Yesterday we finally had our solar panels installed, and I am really glad we got some good advice.
First of all, do your homework. Don't go for the cheapest solar panel provider if you can afford to do better. They will cost you more in the long run. Having spoken to electrical contractors, looked up reviews on the internet and talked to people we know about which installer they chose, we found that many cheap operators use cheap and inferior materials to keep their costs down. They also use inexperienced or sometimes unqualified installers as well. We went with a Zen system. They're expensive but they have an excellent reputation in South Australia for the quality of the solar panels, cabling and inverters.
We had been warned that cheaper installers often use inferior cabling, which can be dangerous (making your roof "live" with electricity) and may need replacing after only a short period of time. We have found the electrical contractors to be a great source of information and advice, a good one doesn't like to work with inferior products and the electrician that was here yesterday was very good (even my husband was impressed and he cleaned up after himself!).
A good installer will also advise you of the best place to put your solar panels. We recenlty walked past a house that had solar panels on a section of the roof that was shaded by a big tree, when there were other places on the roof that would have better access to the sun. North facing (if you live in the southern hemisphere, south facing if you live in the northern hemisphere) and unshaded will give you the best results.
We were lucky that our import/export meter was installed a few weeks ago, so we could start using our solar energy the moment it was installed and switched on. Our excess energy is exported back to the grid, so our supplier advised us to use things like washing machines (and dishwashers, but we don't have one) at times when the panels are not producing energy, such as early morning or in the evening. I'm usually up fairly early so that doesn't bother me, and I washed the nappies last night. By doing it that way we are importing electricity at a time that we can't produce it, allowing us the maximum return on exporting our excess electricity usage throughout the rest of the day.
Another tip is to call your state energy commission as well as your electricity provider and ask them a few questions. My husband found some good websites advising what questions to ask. If you have an electrical hot water system, you need to check if you will still be on the off-peak tariff once solar panels are installed. A workmate of my husband found his electrity tariff went up because he went from an off-peak tariff to a peak tariff once his solar panels were installed.
Turn off the standby power on televisions, computers, microwaves, dvd players, etc. They may not use much power but it can add up to hundreds of dollars worth each year. We always turn our microwave and tv off at the wall when not in use.
Be aware that plasma tvs use a lot more power than ordinary tvs. I have a friend who used to work for a call centre for an electricity company and said she used to get lots of calls from people asking why their electricity bill was 4 times higher than usual. First thing she would ask them was had they just bought a plasma screen tv...that usually seemed to be the culprit. Check out the energy usage on electrical equipment before you buy.
Our system comes with a cool little Bluetooth display to keep on our breakfast bar. At the push of a button we can see how much energy we are producing. It doesn't seem to tell us how much we are using, which would be handy, but I can always go and look on the meter outside if I really want to know that.
Now, let the sun shine!
