Hi all, just an update.. PSG called to say my solar system is being installed next Tuesday 7th June 
That was super fast (a mere two weeks after purchase) and I am really excited.. Hoping all will go well 
1.5kW Solar System from Origin Energy
(182 posts) (57 voices)-
green apples
MemberCongrats battie. May the performance of your solar panels come up to your adjustable expectations ha ha ha. I said adjustable because this winter, ours produce from under 2kWh on really miserable overcast days. But in the last 3 days is doing over 5 kWh.
Hope that ETSA change your meter over soon.
QUERY TO THE GENERAL MEMBERS - Has anyone knew if our solar panel applications have a successful report or use in Asian countries? Please let me know. A friend will be building a house soon and I sort of suggested to think of the benefits of solar. She heard it from me but hasn't found any publications about it. Thanks in advance and have a good evening.
Posted Tuesday 28 Jun 2011 @ 8:05:15 am from IP # -
battie
MemberHello again folks.. The latest update is that after the initial euphoria of PGS installing the solar panels in record time, the bubble has burst
PGS kinda 'forgot' that they had to book ETSA to change the meter over. After waiting 4 weeks, I called to find out what was happening and that was when they booked (I got the impression that someone forgot to do it).Anyway meter changeover happening next week so keeping fingers crossed.
Also green apples I know friends who have had solar panels installed in India but I doubt they would be our applications.
Posted Wednesday 13 Jul 2011 @ 5:53:51 am from IP # -
battie
MemberHi all, latest update - the system is finally up and running
I was quite excited yesterday when I switched on the system but come evening time I was a bit disappointed when I read the meter. It showed 0.5KWh.. How poor is that?? Have to admit it was an overcast day here but still pretty disappointed.. Also just wondering how it works generally. Does the meter show day to day readings or accumulative? E.g. yest was 0.5KWh at around 6pm.. If today it shows 5.5KWh, does this mean I have to subtract 0.5 from yesterdays' reading?? Still new to all this so unsure how to read the meter. Mine is a 3 phase meter btw..
Many thanks
Posted Thursday 21 Jul 2011 @ 4:49:17 am from IP # -
RoxyTheDog
MemberGlad its up and running battie.I read the display on the inverter it goes through a repetative cycle so it should tell you how much you made that day and also how much you have made from when it was first turned on. I`m really surprised how well mine is doing during winter, yesterday it was sunny all day and late in the arvo i was up to 6.2 so on average considering the short days it does better this time of year!
Hope it works out well for you
Posted Thursday 21 Jul 2011 @ 5:19:13 am from IP # -
claira
MemberUpdate on Origin 1.5KW system. Our first full account reduced our bill by 53% on last year, so we were happy with that considering it has been a very cloudy Autumn and Winter period. Last couple of days it has been fairly sunny and the system is producing about 5.5kw per day.
The recent account included the FIT of app .66c per KWH.Posted Friday 29 Jul 2011 @ 1:38:59 am from IP # -
claira - agree
many solar owners overlook dust! http://mypvpanels.blogspot.com/search/label/Dust
also the 2nd & 3rd links under "Solar Articles" on the blog, explore this further.
Posted Tuesday 2 Aug 2011 @ 7:43:50 am from IP # -
battie
MemberHi all,
Great news Claira.. I'm hoping for something similar
I am still struggling with understanding the meter readings. I have a 3 phase meter which shows peak tariff reading and cumulative energy put back into the grid. Does the peak tariff reading indicate the amount of energy I am importing from the grid? Or does that indicate the amount consumed from the energy that is generated by the solar system.
The former would not make sense especially since we are not at home during the day and the only appliances running are the fridge, the microwave and the bedside radio. So I would hope that any energy consumed during the day by these appliances is from the solar energy generated. But I have this ominous feeling that the peak tariff reading indicates the amount imported from the grid during the day
I usually check the meter in the evening just after the sun has gone down and the peak tariff reading has changed from the previous day's reading - which is what is leading me to believe that perhaps the reading shows the amount imported from the grid and not the amount of solar energy consumed. Any explanation re this would be useful..
Posted Tuesday 2 Aug 2011 @ 9:38:06 am from IP # -
battie
MemberSorry guys, I was trying to delete my earlier post but looks like I can't.. Anyway I think I have figured out my readings - better late than never
I think I was reading it all wrong.. I would read the meter in the evening and assumed that the peak tariff reading was the amount I was importing from the grid during the day. But today I was home and recorded both the morning and the evening readings and found that the peak tariff reading had not changed. So I am now assuming that the peak tariff reading indicates the amount imported in the evening when the solar system shuts off.. Will monitor for a few more days and see how I go
Posted Wednesday 3 Aug 2011 @ 8:44:52 am from IP # -
oldbill
MemberBattie
Your meter does not measure how much the solar is generating
you would need to look at the inverter for that info
The meter only measures how much you import and export
depending on your meter it can show both peak and off peak
as well as totals
my meter shows both
http://sp-ausnet.com.au/CA2575630006F222/Lookup/general/$file/FactSheet%2dSinglePhaseAMISmartMeter.pdfPosted Wednesday 3 Aug 2011 @ 8:57:18 am from IP # -
green apples
MemberHello Battie, Old Bill is correct. The generation of solar power and how many hours it operated daily and the running total of both can be read from the Inverter. In your meter shows the running total of the Import (the electricity you used) and the Export (the electricity fed to the grid by your solar output). If you record this daily you will soon work out the daily usage and how much you are putting back in the grid.
