I was just wondering how long people have had to wait to get their PV panels installed after signing with a company?
It has been a month now for me, and I hope it won't be much longer.
Solar PV installation delays
(40 posts) (18 voices)-
Sonofdadska
MemberThe main holdup at the moment is a shortage on some inverters, particularly SMA. Being as about 40% of the inverters in the world used for grid-connection come from SMA this is causing delays. I believe that the SB-2500 and the SB-3800 are in the highest demand. I remember hearing some figures, and don't quote me on these, but apparently SMA produce something along the lines of 60,000 units per month, and late last year (I think November perhaps) they had orders placed in one month of something like 370,000 units. So there is a bit of a backlog there
Towards the end of last year Germany were basically out of panels and inverters due to overwhelming demand.I also heard a stat that SMA produce Australia's entire annual requirement in something like 8 days. We're still small-fry in this game
Posted Monday 18 Jan 2010 @ 11:45:43 am from IP # -
Sonofdadska
MemberI believe they are on the verge of opening a new extension on one of their production facilities which will double their production capacity. I think I read that they may also be manufacturing in the US sometime in the future, after knocking back previous offers to manufacture in China.
Posted Monday 18 Jan 2010 @ 12:07:01 pm from IP # -
Russell Moore
MemberAccording to a 2008 SMA promotional video, they said that they were producing one inverter every 30 seconds, so I suppose it depends on whether they run 24 hrs a day or not, as that is 120 an hour, possibly 2880 a day (24hrs), X 30 would be 86,400 a month!
And that is before the huge blowout in demand, through 2009.....
SMA claims to hold 50% of the world inverter market..Posted Monday 18 Jan 2010 @ 12:33:39 pm from IP # -
Russell Moore
MemberMy installer stated that the installation of my panels, with a SMA Sunnyboy 5000TL inverter would be complete in early Feb'.
Now they have come back with a late April date if I still want to go with the SMA inverter. As we know SMA has a good reputation for their products, but they are in short supply.
They are offering an immediate install if I go with an Xantrex inverter, but I had never heard of them until now. Does anyone know anything about these inverters?
Thanks for any info' at all, Russell
Posted Monday 1 Feb 2010 @ 4:31:58 am from IP # -
rhills
MemberMy brother has been waiting months for his system install in suburban Melbourne. He's been told there's a shortage of solar panels and keeps getting rubbery delivery date promises.
His own theory is that as the company already has his money (because of rebates etc.), they're busy selling systems (and equipment "promised" to backlogged customers) to newcomers by guaranteeing them early delivery.
Is he being too cynical?
Posted Tuesday 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:33:43 pm from IP # -
Russell Moore
MemberMy saga continues......today the company rang and said that now they can't get the Xantrex GT 5.0 inverter that I was going to get, but that they can get two Xantrex GT 2.8s, and would I like to go with that? So that is what I will be doing, using two inverters!
And they have promised a two week hence install.......Posted Wednesday 3 Feb 2010 @ 10:14:51 am from IP # -
gully
Memberwaiting on a sunny boy inverter... offered others but like most want the best brand. Yes rubbery dates on install, it's been a 9 month relationship with not much happening except SHCP approval. Having said that it's in the company's best interest to finish and sign off the job, until then everything is bought at their expense.
Posted Thursday 4 Feb 2010 @ 3:26:00 am from IP # -
@Russell Moore
Just a heads up re the two inverters. If you are in NSW & want to feed the grid on a gross basis, my understanding is that you may only use one inverter for that purpose. Seem to remember reading that an the NSW govt site somewhere - you might want to double check it if this affects you.
Posted Sunday 7 Feb 2010 @ 1:40:40 am from IP # -
Russell Moore
MemberI am checking into the two inverters vs one inverter, and as to whether you can still access the NSW GFIT with two inverters.
It seems to make no sense to not allow the use of two inverters, just as long as your system is below the 10kw limit.
Posted Monday 8 Feb 2010 @ 3:38:30 am from IP # -
Solgen
MemberI agree with you Russell, I can't see why electricity authorities would be concerned with how many inverters you had provided there total capacity was not above the 10kW limit. As far the meter is concerned it is only measuring the electricity coming from the inverters or going to the load and provided these don't exceed the meter's rating I can't see the number of inverters being a problem.
I about to double my PV system and will be installing a 2nd inverter and I have no intention of telling Energy Australia as it should have no effect on them other than losing revenue!
Posted Monday 8 Feb 2010 @ 5:41:14 am from IP # -
olfella
MemberI ordered a 2.4kW PV system 2 weeks ago & have an install date of 23rd February for my system. Company told me they have the SB2500 & Sunpower300W panels needed, in stock. They've told me Energy Aust will have some Gross FiT meters arriving by mid March & they've tee up for one to be fitted, timing 3-4 weeks after the system install.
They don't have sufficient Conergy & Suntech panels or SB1700s for the more commonly ordered 1.5 & 1.8 systems apparently.The next big question though is, when will those mongrels at EA actually start reading the meters & paying the GFiT. My information is they're next excuse for putting it off is the billing system needs upgrading & that won't be until at least 1/7/10.
