Solar customers save up to $1200 a year on average power bills, report finds

IS installing solar panels worth it? A new report has found electricity customers embracing solar are typically saving as much as $1200 a year compared with those with no rooftop panels.

ELECTRICITY customers embracing solar are typically saving as much as $1200 a year compared with those with no rooftop panels.

New research suggests annual bills for solar households in Victoria are on average $970 lower than those who use the same amount of energy.

Surging electricity prices and lower solar panel purchase and installation costs have made solar more affordable for many households, energy experts say.

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And “next generation” smart software and battery storage systems are giving consumers the chance to cut power bills even more.

About 330,000 Victorian homes have rooftop solar panels, and that’s tipped to climb dramatically over the next decade.

St Vincent de Paul Society analysis estimates that new solar customers in Melbourne with a small to medium-sized rooftop solar system will pay $970-$1025 less per year for electricity, compared with non-solar neighbours.

For country households, annual bills with solar are $1100-$1200 cheaper.

Vinnies policy and research manager Gavin Dufty said an “energy rich and energy poor” divide was developing.

“You’ve got dispersion happening between people who can afford to put on solar and optimise that, and others doing the heavy lifting with much higher bills,” Mr Dufty said.

Solar panels are cutting household electricity bills. Source: AAP

Vinnies calculated average-consumption bills based on published electricity market offers and a 3kW solar panel system.

Alternative Technology Association energy policy advocate Dean Lombard said solar customers saved from generating their own power and relying less on the grid, and being paid for feeding excess generation into the network.

Good-quality solar panel systems cost between $4000 to $8500 for the most common sizes.

Hannah Gates has installed solar panels and a latest technology inverter and battery system at her home. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

A typical payback period was about six years for a medium Melbourne household.

Anthony Wiseman, EnergyAustralia’s head of innovation, new products and solutions, said the latest technology included software-controlled battery systems that judged when it was cheapest for households on time-of-use tariffs to choose between stored or grid power.

“It not only stores energy, but uses that stored energy at times when drawing electricity from the grid is most expensive,” Mr Wiseman said.

“It is cutting edge.”

EnergyAustralia customer Hannah Gates and her husband have installed 20 solar panels and a inverter and battery system at their Cheltenham home.

“We planned this 10 years ago and waited for the Australian invented and designed battery to come down in price,” Mrs Gates said.

“It will eventually pay for itself.”

They can check, at any time of day, their energy use as well as how much is sent back to the grid.

ATA has a free solar system calculator at ata.org.au/ata-solar-advice

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@KarenCollierHS