Trojan T105 Batteries) Bryan1, If the value is under $1000 there is no duty payable, Harvey Norman is trying to get this changed. There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. |
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