The State of NSW is broke. Rees dropped them in it when he announced GFiT. EA doesn't want to pay for power at 60c & the Gov't is trying to duck shove the cost to them. It is a dead certainty in my view that they'll declare the 50mW target filled just after 1st july & close the GFiT scheme to new entrants. Likely time of day peak tariffs will be above the 60c within 2 years anyway, thus creating a defacto net system anyway. Given the deviousness of EA on GFiT implementation, trying to make it a credit rather than payment system, before the minister ordered them to pay last week, I'm now wondering what stunt they might pull about charging for power on a net FiT basis, once Time of Day if fully implemented & the sun has set on GFiT. Will they try to make some arbitary assumptions on proportioning hours of usage & the hours of effective solar generation? Begs the question of what rates they'll bill & credit at; peak rate, shoulder rate? Surely not offpeak! That's another when, when will they kill time switched offpeak? It is the obvious next step in the money grab.Meanwhile in Germany, according to my Reuters reportsd, they dropped the Gross FiT from around A$81c to about A$63c & Germans are screaming foul. Apparently, solar orders have immediately nose dived, freeing up more SBs earlier than expected. Indeed two solar panel makers in Germany have already announced their intended closure, claiming at 63c, reduced orders make them financially unviable.
Posted Thursday 11 Feb 2010 @ 2:01:01 pm from IP # -
Russell Moore
MemberI am happy to report that the one inverter rule to access the NSW GFIT has been changed, we can now use multiple inverters, so long as the whole system is 10kw or less!
Not before time...
My installer has (finally) found a Fronius IG40 inverter instead of the twin Xantrex GT2.8s, and I hope to have the install done next week.Posted Wednesday 17 Feb 2010 @ 6:45:33 am from IP # -
olfella
MemberMy solar PV system mentioned in my post above was installed today.
2.4kW 8xSunpower300s/SB2500.My installer had told me to expect Energy Australia to have GFiT meters about the beginnining of March for install from mid March. Today he told me his contact at EA has confirmed EA has acquired meters earlier than expected & are begining installs. He told me to expect mine within 10 days.
FWIW The performance after turn on at 1200 slightly exceeded expectations based on data projections for 22nd Feb & for my Sydney location, with my angles etc entered into the ANU PV system simulator at:
http://solar.anu.edu.au/EduResources/applets/PVPanel/_PVpanel.php
& at the US gov't calculator at:
http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/codes_algs/PVWATTS/version1/The ANU calculator looks more accurate for my purpose anyway as it seems to presume high performance panels etc, whereas the PV Watts site is for generic systems, by default, although one can change the efficiency factor if they know what they're doing.
Anyway, that's this old dawg done as far as burning money goes for a while. The place has long had a generous layer of lambswool insulation in the roof, 10000ltr of bluescope tanks, aae et SHW & now the PV system. All that to protect ourselves from excessive government tax rises in the form of utility levies & charges.
Posted Monday 22 Feb 2010 @ 11:58:43 am from IP # -
olfella
MemberYes Russell, all went easily & quite quickly after order. Mind you I seemed to have to chase them up at every stage from mid Dec09 to get a full quote out of them.
Once the order was in, I think it was because I'd bitten the bullet & ordered the SunPower panels, despite their extra cost, which was the reason for it getting done quickly. It seems most people do go for the cheaper lower output panels (185s-200s), which is understandable given the upfront cost. My problem was I needed to go to 2.1kW or 2.4kW at least to ensure best economic value over the life of the system, & with the 30Evac tube HWS already on the northern roof, there was a space & layout limitation. I don't want to ever pay the buggers for electricity in any of my remaining years. The way I work it out, not paying electricity bills & exporting excess to the grid is the best tax free pension rise I can get for the dough outlayed. There is no way on god's earth any of these managed funds would come close to achieving the 25 year return on the same $13.5k cost.
I've had the letter from EA, dated 26th Feb, telling me they're pleased to advise me of the new time-of-day tariffs which now apply since I have been fitted with a new electronic meter. The reality is, I'm still waiting for the GFiT meter to be fitted & it seems the shiny bums work faster than the installers once the paper work is into EA. In the meantime one of the old 60 year old (?) meters motors backwards at amazing speeds on a good day. For peace of mind I've checked the meter is actually winding the reading backwards. I think I'll need to chase up the meter install tomorrow.
Since midday the 23rd Feb, my system has generated 173kW/hrs of power so far (11th March). During that time, the weather has been quite variable & more often cloudy or wet, so I'm quite pleased with that. These SP panels seem to have very good shoulder & light cloud performance. A clear sunny day typically sees 'Pac' production right up to an inverter 'peak' of 2445W. The highest a/c output 'E-Today' for a day was noted as 16.6kW/hrs. Lowest was the other day when it was dense cloud & rain all day, with A/C output of only 3.1kW/hr for the day.regards, Olfella
Posted Thursday 11 Mar 2010 @ 8:46:27 am from IP # -
questionman
MemberHere in Perth, I have a 1.05 Kw 6-Suntech (panel size of 175 w )solar panels system with a 2.2 Kw Orion inverter. I received my electricity bill over a 4-month period from August to December 2009, showing 'Renewable energy' units ( is this what my solar pv system had produced as electricity?) of 90 units, which when multiplied by 16.01 cents/unit ( I am on A-1 tariff which means I am paying and being paid a uniform rate of 16.01 cents per unit daytime or nighttime), - just gave me a credit of 14.41 cents against my electricity bill of $454.28.
