You have made the smart decision by investing in a solar system and now you need to maximise the investment.
This might sound like an obvious tip, but many people don’t take full advantage of daylight hours. By putting your heavy usage appliances
like the dishwasher, dryer and washing machine on during the day, you are using the power as it is being produced. Make the most of this
time as it is free energy!
Bonus Tip! When loading the dishwasher of an evening, don’t turn it on until the next morning when the sun is shining.
Try staggering your usage throughout the day E.g. put the washing machine on at 11 then the dryer on at 12. This prevents you from drawing from the grid and adding to that pesky bill.
By heating or cooling your home in the last few hours of daylight, you are doing it for free and avoiding the evening peak energy rate.
Keep an eye out for any potential shading issues, cut back any trees, and remove any debris if Remember that shade does impact the system's performance.
Dirt, dust and bird droppings can get in the way of your savings. Anything that obstructs your solar panels will result in lower production of your system, which then reduces your savings on your electricity bill. Getting on your roof and cleaning your panels yourself can be difficult and dangerous, so let us take care of it with the proper equipment and skills. We also provide a free system check while on site. Click HERE to get a panel cleaning quote.
Swap your lights for LEDs and upgrade to energy efficient appliances to lower your consumption at night and get that bill as low as you can!
As your solar reduces your consumption, you will still be billed a ‘supply charge’ from your energy retailer for providing power to your property. By getting a smaller supply charge, you can reduce your bill even more. Also look out for a good solar feed-in tariff to offset your bill further.
If you haven’t already got a battery, we suggest you take a look at your bill and find out how many kWh you are exporting to see if a battery is viable. If you are exporting approximately 12kWh (on average) a day back into the grid, adding a battery will definitely help you make the most of your system by using your solar power at night. Also, by adding a battery you can have complete protection from blackouts. Click HERE to learn more about batteries.
Your systems performance will change with the seasons. Expect your daily summer kWh production to be around 5.2 x System Size and your daily winter kWh production to be 2.6 x System Size.
Make sure your solar is operating correctly and learn how your system performs. This can be done in two ways. Check youe Eday reading on your inverter before the sun goes down for a daily total. Or if you have monitoring you can check that way. Depending on which Electricity Retailer you use you can also get your energy usage from them. This gives you a good insight about how your solar performs throughout the year.
Contact our office if you would like more info.