There will be a discrepancy on your Inverter recordings and your meter. Read the explanation in the brochure that ETSA provided. To quote if your solar panels are producing 1000W and at the same time you are using 800W in the house, it will only feed 200W tot he grid and so forth and so on. If you are producing 1000W and didn't use it at all, say the fridge is at resting or cut off mode, it will feed the whole 1000W back to the grid. Hence i say there will be discrepancy. May this enlighten you more. Don't worry, you'll soon get the hang of reading your Inverter and meter. I keep a daily record of both in a notebook. In fact, I even work out our electric account before the bill came in, and I'm out by $10 in our favour. We still have to pay but not as much as the same time as last year when we didn't have the solar panels. Cheerio for now.
Posted Thursday 4 Aug 2011 @ 1:43:12 am from IP # -
hamish05
MemberHey oldbill, I am sure that in a previous post on another subject you said you have a Jemena install. I note here that you said you can read both Peak and Off Peak totals on your meter. Looks like the Energy Wholesalers even have varying meters. What a sham, in this day and age if that is so.
I also have a Jemena meter, it only has 2 readings, import and export. Imagine my distrust of their (Jemena's) ability to split the meter download into Peak and Off Peak totals.
On the positive side, I estimated a 50% split, and YTD it is 76% Off Peak, so I guess I am in front. I haven't yet looked at my twice daily meter readings with a view to verifying their (Jemena's) split.
Posted Thursday 4 Aug 2011 @ 5:37:57 am from IP # -
oldbill
MemberHi Hamish
No my distributor is sp-ausnet
and I have the meter that i linked to in my previous post
so I can see both off peak and peak readings for export and import
as well as the totals of both
sp-ausnet have listed 3 types of meter that may be installed
I have the AMI one.
if you follow the link and scroll down to how do i read the meter
it shows a link to all 3.
mine is the middle one
CheersPosted Thursday 4 Aug 2011 @ 9:05:04 am from IP # -
battie
MemberHi all,
Many thanks for your input on how to read the meter
I feel so silly now 
I think I now understand my meter and the readings better.. Oldbill - I actually didn't realise that the inverter gives the info on the total energy generated. My fault though as I never really read the brochure for the inverter. But thanks to you I have been noting that info since yesterday
I know this sounds silly but I had no idea what I was recording on the meter especially what was meant by the 'peak tariff reading'. After reading your explanations, it seems kind of obvious but I guess better late than never 
Greenapples - yeah I have been recording the import and the export data since the day the system was switched on but from now on I'll be recording the total amount generated as well
I was a bit disappointed though that in the last 16 days the amount generated is only 25KWh That's an average of 1.5KWh per day It has been overcast on most days though so hoping things will pick up in the spring and summer.. Hamish - I live in Adelaide and I have a 3 phase meter which is the last one on this link http://www.etsautilities.com.au/centric/customers/installing_a_solar_pv_system.jsp
Thanks again all
Posted Friday 5 Aug 2011 @ 8:51:32 am from IP # -
green apples
MemberHello Battie - don't fret too much about the production, it will improve as the weather warms up. Ours produced .2kW yesterday in 9 hours of operation. Today, much better, made 5kW and 3kW of that went back to the grid.
Hopefully, your panels are situated in the north orientation with a roof pitch of 23 degrees. Fortunately, our roof is in that situation. I took note of Claira's advice to make sure that the panels are not dusty. That will be regularly checked in the future. No worries at the moment, the rains are washing the surface of the panels in the last 2 nights.
Posted Friday 5 Aug 2011 @ 11:07:11 am from IP # -
battie
MemberThanks green apples. I feel a bit better knowing that others too have days of low production
It does tend to pick up on sunny days but the last few days it's been raining again but atleast that is taking care of the dust Re the panels, they are definitely north facing but not too sure about the title angle. Hopefully the installers installed it as is necessary to get max production.
Also how do you know how long your system has been in operation per day? Does the inverter provide that information? I don't think mine does..
Posted Tuesday 9 Aug 2011 @ 5:58:17 am from IP # -
oldbill
MemberBattie
My inverter only shows the total hours of operation
It doesn't show the hours for the day
I have an sma sunny boy 1700
There seems to be a lot of different inverters out there
so I guess some of them would
Mine can be fitted with some sort of communication thingy
(you can see how technical minded I am)
that will talk with software on a computer, but I haven't gone so far as getting that
maybe that would show the hours per dayCheers
Posted Tuesday 9 Aug 2011 @ 10:19:07 am from IP # -
green apples
MemberHello battie, hello old bill,
We have Aero Sharp Inverter and it flashes or show alternatively the daily hours it has been running and on the bottom of the same window, the running total of hours since it was turned on; then the current kWh it is producing and the running total of kWh produced; it also shows the Internal Max Temp in the Inverter and on the bottom of that is the Watts produced as per that Int Max Temp; also shows in voltage what power the series of your panels are making, all dependant on what is the weather doing at the time. I think ours flashes every 5 seconds so you really have to get used to looking at it to know what you are looking at. This might help if you have exactly same type of Inverter we have. There could be different types or set up even though it is branded Aero Sharp. Cheerio for now.
