Thinking Solar Power? A few points to consider...

Solar power is a great way to not only cut your power bills, but a direct, personal way you can lessen your impact on our stressed environment.  It pays to go into this with some general knowledge 'up your sleeve' so that you can get good value (which doesn't necessarily mean cheapest!) and the kind of system you need.

Justin Russell from Solar Depot gave us some tips for doing it right!

• In most cases, you get what you pay for!  Cheap components won't necessarily last in harsh Australian conditions.  Sure, these companies may offer warranties, but many close down within a relatively short time of being in business, leaving you with no come-back on your warranty.  Try to find a long standing company with a good reputation.

• Make sure you plan the location of your solar panels carefully.  Look at current shade patterns and how they might develop in the future... especially regarding trees you have no direct control over.

• Consider roof direction.  North is the best, however East and West are useable, but will have a 12-15% drop off in output.  You can get inverters that are designed for dual input so that you can have arrays facing different directions feeding in.

• In SA ideal roof pitch should be around 24-30 degrees.  If you have a flat roof you can elevate panels with angled frames, however these usually require obtaining council approval, along with the added cost of this and the manufacture of the frames.

• Panel weight is not usually an issue as they only way around 15kg each and this weight is spread out over a large area, however structural soundness of where you want to mount them should be checked.

• To claim on Smallscale Technology Certificates rebate your system must be installed by a licensed and accredited installer.

• You should have an idea of how much power you use, what times of day predominantly and what appliances are the heaviest users when you inquire about a solar system, so that the consultant can help plan the right system for you.

• For an average family, a 5kW upgradeable system should be adequate.  For a couple, probably a 3kW upgradeable system would suffice.

So... start planning your change to solar power now and start saving your money... and the planet!