The Lock’s Property in Tasman
Kristin Gillies, August 29, 2019
Solar panels: 9 x 260W panels. Inverter: micro-inverters. Total cost: $8,855. Electricity price: $0.25. Solar export price: $0.08. Installation date: July 2016.
Installing solar panels on their home in the sunny Tasman region allows the Lock family to take full advantage of the sun drenched location, stating “We live in a high sunshine area, so we are harnessing a natural resource - and feeling good about it.”
The owners say they are totally happy with the system's performance, adding “We look at the solar tracking system every day, and we also check to see if the solar panels are dirty - making sure we maximise the panels production”.
The household exports a fair amount of solar power, initially not knowing how much power they would export when the system was first installed. Because they sell a lot of power to the grid (and given the small prices paid from electrical companies for their solar power), they state “it would be nice for the electricity retailer to give us a bit more for our efforts!”
Overall, they had this to say “I feel very smug to be a solar power system owner. I am paying so much less on power than other people. We don't worry about how much power we are using, or even if we can afford it.”
