Solar Electricity
Winter Sun

If you are going to get as much winter sun inside your house you want to minimise shading. That could be from neighbour’s houses or even and boundary fences/hedges. Here is how to check………………….. Ideally you should be aiming for…
Read more
Curb Your Power

We are currently customers of Powershop, and have decided to get involved with an interesting program they are running. The idea is that they will tell us by SMS when they are expecting very high demand. If we can reduce…
Read more
The Value of West Facing Solar Panels

Its almost 2 years since I installed a solar power system on my current house. The installation is 8 x 250 watt panels facing North and these 5 x 250 watt panels facing West. Over the time they have been…
Read more
Busting some Myths about Solar

I have been hearing a few discussions about Solar power where people are repeating myths. . . . . So here are four commonly heard myths and the truth. MYTH You must have a battery with a solar system TRUTH…
Read more
Will Your Roof Take Solar Panels?

Plenty of people are thinking about solar panels as they can save a lot of money. But is your roof strong enough? In the old days a house roof had a good factor of safety so they could take the…
Read more
Don’t Get Fooled by the Inverter Rating

I have seen quite a few solar power advertisements that try to fool you! They say something like: 5kw Inverter 16 x 260 watt Panels Free Installation You might think you are getting a 5kW System The Truth What…
Read more
Solar For Free?
But Is It Worth It? I recently came across a scheme by AGL called the ‘Solar Smart Plan’ The Plan You sign a 7 year contract. AGL install panels on your roof for free. You are able to buy…
Read more
Solar Power Revisited – We Are Carbon Positive
At the start of this year I decided to install solar panels on my roof. I posted about how I arrived at the decision HERE Now I have around 6 months data, and the Feed In Rate (FIR) has increased…
Read more
Which Way Is North?

Don’t rely on a compass! Or a mobile phone either! There are different Norths True North Grid North Magnetic North The difference can be more than 10 degrees which can affect your view and the solar performance of your house…
Read more
Solar Citizens

Do you want to be a Solar Citizen? Do you know who the Solar Citizens are? Well I only found out about them a couple of weeks ago. Basically they are a nationwide group of people that support a…
Read more