The Herbert’s Property in Waikato
Kristin Gillies, August 29, 2019
Solar panels: 12 x 285W panels. Inverter: 5kW string inverter. Total cost: $9,580. Electricity price: $0.28. Solar export price: $0.07 . Installation date: November 2017.
The Herbert household has enjoyed notable savings since installing their solar power system, “Since installing solar power our first power bill was $75, it's normally $230, our power bill has never gone over $200 since!”
We monitored their solar power system for a year, noting they had consumed 54% of their solar power, and 46% of the solar had been exported to the grid. To achieve solid solar power self-consumption rates they use appliances like the dishwasher, washing machine and drying machine during the day, rather than at night. They use a wetback in winter to help keep their power bills low.
The Herberts say that they are “feeling good, generating solar power and using less power from the grid.”