Is this right that a 1.05 KW pv system in Perth can only produce 90 units over a 4 month period and at 16.01 cents/unit A-1 electricity rate , only gave me $14.41 credit in 4 months. In short, my 1.5 KW system can only give $14.41 worth of credit in my electric bill during this 4-month period.
Anybody in Perth who is knowledgeable about this and who has a similar PV system can help explain to me, if there is something wrong with my PV system or is this the normal and expected of a 1 KW PV system?
Posted Monday 22 Mar 2010 @ 12:52:00 pm from IP # -
Russell Moore
Memberquestionman, I agree with munter, something is wrong with the rebate, at a minimum your panels should produce 4kwh a day, and at that time of the year closer to 5kwh.
Do you have a digital readout on the inverter?, there should be a way to access a total amount of electricity produced since install readout.
Are the panels in an optimum site, are they angled correctly, do you have any shade issues?
So I take it that WA doesn't have a 'Gross Feed In Tariff' policy? here in NSW we get a 60c GFIT. At that rate (60c) you would be getting close to a $360 credit for 4 months supply.
Posted Monday 22 Mar 2010 @ 11:01:16 pm from IP # -
Yes It can take a long time.
I signed up with Newcastle's Climate Action Newcastle's bulk solar program in March 2009, for what was a really good deal(for 1kW) back then with the "old government scheme" , But they where overwhelmed by demand, so in September when my job had surfaced near the top of the heap, it was more cost effective to get 1.5kW under the new scheme. These were eventually installed in December 2009, but Energy Australia only installed the "gross" meter about two weeks ago (March 2010). Energy Australia have been incredibly backward with regard to supplying the gross meters, making up all sorts of obfuscations and excuses.Posted Tuesday 23 Mar 2010 @ 5:59:47 am from IP # -
re Questionmans post:
From your bill of $454 and rate of $0.16/kwhr you must have ~ 2840kwH consumption in 4months. This is equivalent to 24kwh per day or 1kw continuous power, on average.So your 1kw system would be close to energy neutral during daylight hours. i.e. the solar panels are making about the same of electricity as you are using, so there is very left to export back to the grid. And as you are on "net" metering you won't get much visible credit for energy export.
However your PV's are generating around 480kwHrs in the 4 month period,
So your electricity bill would have been $530 without the solar panels , so you have still saved $76 of electricity. Note the "net" meter is too stupid to measure the output from the solar panels, so it can only report the $14.41 it can actually measure. But the $76 saving is real.If you can "get time of use" metering you can save even more if you don't have large air-conditioning daytime loads, because this tariff pays more for your daytime electricity generation, and you can set pumps etc to run off peak.
Now, on the other hand, if you had a gross feed in tariff (GFIT) of $0.60 /kwh you would have exported $288 of electricity (=60c x 480kwh) and imported $530 (0.16 * 3317kwh) for a total cost to you of $242.
Posted Tuesday 23 Mar 2010 @ 6:29:45 am from IP # -
questionman
MemberTo Russell Moore: I dont know how to read the inverter readings; the installer left immediately after installation. I have asked the installation company today, to send somebody to teach me read/interpret the inverter and explain to me everything ; I mentioned to them that part of selling their product is the information/instructions/after sales service to customers which they should provide even after installation. You see, one of their staff mentioned charging me if they send somebody to explain/teach me. I am disappointed by their lack of after-sales service. I will wait and see what they will do about my request.
My panels are not on optimum site, - it is facing west, angle the unit mounted at is 18 degrees (also pitch of my roof?)and there is no shading.To Bobshots: I am wondering why we seem to be using 24 KW/day when there are only 2 people in our household, one fridge 5 star, one freezer 4 star, no airconditioning most of the time, occasional TV viewing at night, bedside clocks on electricity, use washing machine ( 4 star) only 2x/week, very rarely 3x, gas cooking , occasional electric oven roasting, all light bulbs energy efficient ones, microwave used often and always on, but 2 computers being used all the time (one of which is on 24 hours a day)and during that 4 month period, electric storage hot water heater ( been just replaced by SHWS this March 17). with this info above, do you think 24 KW/day is just right, or is there something wrong somewhere which I need to correct inside our home? If there is, which one or what should I check?
Before my solar pv installation last year, our electricity bills were usually around $100 a month. After the installation , Synergy/Western Power increased the Electricity rates either late last year and/or early this year, so that my present electricity bill, even after pv installation is still around $100 or slightly more a month. I felt that my Pv installation is not worth it because it did/does make any difference in the electricity bills I am paying. It is waste of money.
Posted Tuesday 23 Mar 2010 @ 8:20:57 am from IP #
Reply »
You must log in to post.