Roughly 42MW of photo voltaic has been put in on rooftops in Newcastle, together with 15.9% of the residential rooftops, in keeping with knowledge recorded by the Australia Photovoltaic Institute. This text examines the important thing issues for these desirous about having a photo voltaic system put in in Newcastle, together with power manufacturing estimates, system costs and payback intervals.
How a lot solar energy are you able to generate in Newcastle?
Australia isn’t often called the sunburnt nation and not using a purpose – no matter the place you’re on the continent, you most likely obtain sufficient sunshine in your roof to make photo voltaic panels worthwhile. Newcastle is not any exception, receiving about 5.3 ‘peak solar hours’ per sq. meter per day (on common all year long), in keeping with PVWatts. Consider these 5.3 hours of concentrated daylight because the ‘gas’ to your photo voltaic system – in a super world, 1 kilowatt (kW) of photo voltaic put in in Newcastle would produce 5.3 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power.
However like several generator, a photo voltaic PV system isn’t 100% environment friendly – so among the uncooked power is misplaced within the conversion from mild to electrical energy. Sometimes, a north-facing photo voltaic system tilted at latitude (~32 levels for Newcastle) could have an effectivity lack of about 15% – for a complete conversion effectivity of about 85%. The desk beneath reveals tough day by day power output figures for a spread of well-liked photo voltaic system sizes if put in within the Newcastle area – assuming that they’re 85% environment friendly.
Photo voltaic PV system output in Newcastle (In style system sizes, at 85% effectivity)
Sounds good! However how does this photo voltaic power save me cash?
Once you use electrical energy from the grid, your electrical energy retailer expenses you per kilowatt-hour of power – it is best to have the ability to see your historic utilization on the again of your most up-to-date invoice. Your kWh consumption most likely adjustments by the season, relying on the forms of gadgets & home equipment that you just use (air con, heating, dryers, and so on). By determining your common utilization, you’ll be in a greater place to decide on one of the best measurement system to your wants.
New South Wales not has a beneficiant photo voltaic feed-in tariff for brand spanking new photo voltaic installations, which signifies that you don’t get financially rewarded for placing your photo voltaic power into the grid (though some electrical energy retailers do supply a nominal buyback price). Briefly, as of late ‘self-consumption’ is the secret – you’ll want to use as a lot of your photo voltaic power as attainable throughout the daytime with the intention to get essentially the most out of your system.
There are two methods to maximise the proportion of photo voltaic power that you just eat:
Ensure that your system is sized appropriately, and
Know your electrical energy consumption sample and behave accordingly.
Now we have developed a instrument that will help you choose a photo voltaic PV system measurement primarily based on the quantity of power that you just eat and your consumption sample:
Take a look at our Photo voltaic PV System Sizing Estimator Instrument right here.
Examine quotes from as much as 7 installers in Newcastle now.
What rebates for solar energy can be found in Newcastle?
The federal authorities has a mechanism in place to cut back the price of putting in photo voltaic PV programs underneath 100kW in capability. The precise worth of the motivation relies on numerous elements reminiscent of location and system measurement, however often works out to be about 30-40% of the entire set up price. This incentive has been pivotal in making Australia dwelling to among the lowest photo voltaic PV system costs on the planet.
For example, when this incentive is utilized to a 5kW photo voltaic system in Newcastle, it ends in a discount of $2244 in keeping with Greenbank as at November 2021.
Learn extra about incentives out there for rooftop photo voltaic underneath the Renewable Vitality Goal
How a lot does photo voltaic price in Newcastle?
Thanks partly to the federal Renewable Vitality Goal, Australia is dwelling to among the lowest PV system set up costs on the planet. We’ve been retaining monitor of value developments in Australia’s capital cities since 2012 in our month-to-month Photo voltaic PV Worth Index articles. Whereas we don’t particularly publish costs for Newcastle, the are typically much like these for Sydney.
Is battery storage an choice for Newcastle properties?
One method to improve photo voltaic self-consumption is to have a battery storage system put in. Though batteries can nonetheless be fairly expensive, they’re rapidly turning into extra reasonably priced. (Battery storage value comparisons are actually out there with all of Photo voltaic Alternative’s Photo voltaic Quote Comparisons.)
What’s the return on funding for photo voltaic panels in Newcastle?
Payback occasions for photo voltaic PV programs in Newcastle could be quick, with sizeable financial savings attainable by putting in a system. The desk beneath supplies an summary of the case for investing in programs of varied sizes within the Newcastle space. The desk beneath makes use of common system costs – needless to say decrease system costs will ship much more spectacular returns.
Bear in mind, nevertheless, that whereas decrease costs don’t at all times essentially imply decrease high quality, they need to be approached with a wholesome diploma of warning; a photo voltaic PV system ought to proceed to provide energy for as much as 25 years (with inverter replacements each 7-10 years). Any system downtime (as a consequence of part failure, for instance) will lead to prolonged payback intervals – to not point out the prices that could be incurred for repairs/replacements not coated underneath guarantee.
Indicative returns for photo voltaic programs @ common Newcastle costs
5kW
10kW
$4,230
$8,340
@ 50% self-consumption
@ 70% self-consumption
@ 30% self-consumption
@ 50% self-consumption
3 yr payback
2.4 yr payback
4.9 yr payback
4.1 yr payback
34% IRR
42% IRR
20% IRR
24% IRR
$1,406 annual financial savings
$1,728 annual financial savings
$1,688 annual financial savings
$2,009 annual financial savings
Assumptions in desk above:
85% system effectivity
20kWh electrical energy consumption/day
retail electrical energy @ 29c/kWh
photo voltaic feed-in price @ 10c/kWh
Not pleased with our assumption? Click on right here to make use of our calculator to enter your personal parameters
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