Solar Bonus Scheme
Feed In Tariff
This is a Queensland Government scheme where surplus energy which is created by your PV solar system can be sold to Ergon Energy.
"Customers participating in the scheme will be paid 44 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for surplus electricity fed into the grid—more than double the current general domestic use tariff of 18.84c/kWh (inc GST as at 1 July 2009)." (Clean Energy Qld)
For more information on eligibility and other scheme requirements visit www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au
How do I get the most value from my PV system?
The answer is simple. A little bit of energy management will go a long way! Try to use energy early in the morning and in the evenings only. During the day avoid using power when you can. Why? Read on...
As discussed above, you can sell excess PV power to the grid for over twice the price you purchase it for. This means you should SELL power when you are producing and buy it cheaply at other times.
Consider the following graph. Here we see a house with a PV system installed. The energy use is shown in red. There is a small constant amount of energy being used at night when everyone is asleep. This is the fridge and perhaps the hot water system or security lights. In the morning, we see a spike in energy use when the occupants wake up, make breakfast and go to work/school. Later we see another power use spike when every one comes home, dinner is made, lights come on and perhaps some TV as well.
PV energy production is shown in green. When the sun comes up we see a progressive rise in the amount of power being produced, then a slow drop away through the afternoon until sunset. No energy is produced at night.
All the excess power in the green shaded area is being exported to the grid and can be sold to Ergon Energy for 44c/kWh.
In the above situation the home owner would buy $1.38 of energy each day and SELL $1.67, leaving a daily positive of 30 cents. If this were to occur every day your energy bill would always be in the positive!
Obviously this is an ideal situation where no one is ever at home during the day. What it demonstrates however, is that with a little bit of energy management, a relatively small PV system can have a big impact on your energy bills.
Our house is occupied during the day...what does this mean for me?
A solar PV system can still make a big difference to your energy bills. Here's how.
In the following graph a PV system of the same size as above, has been installed on a house where the owners are at home durning the day. We see the same energy spikes (in red) at breakfast and in the evenings. We now see higher energy use throughout the day with an increase at lunch.
The green line showing solar PV production is the same as above. In this case however, only small amounts of energy are able to be exported to the grid and sold at 44c/kWh.
Now lets do the maths. In this house they used to pay $4.37/ day for electricity. Now they pay $2.94! This is a saving of 33% because they produce much of the energy they need on their own roof. The small amount of energy they export also helps to reduce the bill.
This is a saving of $525 every year.
Remember this calculation was done at 2009 prices. Electricity in Queensland has risen by an average of 11% each year over the last 3 years. Imagine what you can be saving when electricity prices rise again in the future!
This is a Queensland Government scheme where surplus energy which is created by your PV solar system can be sold to Ergon Energy.
"Customers participating in the scheme will be paid 44 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for surplus electricity fed into the grid—more than double the current general domestic use tariff of 18.84c/kWh (inc GST as at 1 July 2009)." (Clean Energy Qld)
For more information on eligibility and other scheme requirements visit www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au
How do I get the most value from my PV system?
The answer is simple. A little bit of energy management will go a long way! Try to use energy early in the morning and in the evenings only. During the day avoid using power when you can. Why? Read on...
As discussed above, you can sell excess PV power to the grid for over twice the price you purchase it for. This means you should SELL power when you are producing and buy it cheaply at other times.
Consider the following graph. Here we see a house with a PV system installed. The energy use is shown in red. There is a small constant amount of energy being used at night when everyone is asleep. This is the fridge and perhaps the hot water system or security lights. In the morning, we see a spike in energy use when the occupants wake up, make breakfast and go to work/school. Later we see another power use spike when every one comes home, dinner is made, lights come on and perhaps some TV as well.
PV energy production is shown in green. When the sun comes up we see a progressive rise in the amount of power being produced, then a slow drop away through the afternoon until sunset. No energy is produced at night.
All the excess power in the green shaded area is being exported to the grid and can be sold to Ergon Energy for 44c/kWh.
In the above situation the home owner would buy $1.38 of energy each day and SELL $1.67, leaving a daily positive of 30 cents. If this were to occur every day your energy bill would always be in the positive!
Obviously this is an ideal situation where no one is ever at home during the day. What it demonstrates however, is that with a little bit of energy management, a relatively small PV system can have a big impact on your energy bills.
Our house is occupied during the day...what does this mean for me?
A solar PV system can still make a big difference to your energy bills. Here's how.
In the following graph a PV system of the same size as above, has been installed on a house where the owners are at home durning the day. We see the same energy spikes (in red) at breakfast and in the evenings. We now see higher energy use throughout the day with an increase at lunch.
The green line showing solar PV production is the same as above. In this case however, only small amounts of energy are able to be exported to the grid and sold at 44c/kWh.
Now lets do the maths. In this house they used to pay $4.37/ day for electricity. Now they pay $2.94! This is a saving of 33% because they produce much of the energy they need on their own roof. The small amount of energy they export also helps to reduce the bill.
This is a saving of $525 every year.
Remember this calculation was done at 2009 prices. Electricity in Queensland has risen by an average of 11% each year over the last 3 years. Imagine what you can be saving when electricity prices rise again in the future!
Talk to us now on (07) 4772 7394 for a free quote.