Is Solar Right For You?
Everyday more and more people across Australia join the Renewable Revolution by switching to solar.
Install solar panels allows you to generate and consume your own energy, increasing the home’s autonomy, saving money and helping the environment. Going solar is one of the best decisions you will make for your home.
When considering solar for your home, it’s good to understand a few things before making any inquiries. There are 3 things to consider before making an inquiry.
What is your motivation to go solar?
Understanding your WHY will allow you to make decisions on the right system for you.Â
At Teho we get customers who want to install the largest system possible because they view each square meter of their roof as wasted potential revenue. We also get customers who want to do their part for the environment by installing a system that will offset their grid consumption.
Each scenario is different, and each solution for each scenario is different which is why it is important to understand why you want to go solar.
How much are you spending on Electricity?
Before making an inquiry it’s good to understand your home’s electricity consumption and what it costs. Your electricity bill will give you a good indication on how much you are using and how much it’s costing per month or per quarter.
This point is emphasised if you are driven by a financial outcome. It’s not so important for those who are doing it for green reasons.
What are your future plans?
A heavily overlooked part of installing solar is thinking about the future. As the world makes its natural progression to the electrification of homes with Smart Home Technology and Electrical Vehicles, your energy consumption is going to look very different 10 years from now.Â
This is also important for young families who may have some new arrivals coming into the family.Â
Now you are ready to make an inquiry, your solar installer or retailer will need to do their part in making sure your home is right to go solar.
The Roof
The first thing to consider when installing a system on your roof is the roof.
The roof type will dictate which racking will be used to install the solar panels, it’s important to use the correct racking system to ensure no roof leaks or unnecessary damage to the roof is done during the installation.
The angle of the roof will play an important part in understanding how much sunlight across the whole day the panels will see. The angle of the roof will also be taken into consideration by the installer or retailer when quoting, steep roofs, over say about 25 degrees or so can come with an extra charge, mostly because installing panels on steep roofs can take longer which means more labour.
The current state of the roof is a big part when installing solar. Sydney’s North Shore is a great example. There are a huge number of homes across Sydney’s North Shore which were built many years ago, during this time terracotta was a popular roof type. While terracotta tiles can look great, terracotta tiles, especially old ones can be very fragile when installing solar panels. While it’s not impossible the installer or retailer will need to take careful consideration when quoting and installing solar panels on older roofs.
Does the property have shade?
Shade at a property can impact the output of solar panels because the panels won’t see as much of the sun and in the case of string inverters, shaded panels can bring the performance of the other panels on the string down with it.Â
Shade needs to be considered when installing solar panels, it also needs to be considered when choosing a suitable inverter.Â
If there is any shade on the property, we suggest using DC Power Optimisers OR Microinverters.
