The McNae’s Property in Auckland
Kristin Gillies, August 29, 2019
Solar panels: 17 x 295W. Inverter: 5kW string inverter. Total cost: $13,495. Electricity price: $0.31. Solar export price: $0.08. Installation date: August 2017.
The McNae family negotiated a good price for their solar power system, which in turn has helped them achieve a good return on investment of 11.38%.
The family have had a lot to enjoy since installing solar power; the ability to use appliances more often than they normally would being one such benefit (without the fear of receiving a large power bill at the end of the month). They also had this to say, “The biggest benefit is that it heats our hot tub, and we get to use that a lot especially during winter, it’s a guilt free pleasure. The hot tub is on the deck, and looks straight out on the Tamaki river. We also use air conditioning during the summer months, to cool the place down, taking advantage of the high solar power generation during the day - otherwise we wouldn’t use the air conditioning as much.” Their hot tub and hot water cylinder is on a timer, ensuring they use as much solar power that they can, rather than drawing expensive power from the grid.
The solar power system has helped to halve their power charges, which they believe is really significant. Solar power for them is the gift that keeps on giving, finishing up with “I personally feel like we are saving do- llars all the time. It’s a good feeling knowing that the water is heated and appliances are powered by solar.”
