FAQ’s

1- Why should I think about spending money on Solar power?

  • Great Returns on investment – Solar is one of the best investments you can make and can pay for itself in around 3-5 years.
  • Get paid to export to the grid – Your retailer still pays you for the excess power you don’t use during the day.
  • Generous rebates still available – The Small Technology Certificates (STC’s) will be enough in most cases to pay for full installation.
  • Solar Carport warranties last 10 years – Systems are now extremely durable – this carport solar system has warranties of 10 years on structure and panels.
  • Solar prices are coming down – Solar system prices have never been cheaper. The solar carport is no more expensive than buying a similar solar system and a good quality carport – a carport that will eventually pay for itself.
  • Reduce exposure to future power price rises – By installing solar, you’ll reduce your reliance on the grid and the price rises sure to come.

2- How can I finance my solar carport kit purchase and installation?

If you need finance, the best current option for most home owners is to add the cost to your current mortgage through a re-draw facility. Home mortgages are typically the least expensive way to finance something that will add value and build the equity in your home. Typically, a $15,000 re-draw @ 4.6% will only add around $13.30 per week in interest. NOTE: In Adelaide, which is similar to Sydney, each 1kw should produce around 4kw of power each day. A 5.8Kw solar carport should generate around 23kw per day. You are currently paying around 25c or more per kw in most of Australia, so generating 25c x 23 = $5.75 per day which is over $40 per week and over $160 per month. YOU CAN AFFORD THIS!

A number of lenders offer lower rate ‘green loans’ but as unsecured personal loans they are usually around 6.8% interest. Just google “green loans”.

3. Choosing an installer

The Clean Energy Council (CEC), Australia’s peak body representing the clean energy sector, accredits installers who meet certain standards. To be eligible for any small-scale technology certificates, (STC rebate ) systems must be installed by a CEC-accredited installer. All installers recommended for your solar carport will be fully accredited. You may find your own installer if you wish.

4. How does the solar rebate work?

There are two main incentives that can help pay off solar PV systems: small-scale technology certificates (STCs) and feed-in tariffs (FiTs).

5. Small-scale technology certificates (STCs) (formally REC’s)

Under the federal government’s Solar Credits Scheme, eligible households receive money for STCs created by their PV systems. STCs were formerly known as renewable energy certificates or RECs. Currently, the scheme allows you to cash in the certificates you could earn over the next 15 years straight away.

The easiest option with STC’s is to allow your installer to sell them on your behalf. In most cases, the value of the STC’s will pay for all installation costs. It’s just easy with all the paperwork taken care of for you.

You can sell the STCs yourself, which involves considerable paperwork, applications and fees. Depending on the number of buyers and the time it takes to complete the process, it may be months after installation before you receive your funds, for most, not recommended.

6. Feed-in tariffs (FiTs)

A feed-in tariff (FiT) is the rate you’re paid for electricity that grid-connected panels feed-in to the local network.  Almost all FiTs around Australia are now net FiTs. This means a household is only paid for surplus electricity fed into the grid after domestic use is subtracted. The amount you get depends on your supplier but generally its only around 10c -14c per kw. Better to make use of your own generated electricity or think about storage in a battery.

7. Warranty

Manufacturer warranty on your carport solar system is 10 years on panels and structure

8. Do my solar panels produce power when the sun isn’t shining?

The amount of power your solar energy system can generate is dependent on sunlight. As a result, your solar panels will produce slightly less energy when the weather is cloudy, and no energy at night. However, because of high electricity costs and financial incentives, solar is a smart decision for anyone in Australia.

9. Can I go off grid with solar panels?

When you install solar panels on your property, you will still be connected to the grid. This allows you to draw from the grid when your system is not producing all of the power that you need, and send power back to the grid when you produce more than you use. It is possible to go off the grid with a solar energy system that includes battery storage, but it will cost more.

10. How much will solar panel maintenance cost?

Solar panel system in your carport is made of durable tempered glass and require almost no maintenance for the 25 to 35 years or longer that it will generate power. In most cases, you don’t even need to clean your solar panels regularly although build-ups of dust and dirt will affect the efficiency so best to keep them clean

11. Storing solar energy in a battery or setting up a car charging station

You may want to consider a system that includes battery storage; the Tesla Powerwall is the best-known model but there are others also in the market. A home storage battery lets you store the electricity generated in daytime by the solar panels for later use. A battery storage component or a charging station component can be added to your carport kit by the installer for a quoted price.

12. How does a solar PV (photovoltaic) system work?

Some materials can be made to produce electricity when light falls on them; this is called the PV or photovoltaic effect. It’s this effect we use to convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electrical energy. An inverter unit then changes this into alternating current (AC) for your home’s electrical circuits.

Solar panels work best when they’re north facing, pointed directly at the sun, at an optimal angle and not blocked by trees or shading.

