questionman, the SHWS should have the ability to reduce your electricity consumption by at least 25% or more. Solar HW has the biggest potential to reduce power bills, far more than solar PVs.
The real big consumers of power in a house are electric hot water heaters, and any appliance that uses electricity to heat/cool things. I am amazed how much power goes into just boiling water for a cuppa. Use your aircon sparingly, and set the thermostat at 24 in summer and if a reverse cycle one, 19 in winter.
Do you have a dishwasher?, does it have an eco switch? If so, use the eco switch as it eliminates the heating and drying phases. If using solar heated water and it is hot enough there is no need to reheat the water with the dishwasher heating element, and when the washing cycles are finished, just air dry the contents by leaving the door open, and extending the racks.
Use cold water for clothes washing, there seems no point in heating the water if cold water does the same job.
Can you hibernate your computers?, We do so with little problem.
I'm assuming that your house is fully insulated...
Our electricity use averages 8.5kwh per day, and we are a family of 2 adults and 2 children under 11.
Don't give up on the solar panels, they are a great start, it is a pity that we don't have a national GFIT for the whole country, instead of this missmash of prices all over the country.
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