Western Sydney leads push to save money with solar energy
THEY are the Sydney suburbs leading the charge when it comes to solar power in a bid to bring down their electricity bills. And nine of the top 10 Sydney councils areas with the most panels are in Western Sydney. Is your suburb on the list?
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WESTERN Sydney homeowners desperate to save on spiralling energy bills are turning to solar panels in huge numbers.
Western Sydney has nine of the top 10 Sydney council areas when it comes to the proportion of homes with solar energy, figures from the Australian PV Institute, a Federal Government funded body, found.
The region is also largely responsible for 15 per cent of Sydney homes having solar compared to 0.1 per cent 10 years ago.
Growth is being driven by homeowners tacking the $5000 average cost for solar panels onto their mortgage, in an attempt to reduce the average electricity bill of $1600 a year.
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UNSW Engineering solar panel expert Associate Professor Renate Egan said homeowners make their money back in about five years.
“For panels that normally last 20 years, people are getting 15 years of free energy,” she said.
“A lot of people are incorporating solar into their newly built home.”
Solar take-up in eastern areas of the city has been restricted by trees blocking the sunlight, heritage and aesthetic restrictions and a high number of apartment blocks.
About one in five homes in the Hills Shire, Blacktown, Camden and Campbelltown have solar panels.
This compares to only eight per cent in Sydney’s Inner West — stereotypically the most environmentally aware region of the city.
Endeavour Energy customer Dragos Tita says after four years he has just broken even on his investment of 12 solar panels on his Bossley Park home.
He intends to gift his current panels to his parents so he can buy more panels.
“I’ve got a pool pump and a number of other energy needs, so the solar has been very helpful in helping me save,” the 33-year-old said.
“I’ve also saved about $50 each bill because of energy that I have been sending back into the grid.
“I don’t understand why more people don’t do it — maybe they haven’t heard about it.”
Electricity prices increased 39 per cent between 2011 and 2017, according to the ABS, compared to 11 per cent for an average of other common household expenses.
Commercial operators are also looking to capitalise on Australia’s abundance of solar energy.
A Bunnings spokeswoman said the company is installing solar panels on the roof of their Caringbah store, due to open later this year.
“We are still trialling different size systems that save 10-30 per cent of individual store energy consumption,” the spokeswoman said.
“We continue to assess opportunities for installing solar panels.”