About one in five Australians are thinking of installing solar panels (and many others would if they could), a recent national survey found. Soaring power prices clearly are a big motivation to join the nearly one in three households that already have a solar system.
Installation costs have plummeted and new systems now typically have generating capacities of 8-10kW. Yet, as Wasim Saman explains, even people with relatively large systems like this are often still paying stubbornly high electricity bills.
Why? Because they aren’t making the best use of all the electricity their systems produce. They export much of it to the grid for a meagre payment when solar generation is at its highest. Then they pay top dollar for the electricity they use in peak demand times in the early morning and evening when solar output is low or zero.
So, how can they reduce their bills – or even eliminate them altogether? There are three things solar system owners need to get right, and today’s article details all the steps towards achieving the elusive goal of ridding oneself of high electricity bills altogether.
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John Watson
Cities Editor and Deputy Energy + Environment Editor
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Wasim Saman, University of South Australia
To achieve low or even no electricity bills, there are three areas owners of home solar systems should focus on getting right.
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James Laurenceson, University of Technology Sydney
Now that diplomatic relations are out of the deep freeze, business and cultural ties between China and Australia are set for a major rebound.
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Timothy W. Jones, La Trobe University
The word ‘queer’ has a history as a widely used and respectful term in the LGBTIQA+ community, as well as being a slur.
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Leon Lack, Flinders University
Here are some tips of how to rethink the sound of your leaking tap, which should help bring you a decent night’s sleep. Or you could just fix the tap.
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Health + Medicine
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Di Winkler, La Trobe University
People with disabilities have a right to choose where and who they live with. Too many are currently in vulnerable arrangements.
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Environment + Energy
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Andrew King, The University of Melbourne
The latest Bureau of Meteorology forecast offers relief from record rain and floods brought about by La Niña. A longer-term outlook for El Niño is still up in the air – but its arrival would be disastrous.
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Arts + Culture
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Liz Giuffre, University of Technology Sydney
Renée Geyer, Australian jazz and soul singer, has died aged 69.
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