GRID CONNECTED SOLAR SYSTEMS

BASIC GRID CONNECTED SOLAR OPTIONS
If you'd like to use Renewable Energy in your grid connected premises the first step would be to save energy using a solar hot water system and energy efficient light bulbs. Thereafter, it starts getting more complicated with several options.

1. Grid feed inverters send the power from solar PV panels direct to the grid. They do not use a battery bank and therefore they do not give you any power back up in the event of a grid power failure. You need to contact your local electricity distributor for their consent and to work out any special meter and billing arrangements. They might also insist on special fusing or other protection devices. You can then add solar panels according to your budget. You would need about four 80 Watt panels to generate 1 kWh/day in the Brisbane area.

Solar panels are expensive, however, they come with a 20-year warranty. In Australia there is a rebate of $8/watt for systems between 450 and 1000W.

2. Grid interactive inverters perform the same function as grid feed inverters, however they allow power to flow 'both ways'. They also incorporate a battery bank and have an automatic built in charger. This type of system gives you back up power in the event that the grid fails or goes out of tolerance in terms of its voltage and frequency.

3. The last main option is to obtain a solar system (panels, battery, regulator and inverter) and transfer some or all of your
loads to this system.

Grid Feed Solar System Examples (205k pdf file)
Reduce your power bills and become less dependant upon polluting fossil fuels! Now more cost effective with Government rebate scheme.

Jack Smith's new Fronius IG 1500 grid-feed inverter working
off a 1500watt Kyocera solar array

This is probably the most useful and cost effective solution unless you are likely to produce (sell) more power than you use. This option means that a few of your important loads can keep running in the event of a power failure. It is a 'simpler' system than grid connected and you won't need the consent of the power utility. You could manually top up your battery with a small charger connected to the grid if you get prolonged cloudy weather.

If you would like more information about any of these systems, please do not hesitate to contact us so we can design a system to meet your needs.

In the power industry it's a well-known fact that electricity is going to run out - sooner for some, and later for others. We have increasing demand and aging power stations. While there's currently enough "base load" capacity, in a couple of years there won't be sufficient surplus to cover peaks. Initially that will mean blackouts during peak Summer load, like periods of over-35 degree temperatures. In Victoria and South Australia blackouts are likely during heatwaves this Summer, and in NSW and Queensland it's your turn a couple of years later.

Capacity should cope with Winter peaks until 2011, but blackouts could be happening Summer and Winter before we solve the problem. None of these figures are secret - I got them off the web from the National Electricity Market Management Company.

Just how did this situation come about? The last big NSW blackouts were in 1981, and led to the construction of some major power stations. The cost of building a power station is so enormous that demand-side management became government policy - reducing the amount of power used so there was no need to build more capacity. This was more than turning lights off when you leave the bathroom - major power users such as industry and big institutions were targeted to find ways of reducing their consumption. One of the most important ways to do this was pricing policy - the more power you used the more expensive it got. In NSW Electricity Technology and Advisory Centres (ETACs) were established to showcase ways of reducing consumption.

Then political fashions changed, and privatisation became the flavour of the decade. If you want to sell a business it has to be making as much money as possible, so now it wasn't in governments' best interests for big customers to be reducing their power bills. ETACs were shut in the mid-nineties and the pricing policy reversed - the more power you used the cheaper it got. Energy-efficient house design wasn't enforced, so the urban sprawl is dominated by inefficient housing with enormous air conditioners.

But all those air conditioners will grind to a halt in a couple of Summers and houses with no eaves and lots of glass will heat up like ovens. Essential services and big businesses with fixed supply contracts will be OK. The rest of us can expect the lights to go out and the price of power to rise. When crunch time comes we won't be able to build any more conventional power stations either, due to restrictions on emissions. In NSW the Redbank 2 proposal was recently rejected on just these grounds. Solar and wind power are both good ideas, but technology is not yet at a level where either can contribute significantly to the load needed, and proposed wind farms in Gippsland are already facing stiff community opposition. Let's face it. Blackouts will be a fact of life and there aren't any quick and easy solutions.

Ironically, the same state government that shut the ETAC's and gave large consumers cheap electricity has just announced tough energy and water efficiency targets for new housing, the formation of a Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability and a state Greenhouse Office. What goes around comes around.

So what am I doing to blackout-proof my house? Luckily we have gas, but modern appliances are lit by electricity, not pilots. A battery and inverter will have to trigger the hot water any time we need a shower. Laptops run for quite a while so I can keep on with freelance writing. The DVD won't work, which means the kids will have to read books and play cards. I'll fill the freezer with bottles of water to keep the food cold for a few hours. Gas lights are rare but still available so we'll install a couple, as well as solar panels and emergency lights to kick in when the power goes off. It's a ridiculous situation for someone living in Australia's largest city.

Most importantly, we're planning all this now. Come the Summer of 2005 there won't be a battery or solar panel to be found.

My house and job will keep running for a while when the power goes off, but living with blackouts should be a warning to us all. As a society we keep ignoring predictions about our way of life. When the lights go out, one of those predictions will have come true, and hopefully it will make us sit up and take notice of the others.