Harness the sun’s free energy, generate your own electricity to heat and light your home
Reducing your carbon footprint
Despite most of our electricity coming from renewable energy in New Zealand, all power companies are using some form of non-renewable energy generation and even with renewables there is still a draw on resources that are creating some form of carbon footprint.
You can very quickly reduce your own emissions with a solar power system, drawing on this free natural resource from the sun that can be used to power your electrical energy requirements in your home or business.
Saving money
By utilising the power you have generated, you immediately start saving money off your electricity bill, and we all know that the retail electricity sector is only going to keep on increasing their charge rates so this saving can only ever get better and better.
If your system is grid connected, you will also receive some credit for any unused power that is redirected to the grid.
Independence from the power companies
A battery system can provide some independence from retail electricity providers and their rising prices. It can be especially useful if grid connected electricity is disconnected for any reason, such as a weather related or infrastructure event. You do not have to be totally ‘off grid’ to enjoy this advantage, but it is reassuring to know you have this ability if required.
Grid Connected System
Your solar panels are connected to an inverter that will feed any power usage connected to your system, with any unused requirement sent to the national power grid via your retail electricity provider. Unfortunately they will only credit you with up to 8 cents per KWh for any power fed back to them. Our recommendation would be to utilise as much as possible from your grid connected system when it is generating power, for example; add timers to your dishwasher, washing machine, hot water, etc so they can be utilising any of that free power you are generating, reducing the amount you are purchasing from your electricity retailer as much as possible.
Hybrid Grid Connected Battery System
Your solar panels are connected to an inverter that will feed generated power to your appliances, with any excess energy generated stored in your batteries, that can be utilised later on, and any excess energy beyond that will only then be sent to the grid.
Off Grid System
Totally independent from the power grid, this option will suit, usually out of necessity, where access to the grid is not possible. To be totally independent, calculation of potential usage and the corresponding capacity of your solar array will be crucial. Being totally reliant on sunshine hours to generate power, it is typical for installations such as these to be also backed up with a generator if required.
Gavin Lowe Electrical will design and specify for each individual customer site, source the appropriate materials and equipment and complete the installation, all with members of our own specialist team, we do not sub-contract our work.
Consultation and design from plans or site visit comes free of charge. We aim to be competitive, but we will not compromise on appropriate equipment and installation that is fit for purpose.
Will my solar panels work on a cold day?
As long as the sun is shining your solar panels will be generating energy.
If the power goes down will my solar system still work?
It depends on the type of inverter you have and how it has been wired. Not all inverters have the capability to operate without mains power, in fact most don’t, but there are some models that will operate when the power goes down.
Is it possible to increase the size of a solar PV system in the future?
Yes subject to having enough space on your roof and the capacity in your inverter. If there is sufficient space free for both, then you can increase the size of your system.
How effective is a solar system in terms of value for money?
Sunlight is a natural, clean energy resource, and in Christchurch we are receiving more than 2,000 hours of sunlight each year. Once you have paid for the initial instalment of your solar power system, the energy that is then generated is absolutely free.
What is the best option – micro inverters or string inverters?
They both have merits and the best option can come down to what is most appropriate for your system and application.
A couple of the main advantages that micro inverters have is that each solar panel has its own inverter so that if shade falls on one panel it does not shut down the output of all the panels which is often the case with a string inverter where the whole string containing the effected panel can pretty much be shut down – this extends to redundancy in the case of an inverter failure as well. As micro inverters are on the roof and attached to every solar panel it then converts the DC voltage to AC voltage on the roof and then sends power to your house.
String inverters are still the generally best option for really big arrays and systems where there are Batteries involved for storage, where it harnesses the solar which runs from the panels to the inverter in DC voltage (usually located in your garage) where it converts it to AC voltage and then sends power to your house.
Is it possible to increase the size of a solar PV system in the future?
Yes subject to having enough space of your roof, the capacity in your inverter and the correct wiring in place then you will be able to increase the size of your system.
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