In March last year, during the first couple of weeks of this blog, I posted this entry about our ‘big 3’ – the solar panels, solar hot water and rainwater tanks.
Today I finally received our statement from our electricity company for the meter reading which was done back at the end of November. This means that we now have the statistics for a full 12 month period of having solar panels and exporting generated power, which is excess to our requirements, back to the grid.
In one year of having our solar panels connected to the grid we will receive a refund of $1,244.33 as well as having $0 in power bills. This represents a total turnaround of costs over 12 months of $2,392.17. I am really pleased with the result as it was achieved despite one of the wettest summers on record (and next to no sunshine) in the first 3 months after the installation of the panels.
We have a 3.7kW system which cost nearly $14,000 after the rebates. We anticipated that we would recover our costs (in refunds and no bills) within about 5 years. We will go close to achieving this and my goal for the next year is to reduce our electricity consumption even further by being more vigilant in monitoring our usage. I will also endeavour to make sure that more of our necessary consumption is at night, thereby maximising the power being exported to the grid.
I am pleased that we can minimise our costs as well as making a positive contribution to reducing our carbon footprint.
organised castle 
You are doing well with your savings. I installed 18 roof panels around 4 years ago, though only a 1.5 kW system, which was the going size in those days. If I am lucky, I get a rebate of around $50 a quarter. I have not worked out how much power that I have saved in having the panels but should do so. I have a large house though and a teenage son, and so we have at least 2 computers running constantly and sometimes the TV as well, although this is gradually getting less usage. Trying to get my son to turn off appliances that are not in active use is an ongoing battle however. This means that I still have electricity accounts of around $2000 per annum.
I have not bothered with the solar hws, having been less than impressed with them in the past. Instead I have gone for the instant heat gas, with a controllable temperature.
Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment. The solar panels are much more powerful now than a few years ago. Any rebate is a bonus and it is good to know we are doing something positive.
I appreciate you adding me to your blogroll. I will pop over and read more when I get a few moments to spare.