Had a chat with our site supivisor today. He just got back from holidays and checked in on our house. He mentioned that we will most likely be at lockup by the end of this week.
As of today, a heap more brickwork was done, all the insulation went in and the plaster got delivered.
I'm really glad the network cabling got done as well otherwise it would be twice as difficult to do now with the insulation in.
I also can't wait to see a section of the Brick wall compleated so I can see if the colours of the roof, guttering and bricks match at all. I mean, I can kinda see the colours now, but there's that green builders paper between them so it's kinda throwing me. I'm hoping tomorrow I'll be able to see it better!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI saw you mentioning about the hybrid power. have you looked anything? i just started looking at those now.
Any information could be helpful.
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I am very much interested in a hybrid solar system for our home. I have seen a few packages out there and they have all come dramatically down in price over the years. I would suggest going to the Herald Sun Home Show this year if you can as they had a few different installers offering hybrid systems.
I've been doing a fair bit of research and am currently playing around with my own off grid setup - 2 x 200w 24v solar panels, Batteries, Controller and inverter running a TV and Blue Ray player permanently.... I've been able to learn a lot about the operations of a hybrid system by doing this.
I bought most of this stuff from a company called Low Energy Developments. I think in Preston VIC. Very well priced equipment and all has been great quality. I am also looking at Sonny Controllers for when I have the system installed but these are already starting to get on the Pricey Side. Standard Solar systems are fairly cheap in comparison to a hybrid But over the years I've worked out you'd be better off with a Hybrid even though the up front costs are much large - Especially with the abysmal Tariff they now offer.
If you can get a Tariff with $0.30 or more a KW on a 5 year term then go with a standard setup, if not and you only get $0.08 or close to, then the hybrid will be better.
Essentially if you generated 1 kw during the day into the grid, the electricity company would give you $0.08 credit, then when you use the 1kw that night, they charge you $0.30 so essentially you are paying $0.22 per kw you generated yourself. What the electricity companies don't want you to know is that the majority of power you use throughout a 24 hour period is actually when the sun goes down and therefor your solar system is no longer generating.
If you get a package, you wont need to worry too much about what equipment you get but if you go the same way as me and design a system yourself, you will save in the costs (Will still need a Certified installer) but it is much more complex to build.
What are your thoughts on the Hybrid system?
I Forgot to mention... If you want to use your hybrid system as your main electricity source, you would want to install a minimum of 1000Ah at 24v battery system. This will be your largest expense however, do some research on batteries and it can save you thousands if you compromise on what you get.
ReplyDeleteFor Example, the 2V batteries Wired to become 24v May last up to 5,000 Cycles before dropping below 80% Recharge Life but they are also more expensive...
It can be better if you compromise and look at purchasing 12V Deep Cycle Gel wired as 24v. These have only up to 3,500 Cycles before dropping below 80% but the price difference works out to be cheaper to replace the system, so essentially giving you 7,000 cycles and still work out cheaper, albeit you have to replace them more often.
The numbers I've used above are just examples only and not actual real life %'s or cycles. I do have info on these but will probably look them all up again once I actually buy the system. I just wanted to let you know that there are options to cut back on the costs although you need to know what exactly to get that best suits you...
Also, By cycle, I mean a battery that is at 100% charge, get's drained to 80% charge, then recharged back to 100% - This is classified as 1 cycle... I would expect to use 2 - 4 cycles equivalent per day so a 5,000 cycle battery would only be able to max charge to 80% after 4 years. This does not mean the battery would require replacement by this stage, but as the Charge capacity drops, the less KW you have available to use while drawing power.
I know this sounds a little confusing (I'm confused myself), but if you'd like to know more just ask and I'll do my best to help.