Solar Newcastle

Grid Connected Solar and Stand Alone Solar

The following information explains how grid connected systems work and the benefits of going solar. If you are interested in stand alone solar systems, click here. 

Solar Newcastle supports the Clean Energy Council's Consumer Buying Guide 

Investing in solar energy can be a big decision so the the Clean Energy Council has published a consumer guide to buying solar panels which can be downloaded from their website at www.cleanenergy.org.au. 

Benefits of going solar

• Each 1kWh of energy generated is paid/credited to your account at 0.20¢. The NSW feed-in tariff became effective on 1 January 2010 and recent changes came into effect on 27 October 2010.. 
• Solar energy eliminates production of polluting green house gasses (a 1.5kW system saves over 2 tonnes of Co2 each year).
• Increase the value of your property.
• 25 year panel performance warranty.
• The solar system is virtually maintenance free.
• Saves you money on your electricity bill with increasing electricity prices
• Earn building energy efficient points which are required for new homes (basix).

 

1. Sunlight hits the solar modules, generating DC electricity.

2. The DC electricity is fed into an inverter which converts DC into 240 AC power.

3a. The power recorded by the gross meter, located in your meter box, is paid at 20 cents (or more) per kilowatt hour.

3b. The excess power, not used by your house, is recorded by your net meter and paid at 20 cents (or more) per kilowatt hour.

 

 

 

 

 

What is the difference between a 'net' and a 'gross' feed-in tariff?

'Gross' feed-in tariffs are where you are paid/credited for all the electricity generated by your solar photovoltaic system. In order to receive a gross feed-in tariff the consumer needs to have gross metering that can measure the 'gross' or total amount of electricity generated by their renewable energy generator that is exported to the grid.

'Net' feed-in tariffs are where you are only paid/credited for the 'net' generated electricity they export to the national electricity grid from your solar system (not for the proportion of generated electricity you use). In order to receive a 'net' feed-in tariff you need to have 'net' metering that can measure the net amount of generated electricity exported to the national electricity grid.