r/nzsolar

I have a 10kW solar setup (north-facing roof) + Powerwall 3 in Auckland on the Vector network.

Currently on a fixed 5kW export limit. I’m considering applying for the dynamic export limit up to 10kW.

How often does the dynamic limit get throttled (below 5kW) in practice ? Judging by experiences in Australia - there seems to be quite a bit of throttling during sunny periods. So I’m wondering if it’s actually better to just stay on the fixed 5kW.

Morena everyone - Ive had solar in for a month and while June may not be the best month for generation and sunlight, i figure its a fantastic month to look into optimising the system itself due to daylight hours in theroy getting longer after the solstice. I have a tesla PW setup and have uses Netzero app to get a more detailed view of whats happening. Before I signed up to the subscription, thought Id check in here to see if anyone is using this app and if the custom automations are worth paying for ? Id love to hear everyones thoughts - thanks in advance. P.s - if you arent using NetZero - what are you using and how good is it ? 👍☀️

I'm in need of some advice .

I did my due dilligence on shading etc before getting solar installed.

Today , without any warning or consultation Auckland council planted a great big tree in the berm RIGHT INFRONT of my solar panels.

In a few years this will massively block solar production ax tree will get to aroybd 6 to 10 meters tall.

I have logged a issue with the council(I'm not hopefull of them even caring about this ) but was hoping there is anything I can do legally?

Surely when they asses things like this impact to hone owners are taken into consideration ?

Any help would be appreciated.

As the heading says wondering people’s experiences trying to do away with gas for cooking and water heating? Thanks in advance

Exploring solar, haven't even started to work towards installing yet but trying to educate myself early on.

I keep seeing either marketing or forum posts discussing HWC diverters, so your 'excess solar heats your water instead of going to the grid'. What excess solar are you talking about?
A HWC runs on the same power as my entire house, so surely it's being powered by a combination of solar and mains already.

Unless everyone's just.. turning off their cylinders and letting them go cold when they're not generating power? Taking cold showers in the morning?

Edit: Got a much better idea of things now, thanks to all who answered. I was thinking in terms of a home where solar had been added with the house appliances still working as-installed. Now I get that a HWC diverter is upgrading/changing the operation of the cylinder itself, and not some voodoo magic somehow diverting more power to the factory cylinder.

Inspector came this morning and everything is up and running. Beautiful sunny day here in Dunedin and the battery is charging.

Any advice for how to get any bloody work done - I can't force my eyes away from the live data portal!

For those of us who cannot resist our Solar App, perhaps it might be possible to learn something from other sages amongst this reddit group. I have admitted to myself that I am powerless over my solar app. PS I have started taking Wegovy now but it is not helping with the solar noise in my head, any thoughts, tips to shine light on this will help to stop me obsessing over photons.

Bit of a thought experiment and I’d be interested to hear what others think.

We’re considering staying on a power plan where we don’t export any surplus solar back to the grid. We have a home battery, so we capture excess solar during the day, and we can also use it to heat the spa and hot water cylinder.

Our plan with Contact gives us a three-hour “free power” period from 9 pm to midnight. I know it’s not really free, as it’s built into the pricing of the plan, but it’s a useful way to describe it. During that window we can charge our EV, heat the hot water cylinder, top up the spa, and most importantly, fully recharge our home battery so it supplies the house overnight. We might use 30kw in this time.

The trade-off is that we can’t earn anything from exporting excess solar. Based on our calculations, we’ll probably use around $2,000 to $3,000 worth of electricity during that three-hour period each year.
The other factor is that our daytime electricity use is already quite high. With the battery capturing our excess solar during the day, the chances of having significant surplus to export are fairly low, except perhaps during the peak of summer.

For those with solar and batteries, how much do you actually earn from exporting to the grid each year? Has anyone compared the value of export credits against the value of a plan with a three-hour free power period? I’d be really interested to hear your real-world experiences and whether you think giving up export income is worth it.

As noted, just a thought experiment.

I'm building a power backup for a small stormwater pump using the above parts. As an engineer I'm doing as much I can DIY but will bring in my regular electrician to connect it to the house electrics once I'm confident there is a mutually-understood path to completion.

Can anyone explain the process and timing of applying to the local lines company (Unison) for connecting a Victron Multiplus 2 to the network? I'm trying to figure out how I can test my system off-line, powered with my generator if needed.

https://preview.redd.it/t7rp8uk8prah1.png?width=918&format=png&auto=webp&s=59cb66f9b22af26ea6037f39264dd2e784d96307

Just had solar installed, is this a normal way to leave the roof penetration on the inside?

The underlay's been cut in a rough star shape around the conduit and the flaps just left open. I'd have expected it to be taped/sealed to keep the integrity of the paper. Is this the common way it's done, or have they forgotten to seal it?

How's yours finished? Keen to see some photos of others so I know what to expect and whether I should raise this with the installer.

https://preview.redd.it/si42o3gmckah1.png?width=846&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf7f4175dc9693e47b85907cb777aa74ab2a2e69

Apologies for the long story.

We have a 10yr old heat pump hotwater system. We recently had solar installed which included a hot water timer. Through the app that controlled the timer we could see the hot water was drawing a ridiculous amount of power. The solar guys removed the timer as they didn't realise we had heatpump system so a timer was inappropriate. Technically this should have returned the hotwater to pre timer state, however the house continued to draw a crazy amount of power.

I turned off the hotwater at the mains and there is an immediate drop in power usage, ergo there is an issue with the cylinder.

