Newsletter #113

Rainbow Power Company Enewsletter #113

Index:  

1) Merry Christmas  

2) Job Vacancies  

3) Washing Machines  

4) CPAP Machines  

5) Apple Regulator  

6) Battery Prices  

7) New Solar Technologgies  

8) Solar Cooker Special

On behalf of the Company we'd like to wish our Customers and Friends a very Happy Christmas.

Thank you for all your support.

We will be closed between 22 – 26 December inclusive and then will have a skeleton staff through to 11 January 2008.

Trade and Overseas customers are asked to try and complete their orders before this Christmas period.

We are increasing our staff and have positions for sales and installation staff. These positions are open to Australian residents only.

If interested please see:
http://www.rpc.com.au/jobs.html

For some reason many Bosch products (including some of their drills and washing machines) have problems running off even the best Aussie made sine wave inverters. Gordon Claridge wrote a good article about his washing machine experiences –

http://www.rpc.com.au/products/inverters/washingmachines_inverters_faq.html

A major manufacturer (Resmed) of these devices has written a good summary of the power consumption of various units running at different settings etc.

If interested see – http://www.rpc.com.au/pdf/battery-powering-products-usa.pdf

We are pleased to advise that we now have a 20A (12V) regulator in this popular range. These have proven to be a very reliable and economical regulator with a dozen status LED indicators and a low battery warning alarm.

For more details see: http://www.rpc.com.au/catalog/regulator-apple-p-2831.html

Some bad news for you is that batteries have gone up a lot in the past couple of months and are predicted to go up a further 5% in January! We are now finding that the batteries are costing more than the panels on a new system! The really begs the question whether one is better off buying extra PV and reducing the battery capacity.

Incidently, Australian residents whose principle place of residence would cost more than $30,000 to connect to the grid may be eligible for a 50% rebate to upgrade their system with new batteries and more solar panels (450W minimum purchase required).

For more details RRPGP details here: http://www.rpc.com.au/rebates.html

We all hear about new solar inventions quite frequently on the news, television etc. There has been a lot of research into solar technology for the past 20 years. Inventors often 'talk up' the benefits of their technology to try and obtain grants and venture capital.

We are often asked 'should I wait for this new solar panel I have heard about . . . . '.

The first point I'd make is that we've been hearing such stories for decades and we are still basically using the same technology today that was first produced decades ago.

Secondly there is a world shortage of solar panels which tends to set a world price for them. Why would anyone sell them at a bargain if they don't have to?

Thirdly, any new technology will take years to test and to bring it into commercial production.

Fourth, they often talk about increased efficiency - this is different from 'cheaper' - it just means they will take up less room.

Fifth, the largest world producers of the current technology such as Sahrp, Kyocera, Suntech and BP are still expanding their investment in current technology factories.

To conclude, we recommend you stick with the current technology which is tried and proven.

For Christmas, we have discounted our Solar Box Cookers (while stocks last) These work well, are portable and even come with a recipe book!
For more details - http://www.rpc.com.au/catalog/solar-cookers-c-1_155.html

That's all folks – it will be early February before we issue another newsletter.

Have a Good One!!

Kind regards to you all

Dave Lambert

Sales Manager

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