Community
13 September, 2024
Mr Stafford: “Be cautious”
CAMPERDOWN’S Peter Stafford has been left scratching his head after installing solar panels at his home which he fears will not save him money in the long run.
Mr Stafford said he had payed around $8000 for the installation of solar panels, but in the two years since he had only seen a reduction in the returns spruiked in the original sales pitch.
He said the returns as part of his quarterly bill in the form of a feed-in tariff, the payment (or reduction in energy bill) which energy companies pay homeowners for power exported to the grid from their solar panels, had recently been lowered – cutting into the already thin margins.
Mr Stafford originally had savings in the form of the feed-in tariff of 5.5 cents per KwH of energy (c/kWh), however this was soon reduced to just 3.3 c/kWh.
“I liked the idea of getting solar panels installed because I wanted to do the right thing, and in the process hopefully save some energy and a bit of money,” he said.
“I usually saw around $106 to $108 a quarter off the bill, but in the winter months it drops to around $34.
“But that’s at the 5.5 c/kWh rate, if you go down to 3.3 c/kWh there is hardly going to be any savings at all.
“I called my energy provider and said that at a time when everything in the world is going up in cost, how what I get be going down? How can what you’re paying us go down when you’re also asking us to pay more?
“I carried on a bit and said they needed to do better, so that’s why they lifted it to 4.9 c/kWh.”
The Essential Services Commission has stated tariffs have decreased due to a reduction in demand, meaning power exported during peak times (when the rates of return are highest) is not as often required and power can instead be exported at off-peak times when the returns are lowest.
“The theory is everyone put solar panels on and we’re getting all of it through the day, but nothing in the evening,” Mr Stafford said.
“Maybe they should think about putting home batteries in for us to store the power up ourselves.”
Home Battery Storage Systems, which store generated energy which can be released during peak hours, lowering the amount a customer needs to buy from the grid during peak hours, can start at around $4000.
Mr Stafford said purchasing a battery was a financial risk as adding more cost would only make the likelihood of seeing returns further decreased.
With solar panels only having a lifespan of between 20-30 years, and reduced efficiency as the years go by, Mr Stafford fears his attempt at doing the right thing will prove a costly error.
“I just want to warn people to be cautious,” he said.
“Keep the money in the bank because you’re basically blowing your money.
“I thought I was going to do a lot better out of it.”