Called the original cylinder installers to come and service the set up. They sent an electrician who ran some water out of tank and said the element kicked in so it was working. He noted the heap pump was turned off but he had no idea about heatpumps so couldn't tell if it was functional. (He didnt comment on why the cylinder is using so much power).

That night another enormous amount of power usage (30kw between midnight and 8am with no other appliances on) and we woke up to luke warm water. I *think* this indicates the heatpump is working as it wasn't completely cold.

Of course, called the installer back and they dont repair or services heatpump -they install only. The directed me to the manufacturer. Have talked to Rinnai and am waiting (2 days now) for someone to get back me.

In the meantime I am manually turning the hotwater on at the mains during the solar hours so there is 'some' hotwater and its not costing me crazy amounts in power sometimes using 60+kw per day.

I have just sunk $15K on solar and my power bill is going to be excessive due to this issue. Spending another $6K on a new hotwater system is not in my budget.

How do I get this resolved, like who do I need to investigate what the issue is and repair.

Do I need 2 electricians? One for the hotwater cylinder and someone for the heat pump?

Any advice appreciated!

10KW inverter, 10KWh battery, 14 500Wp.

This is an update to my original post at the beginning of April with updated data from the last three months and including actual billing from Genesis.  It’s insane to me to think of generating a KWh of electricity, exporting that to the grid, paying 15% GST on my 12.5 cents, that KWh going to my non-solar neighbor who also pays 15% GST again at whatever rate their provider charges.  Double dipping on tax should be illegal.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wo269cxKj1y_vPp1duJZ-PhOTMpHvzJ8/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113288444842212356037&rtpof=true&sd=true

 

Notes:

• System online Nov 24 (Waikato region)
• Dec data skewed due to offline operation for some period of time
• Hot water is gas (130L cylinder) hob is gas
• Have a 4.5KW hog of a dryer, but not used since system was installed so data not included (a heat pump style dryer is on my list)
• There is generally only myself and wife at home and I believe we are reasonably low-use humans at 10KWh to 15KWh per day with the most I've ever seen at 24KWh
• There was nobody home during the entire month of April, so figures are just for running the fridge, 2x freezers, some internet stuff and the security cameras/system
• I’m 99% confident in the math, but I have not yet configured for GST. I’m currently investigating the *HUGE* discrepancy in what the system reports as imported and what Genesis is billing me so I hope to have an answer on the next update

Excel sheet:

·       Collums B-E are directly from the sig app

·       G is is solar use + grid import divided by the number of days in that month

·       H is solar production divided by the number of days in that month

·       I is the % of what the system produced to what we used from that production

·       J is the daily connection fee of $1.455 per day Genesis charges me times # days in that month

·       K is what I get in $ for exported KWh times 12.5 cents I’m paid to export not subtracting GST

·       L is the 34.4 cents Genesis charges me per KWh times what I imported not including GST

·       M is basically the sum of J, K & L and if it’s negative, I pay not including GST

·       N is what the system saved me if I didn’t have solar and all my power came from the grid

Please leave your criticisms below. I don’t mind charging the battery from the grid, but I never ever, ever want to see it discharging to the grid.  Putting another cycle on a $9K battery for ~$0.80 will never be worth it no matter what kind of plan I’m on.

I’m so disappointed with exports that I have every intention of shutting that off January 1, 2027 and I’ll will also (hopefully) find a better provider.

Hey looking at solar and have 2 questions (so far), one related to area

What is rhe best option for power company

We use about 7500 kWh a year and the system we are looking at is 10,500 kWh generation per year so will have a bit to sell back, who would people recommend, we are currently with Genesis

Next one is, system is going to be 22 x 450w panels or 18 x 505w, have been told I need a 5 or 10 kw inverter depending on quotes, what do people recommend?

Thanks

Edit

We are getting a 9/10 kWH battery also

We would like to generate excess and sell back to offset our line charges and the extra we need to take off the grid over winter

Looking at upgrading our freezers, any go to brands for low power use that you would suggest - or is it a case if heading to Harvey Norman for a look ?

Single story new roof, house rewired, new switchboard. Quote to install 9.5kwh Solar system (battery ready) was 64 hours (48 electrician, 16 apprentice).

What have others had quoted in terms of labour?

I’m on contacts good nights plan (grandfathered in before they said those with solar can’t get on). I get free power from 9 to midnight every day.

I find that while I largely don’t even use the grid thanks to solar and batteries, one or two rainy days in a row has me buying $10-$15 of power per day (good nights = 44 cents / kWh for me, plus daily rate). And that’s when me severely limiting my use (in an average day usage can easily touch 50 kWh which would be $20 in one day!)

Out of curiosity, I have been monitoring the spot price and find that for my usage profile this would work out really well.

Plus Contact’s buy back rate is an absolute joke. It’s something like 8 cents per kWh, nearly 5x less than what my buy is. Plus I can’t export during the winter anyways either due to lack of sun anyways, but with the likes of ecotricity I could earn credit by discharging into the grid when the demand is high.

And with low user rates being phased out, Contact is only going to get more expensive with no real way to get away from paying the daily rate so I’m toying with the idea of making the switch.

Which providers actually have a spot price plan? Ecotricity seems to have good buy back rates and also offer a spot price plan. They also annoyingly mention they add a margin for their admin (which is fine) but don’t say how much it is. I’ve emailed them to find out.

Anyone other providers worth considering?

PS, just looking for a discussion on providers and not if this is a good idea or not. I’ve already run the numbers and I’m aware of the “risk”.