Posted Wednesday 10 Aug 2011 @ 12:38:55 am from IP # -
peter69_56
MemberHi all reading your responses has been good. My system is an origin 3kw, 220w canadian panels with a cleanenergy 30 inverter. My thoughts on the whole job is "GET A GOOD INSTALLER". it seems to me that in the main, most products work ok to good, but a bad installation will make any job just bad right from the start. The installers who did mine were ok in hat the system works well and a resonable job but I would say not professional. Left a bit of a mess and found bricks a neat place to wipe excess silicon. Just a bit slack. The guy next door has a TRUEnergy system ( as well as supplier) and his was completed quicker than mine in meter installation. My supplier is TRUEnergy (who I work for as well). The paperwork stalled between Origin and TRU but got there in the end.
Now I find that the neighbour and my system are near the exact same layout and angle, and both give very near the same figures through the whole day. A good way to prove if anything goes bad on either system. On the last month I have been getting 2.1 to 2.4 kw (instantaneous, 12 to 14 KW total) on some cloud to clear days so expect good results in summer. I am very happy overall with the project. I think also in the main it makes a huge difference as to who you speak to and their mood when on the phone to sort anything out. Same company and 2 different people can get 2 extremely different results. Now why didnt I get the TRUenergy system, simply because they had not got an employee friendly package up in time for me to chose it. The 12 month payment plan by Origin is hard to beat. Just got in in time for the 66c feed in rate and low priced system.
Oh did I say "GET A GOOD INSTALLER"
Posted Sunday 18 Sep 2011 @ 12:07:17 pm from IP # -
green apples
MemberHi everyone,
Happy 2012. Just received our latest electricity account today. Sooo pleased and can't help sharing that for the second time since we put in the solar panels, we don't have anything to pay and we are in $44.20 solar credits. How good is that. Very pleased and happy with that outcome.
Hope others are having the same good results with their solar panels. Cheers!Posted Wednesday 18 Jan 2012 @ 4:03:04 am from IP # -
peter69_56
MemberSystem was installed in June, it is now Jan 2012 and no bill yet! Seems like the more progress we make with technology, some things go backwards. Rang TRU and was told they would be working on the bill on 5/1/2012, this was 16/1/2012. I am not holding my breath. The issue is based on no final reading when the old meter was taken away. My understanding is that the network provider data base fell over and all the data was lost. Apparently they were rebuilding the database. Now I would have thought 7 months would have been more than enough time to do this and then provide the final readings to all the power suppliers, but apparently not. Perhaps the one little old grannie employed by the provider is still working on this, along with ansering all the complaint calls, sweeping the floors and doing general duties.
So I sit and wait.
Posted Monday 23 Jan 2012 @ 11:17:46 pm from IP # -
oldbill
MemberPeter69_56
Keep at them to get your bill.
I had too and then shock got a 9 month bill all in one go,
with the added insult that i lost my 3% discount on part of the bill
because I hadn't paid it in time.
An email to the dispute resolution dept did manage to get it sorted out
But the excuse thats been given to you, is different to the 2 excuses given to me
for failing to send the bills on time.
Good luck with it allPosted Tuesday 24 Jan 2012 @ 9:01:50 am from IP # -
battie
MemberHappy 2012 everyone
peter69_56, looks like you are having a bit of trouble with your providers. Yeah keep at them.. I'm sure it'll get sorted out soon
Good luck!Green apples - great to know about your solar credit.. Mine is a happy story too.. For the first bill, I paid only 1/6th of my regular bill.. The second time around, I got $120 credit
And that with several days of the system in grid fault.. I'm hoping the next bill will be even better I have noted though that the maximum output from my panels is around 8KWh per day.. It just doesn't go beyond that.. Will try cleaning the panels as someone had suggested earlier.. Otherwise all this sunglight is a bit of a waste
Posted Wednesday 25 Jan 2012 @ 12:43:12 am from IP # -
Valour
MemberI have a 3kw system and washed the dust off using our pool brush as it was the only thing I could find soft enough and with a long pole to reach the panels from the gutter. I was concerned because I was only getting a max 2.4 kw/h output when I got 3.1 kw/h output for the first few day it was installed. I expected a 10% loss due to not facing directly North. The difference washing with a brush as opposed to rain is that I am getting 10-15% greater output (2.7-2.8kw/h) now. Must say I was a bit surprised. at the difference. Should have done it ages ago.
Posted Wednesday 25 Jan 2012 @ 12:15:54 pm from IP #
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