REDUCING YOUR ELECTRICAL DEMAND
Grid
While your solar grid system will
offset your electricity bill it is
important to learn how to reduce your
electrical demand to gain the most
out of your system. The biggest demand
is usually your hot water heater.
Options are to heat water at off peak
rates or replace your current Hot Water System
with either a gas or Solar Hot Water System.
 Electrical
stove tops and ovens are also big consumers
of electricity. Options are to replace
with gas, as the heat from gas is instant.Air
conditioning is a huge consumer of electricity,
the difference between 26 and 25 degrees
can be as much as 10% in energy consumption.
It is best to open a hot house and use
the air conditioner to move the hot
air out before closing the house up.
Options are to ensure that good quality
insulation is installed and window tinting
and window
shading will help reduce indoor temperatures.
Clothes driers: the option is to dry
clothes outside on washing lines. Lighting
Options: change light globes to low
wattage compact fluorescents, change
halogen downlights to LEDs and mostly
turn lights off when not in use. Appliance
options: turn appliances off at the
wall if possible as most have standby
mode which is using electricity all
the time.
Stand Alone
Unlike grid connected systems, stand
alone systems rely solely on the battery
bank for your energy requirements, and
due to this, efficiency is the key.
High energy loads such as air conditioners,
electric cooking, clothes driers, electric
HWS are inappropriate loads to run from
a stand alone power systems. In these
areas alternatives must be sought. Most
washing machines will run without a
problem, but it is recommended to use
a front loader as the efficiency is
greater.
 Standard
refrigeration is not recommended for
stand alone power systems, and options
are a high efficiency AC, a DC fridge/freezer
or a gas fridge/freezer. For water pumping,
it is recommended to use a DC pump due
to much higher efficiency. Energy efficient
lighting is a "must", and
separate switching is recommended. Low
energy loads such as TVs, computers,
DVDs, stereos etc are fine. Microwave
ovens and most power tools are fine
to run from your solar system due to
the low running time they are generally
used for.
SIZING
YOUR SYSTEM
 Ark Energy will design a system to suit your needs and budget. No one wants to spend more money on an oversized system that they did not need , but just as frustrating is undersizing a system due to a budget and then finding out that your small system could not provide the power that you really need.
There are many load factors to consider.
For example, heating, hot water systems,
cooking, water pumping and refrigeration
are classed as high energy loads.
The other load factors to consider
are lighting, TVs, stereos, DVDs,
computers and general house-hold electrical
items which are low energy loads.
You need to have a base understanding
of what uses electricity and how much
is important. Most devices will have
a plate with  a
watt or amp rating. These ratings
and the amount of time that these
devices will run is information that
Ark Energy will need in order to do
a load evaluation: this is working
out how much energy you will need
each week.
Once Ark Energy has this information
a system sizing profile is completed,
and this is then returned to you as
a quotation via email or mail. In
many cases Ark Energy will travel
to the proposed job for a site inspection,
and depending on the situation Ark
Energy may be able to conduct an onsite
profile and provide you immediately
with a quotation and Government Rebate
forms.
GOVERNMENT
REBATES FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS
Generous government rebates are available
for residents, up to $8000 on new
systems and up to $5000 on extensions
to old systems. Schools and community
buildings earn 50% of the system cost
up to 2KW. Should you or your organization
wish to proceed, Ark Energy will take
care of the paperwork required to
gain pre-approval for the rebate. |
SOLAR ELECTRICITY
