A humorous exploration of a Canadian's life in Australia.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Going Solar. (Definitely)

Well there was a lot of information to sift through before deciding once and for all to opt for solar energy, and I got buy-in from the Mrs. to invest in a 3kW system from a highly recommended company. After a lot of reading I found an installer from a small company that has been in the Solar Energy industry for around 18 years, who is an active participant on a forum focussed on green energy, and has received glowing reviews from other participants with no criticism of his work. Their prices were also competitive with like-quality components, which is still a bit more expensive than some of the other options but I won't be "praying" my Sopray panels actually produce what they're supposed to produce.

Many people on the forum post up how much energy their systems produce for a given day, and what their setup is along with the current conditions for the day. Installs by this guy seem to rank pretty well all things considered. The design of our system will also accommodate adding more panels in the future so we can effectively double our system size if we choose to down the road. My wife is a bit cautious about whether this system will make money or not, but I'm really happy she's agreed to invest in the larger system. I truly think it will blow her friend's cheapie 1.5kW system out of the water when it's up and running, and it will probably be installed sooner too. :)

So now we wait for a probable December install. (depending on weather) Unfortunately I've found some termite activity out in front of the house so that will be another chunk of money to get someone in for an inspection and then update the chemical barrier around the house. The list continues to grow. :)

About Me

I live around sunny Brisbane working around the city and generally trying not to make too much of a nuisance of myself.