Solar Panels

[Tully]

Does anyone know of reputable solar panel fitters here in Adelaide - and whether or not, they now add value to your property.

 

Thanks.

[snifter]

I'm not sure they add much value, I guess it would depend how many you had fitted and the tariff etc. They add more appeal I think. Also the quality of the panels can vary and cheap ones or not so good ones may put people off (if they bother to look what you've stuck on your roof and the warranty and other paperwork etc). I know we asked about this sort of thing, aircon make and other things. I didn't want to be stuck with a heap of rubbish on my roof and them needing replacing or whatever within a few years of moving in.

 

When we were looking to buy it was a plus if a house had solar panels, even bigger bonus if they were tied into the 50 plus cents tariff for a fair few years instead of the current crappy very low rate. We also looked for houses that had solar hot water and I'd take that over a limited number of solar panels installed at a low tariff if push came to shove. If there were 20 panels on a roof I'd consider it but thats a lot of expense to install. And then if we had bought without we'd have the cost of installing panels at some point but again, would have to do sums to see if it was worth it and how many we'd need to actually be earning or how many years before we could really reap the rewards etc.

 

I can't say I noticed a big jump in the average price when we were looking around. Houses tended to vary in price but this was usually because of the overall condition of the property and land more than the extras it had fitted (unless they had pools, then this did seem to increase even the crappier houses). Kitchens will often sell a house as will the floor plan and flow. Air con, solar, solar hot water, decent in built garden watering system, water tanks, those things are all a bonus in my book and very happy if we can find a house with some or all. I can't say having looked long and hard around various areas any of them really added much to the value, sure a bit but not a huge amount. Generally I found that well kept houses often had some or all of those things anyways and were priced that bit more than those without, as you'd expect. And usually a well kept house is more appealing to a buyer be they family, retired, couple, unless its an investor for the rental or building market. Then those things are not of much interest.

 

Our neighbour sold a little while back and they had no solar anything. What they did have was a lovely modern (not the new build Aussie modern though, just well kept and updated properly) open plan home on a big block with huge shed/garage fully fenced off. Sold very quick.

[John Browning]

Hi Tully,

 

-have to agree about the Solar hot Water: they've improved a great deal over the last ten years

 

-small changes like the anodised black finish that absorbs more heat,

-and bigger changes like the evacuated glass tube collectors that work very efficiently even in winter

 

Bear in mind you will still need a back- up heater on the tank, but with a family you are still al ot better off

 

-whatever you fit, don't forget to do any outstanding work on the roof / loft before you install: -repainting; repointing, replace broken tiles / rusty sheets etc

 

Let us know how you go

 

JB

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

A lot of the solar panel companies went bust when the changes to the feed in tariffs reduced plus the RECS (renewable energy certificates...fancy term for subsidies) were also cut back.

I bought some systems through Origin energy a few years ago. They still allow you to buy a system and pay if off interest free. I think that AGL also do the same.

There's quite a difference in quality of panels and inverters so do some homework on type of systems. Sunny Boy inverters are good.

 

The biggest mistake that I made was getting 1.5 kw systems...should have been 5kw!

[Tully]

Thanks for those replying to my thread.

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Just to add to your question about value. I was having a look at properties on one of the real estate sites and was interested in a rural property (if only finances permitted!). One big factor that I liked was that they had a 10 kw solar system...it was a influencing factor in my purchase process!

[Tully]

Just to add to your question about value. I was having a look at properties on one of the real estate sites and was interested in a rural property (if only finances permitted!). One big factor that I liked was that they had a 10 kw solar system...it was a influencing factor in my purchase process!

 

So you reckon 10 kw and not 5 kw? Glad I'm getting input on this as i don't know that much about solar panels Thanks again.

[V-Bird]

So you reckon 10 kw and not 5 kw? Glad I'm getting input on this as i don't know that much about solar panels Thanks again.

 

Tully, my advice, don't fall into the trap of buying a huge system. The feed-in tarriffs are as good as no good from September this year, so you'll be selling most of the power to the grid for about 6c and buying it back for 32c, so the payback would take forever.

The horse has well and truly bolted for big systems. Work out what your consuming daily (from your bill) and halve it. This way you consume as big a percentage of the power generated during the day. For an average house this would be about a 1.8kW system.

Remember even big systems don't work in the dark..!

[wubbledoos]

Here is a simple overview,

 

http://www.solargain.com.au/which-solar-energy-system-is-right-for-me

 

From Dec 14 to march 15 the solar on the house we're looking to buy produced around 13.2 a day on a 3.5 system. So the table in that link is fairly good.

 

Our current average usage is around 19 a day though, and that's with just a solar hot water system.

[John Browning]

seems that Tamara is saying is that the 10Kw system was already fitted and paid for

 

JB

[Jessica Berry]

From Dec 14 to march 15 the solar on the house we're looking to buy produced around 13.2 a day on a 3.5 system.

 

Our current average usage is around 19 a day though, and that's with just a solar hot water system.

 

Out of interest I had a look at our bill and for the period (this is the closest I could get to match the above) 31 October 2014 - 2 February 2015 we produced 13.55 kwh a day and our usage was only 5.55 kwh a day on a 3 kw system. We love our solar!

[Jessica Berry]

We have a very efficient solar system (we did a lot of research into buying the system at the time) and as an added bonus when you look at the house you wouldn't even know it was there (personally I don't think they add value if they ruin the look of the house). We have had the system just over 4 years and in that time we haven't paid an electricity or gas bill (we use the credit to pay the gas bill). If we were selling our house I would certainly be making sure the real estate agent was pointing this out to potential buyers.

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Tully, my advice, don't fall into the trap of buying a huge system. The feed-in tarriffs are as good as no good from September this year, so you'll be selling most of the power to the grid for about 6c and buying it back for 32c, so the payback would take forever.

The horse has well and truly bolted for big systems. Work out what your consuming daily (from your bill) and halve it. This way you consume as big a percentage of the power generated during the day. For an average house this would be about a 1.8kW system.

Remember even big systems don't work in the dark..!

 

Very good points.

You may be limited in system size by your available roof space too.

The price of solar installations has come down (but so has the subsidy). I so wish that I had installed 5 kw systems instead of 1.5's!