To Reduce Your Power Bills
Photovoltaic systems generate power so you don't have to buy it from the grid. If you generate more energy than you use you can sell the excess back to your energy provider at the feed-in tariff rate.
Feed-In Tariff
In Western Australia, from 1 August 2010, you will receive 47 cents for each kilowatt hour you sell back to Synergy and 58.93 cents for each kilowatt hour you sell back to Horizon (only available to customers who fall under Horizon's area - northern WA). The state government subsidises 40 cents of this feed-in incentive and Synergy / Horizon provide the remainder under the Renewable Buyback Scheme, read more on the feed-in tariff.
Your Energy Savings
The amount your power bills fall once you install solar power will depend upon the energy your system generates, the electricity you consume and your pattern of energy consumption (i.e. if you use more or less of your power between 9am and 3pm when most of your solar power is generated). At night time you will draw power from the grid. Western Power monitors your power generation or usage from your meter as it occurs.
It can take 2.25 - 8 years for the savings on power generated from a 1.5KW photovoltaic system to repay its purchase price (payback period). The payback period is affected by how much energy you generate (ie system quality and location); the pattern of your energy consumption, the initial purchase price of your solar system after solar credits and whether the system is dirty or shaded.
Generally cheaper systems will have a shorter payback period but a better quality system should keep saving more power for longer.
If you request a quote from Air and Water we provide you with the payback period and give an indication of savings* for your system based upon your current electricity consumption.
*Note expected savings are for guidance purposes only. The theoretical energy generation from a PV system is an extremely complex calculation which takes 13 pages for the Clean Energy Council to explain.
