Off-Grid, Stand Alone Solar Systems ^{“Stay independent and never become resentful of a power bill ever”}

When a off grid solar system has been well designed with careful consideration of power consumption, the time it is consumed, local conditions, and the brand components we expect a system to last around 15 years, possibly even 18-20 years.

If a system is purchased purely based on low price then it will probably only last a few years. The world hasn’t changed – “You get what you pay for!” If you go to cheap then you will have to buy a replacement system soon and then you will understand how expensive those cheap units are.

Commercially the choice is Solar or Diesel. There are wind turbines available however much of Australia does not get enough wind on a consistent basis to create a reliable source without a huge battery storage facility.

On a do-it yourself basis, it tends to be up to one’s imagination and ingenuity to construct a crude power plant. The reality is that Solar or Diesel are the 2 options capable of delivering most peoples idea of what lifestyle quality encompasses.

The aim is to create clean power with correct voltage and hertz that will safely run appliances designed for grid power supply. If the power does not fall within the grid parameters then the normal life span of the appliance is jeopardized.

Technical advancement has made solar the most practical and reliable source that is almost maintenance free and the fuel source is free too.

Diesel is often a lower capital outlay, however fuel is an everyday cost, and requires regular time consuming maintenance. Then there is the issue of noise and redundancy simply due to all the moving parts.

Solar can be monitored from anywhere in the world, some systems even have remote resetting of parameters to optimise performance.

The solar rebate is determined by sale price of the number of certificates a system generates. The number of certificates is determined using a calculation based on size of panel array and the number of years remaining to the closure of the scheme.

The dollar value of each certificate is subject to market forces of the demand versus supply of certificates that large energy consuming companies are required to buy to offset their emissions.

The fickle component is that the federal government can alter or even close the scheme at anytime. If this is enacted prior to the close date of the scheme then the actual cost to consumers installing a system is going to increase substantially.

Call us on 1300 414 384 and put your trust in an expert who has the simple philosophy of doing the best that he possibly can for the customer so they become his friendly sales team.

Basically a system has to provide the days power plus a safety margin in storage for non-solar producing days or exceptional extra demand of electricity. It requires knowledge about hourly consumption of individual appliances and frequency of use.

The easy way is to consult with Jock who has the experience and knowledge in designing a dependable solution.

Yes it can, and yes we have done that for customers where grid power was unreliable or customers who had disregard for the electricity provider and fed-up with paying a power bill they have little control over.

We are certainly happy to go through the exercise with you so you have the real facts to make an informed decision.

The choice is yours – it comes down to buying a adequate sized solar system or pay less for an undersized system that means a generator has to provide the power at night. When I design a solar stand alone system, I size it so that you do not require a gen set. Many of my customers have never even bought a generator and the systems have been operation for several years. If you do require an uninterrupted power source for safety or health reasons then in most situations it only requires a small generator to power vital appliances.

Yes it certainly can – the initial cost of a solar power plant is usually the ONLY cost. There is no moving parts, nothing to wear out. Diesel is an everyday cost and can be trying to budget for as the price of oil goes up and down. It can easily blow out.

The cost per kilowatt hour of solar may only be 40 cents over the life of the system, where as diesel can be as much as $1.50 per kilowatt hour when amortised including the replacement equipment.

Pumps for domestic use are no issue for an off-grid solar system provided that plant has surge ability to handle the high demand for a few seconds when the pump starts. Soft start pumps are now available to get over this hurdle if one does not already own the pump.

For irrigation purposes if it is a new installation then a DC pump is the best option. These are designed to run without having batteries attached and they have a changeover arrangement so they can run on AC power at night.

If you have an existing 3 phase AC pump the solution is to put in a solar array with inverter etc to power the pump during the day. This can even be a off grid solution with a battery and there is an interesting twist to this package for when there is mains power blackouts.

Not an issue provided the system is large enough to handle the loads or should I say pockets are deep enough for the upfront outlay. Many of the systems I have installed run DC air conditioners. Efficiency technology is fantastic today. Heat pump clothes dryers are also very economical. An electric oven is what it is, my recommendation to the cook, is to start your oven cooking while the sun is still bright so the power is coming direct from the panels, then the storage supply to finish off the dish is minimal. A lot of ladies say there is nothing fresher than sun dried clothes!

1. Solar generation: it is much easier to determine the size of the solar required for the long term and install that size from get go. Why – because it is easy to get the rebate for all of it now. It costs less to do it now than have a team come in and add more panels later. The inverter controls panel production so that it takes care of the surplus size when not being used.
2. Storage is a different proposition. If one is using an acid/lead based storage solution then it is not recommended to increase the size after 12 months of the initial install. The other stipulation is that when increasing an acid/lead solution the additional package must be the same size as the first package.
   However with Lithium one has the flexibility to add small increments of storage for a few years as the existing package has no influence on the new batteries.