Any excess energy can be fed back to the electricity grid, for which you may be paid an agreed amount by your electricity provider. More common now, excess is fed into a battery storage system so you can use the stored power later ( as a charging station for your car or at night).

13. Efficiency

This is simply a measure of the panel’s electricity output (in watts) compared to its surface area. Generally, the higher the efficiency, the more power you can get from a given roof area.

Surprisingly solar panels designed to sit on roofs in direct sunlight actually become less efficient as they get warmer. Sometimes we get less power from the panels on a very hot day than on a mild day. Our Solar panel power ratings are based on standard conditions (25°C panel temperature). Correct installation is also important; panels should be installed in a way that allows air to circulate underneath the panels making a solar carport more efficient than a standard roof installation.

14. Where can I get more information on rules and feed-in tariffs in my State?

15 Why is an inverter often lower rated than the the solar panel?

Why is an inverter often lower rated than the the solar panel?- Sizing inverters to optimise solar panel system efficiency- also see inverter technical data here.

Why is an inverter often lower rated than the the solar panel?

by Solar Choice Staff on 6 February, 2017

in Installation advice,Inverters,Balance of System

Why is an inverter often lower rated than the the solar panel? The efficiency of the inverter drives the efficiency of a solar panel system because inverters convert Direct Current (DC) (as produced by the solar panels), into Alternating Current (AC) (as used by the electric grid). This leads many to wonder what effect over-sizing or under-sizing an inverter will have on overall system efficiency. This entry sheds some light on this issue, hopefully helping shoppers to make better decisions with regard to their current or future solar photovoltaic installation.

(N.b. This article was originally published in 2011. We have recently revised and updated it to reflect present best practice.)

A solar system’s inverter functions optimally within a predetermined operational ‘window’ (usually laid out in the inverter’s specifications). As the power input from the system’s solar panels goes up and down, the inverter’s ability to efficiently convert it from DC electricity to AC electricity differs. As long as the input from the panels falls with in the range of the window, the inverter can be considered to be operating optimally.

In the graph below, the red line represents an average inverter efficiency and the green arrow represents the power output from your solar panels. The grey box shows the operational window of the inverter based on the input from the solar panels and the predetermined efficiency of the inverter. In this case, an efficiency of less than about 83% would be considered ‘sub-optimal’, and ideally the system should be sized to minimise the amount of time during the day that the inverter operates within this range.

Why is an inverter often lower rated than the the solar panel?

Under-sizing your inverter

Using the graph above as an example, under-sizing your inverter will mean that the maximum power output of your system (in kilowatts – kW) will be dictated by the size of your inverter. Regardless of the output of the solar panels, the power output will be cut-off (‘clipped’) by the inverter so that it does not exceed the inverter’s rated capacity (e.g. 3kW, 5kW etc).

Your installer may suggest an undersized inverter if they determine that the amount of incident solar irradiation (sunlight) on your panels will be lower than expected – because of your location & climate, the orientation of your panels, or other factors.

Inverter under-sizing – sometimes referred to as ‘overclocking’ – has actually become a common and widely accepted practice in Australia – even endorsed by inverter manufacturer SMA, one of the largest and most respected names in the industry. (Read more about overclocking.)

Although the maximium power output of a solar system will be ‘clipped’ back to the inverter’s output through overclocking, there can also be gains in the overall amount of energy (kilowatt-hours – kWh) generated (see: ‘Power, energy or capacity?‘) – and slightly more energy produced in the early morning and late afternoon.

The chart below offers an illustration of how the midday losses (red) associated with an ‘under-sized’ inverter can be offset by morning and afternoon gains (green).

The rule of thumb for inverter overclocking is that solar panel capacity should not be more than roughly 30% greater than inverter capacity – e.g. no greater than 6.5kW worth of solar panels for a 5kW inverter. (Please consult an accredited installer for precise details.)

overclocking image

Over-sizing your inverter

Installing an inverter whose maximum capacity is greater than the nominal capacity of your solar panel array may be an option if you’re looking to expand your solar panel array at some point in the future, but it is not generally recommended, as the overall energy yields from your solar system may be lower than with a perfectly-sized or under-sized inverter – especially if it is significantly oversized. Although inverters are generally designed to handle lower power inputs than their nominal capacity, there are limits to this. It’s therefore important to ask your installer questions about how your system will perform in the even that an over-sized inverter is suggested – e.g. how would your overall energy yields differ over the next 5-10 years with an over-sized inverter vs a ‘right-sized’ or under-sized inverter? Balance this against the cost of the various system configurations before making your final decision.

Conclusion

Why is an inverter often lower rated than the the solar panel? Solar inverter under-sizing (or solar panel array oversizing) has a become common practice in Australia, and is generally preferential to inverter over-sizing. If an inverter is under-sized, this should happen within certain parameters – which accredited solar installers will be familiar with.