Summer is just around the corner, you know what that means right?
Margaritas on the beach, of course!
With summer, comes the scorching heat of the sun and most of us crank up the air conditioning in our homes, almost 24×7, causing our energy bills to soar. Last summer was Australia’s hottest year on record yet – and we expect this summer to be even hotter, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
A survey by Canstar Blue electricity revealed that the average annual electricity bill in South Australia is approximately $1,759. Bill-payers aged 70 years and over receive the lowest annual bills averaging at $1,623, while those aged 18-29 years have the highest annual bills at an eye-watering $1,973.
By switching to solar, you can start your journey towards $0* electricity bills! We know that’s reason enough, but here are the most vital considerations to make the move to solar.
Here are the top 5 reasons to switch to solar now!
- Reduce your electricity bills, save on energy utility costs.
- Solar rebates are available NOW – they reduce in value each year, and could stop at any time!
- You can sell the electricity you generate, back to the grid.
- Reduce your carbon footprint, save the environment.
- Your neighbour’s got one!
1. Reduce Electricity Bills, save on energy utility costs
By going solar, you can substantially reduce your electricity bills and save on utility costs. With electricity prices going up every year, Australian households are rushing to install solar systems to reduce their electricity bills, especially now that solar panel prices in Australia are extremely affordable. The price of good quality solar panels is now so low, that it is possible to get a pay back on your investment in 3-5 years.
But how much money do you actually save?
There is no easy answer for this – its depends on each individual electricity consumption and where they live and a heap of other factors. If you use most of the electricity that you generate, you can essentially bid g’bye to your energy bills forever. Australians homes with a solar system save an average of about $300 – $400 per quarter.
Speak to one of our friendly staff to get a customised energy saving plan that is best suited to your needs.
2. Solar rebates are available NOW – they reduce in value each year, and could stop at any time!
Australia’s national solar subsidy, also referred to as the solar rebate, depends on Small-Scale Technology Certificates or STCs that have a trading value that fluctuates between $34 – $40 according to supply and demand. This means that your point of sale discount would be anywhere between $34 – $40 x the number of STC that are eligible to you.
Under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, small-scale technology certificates are calculated based on:
- system location
- installation date, and
- if they are created over one or five years, or a single maximum deeming period.
The deeming period for solar PV systems decreases by one year, every year until 2030. This will reduce the number of certificates that can be created for an eligible system – the less the number of certificates, the less would be the discount!
The formula is simple: solar system size (kW) x Postcode Zone Rating x Deeming Period (years left in the scheme). Or you can calculate your solar panel rebate using the STC calculator to see what you could be saving.
Important: Postcodes are allocated a zone (1-4). The lower the zone number, the more STCs a system is eligible for.
And we don’t even need to get into the politics in this article, but with the state of the Australian economy being in dire straits, the solar subsidy, introduced as a part of the Australian Renewable Energy Target (RET) could be abolished at any time.
Considering the switch to solar? Procrastinating will only reduce the value of your solar rebate.
3. Sell the electricity you generate, back to the grid
Excess electricity generated by your solar system which is not utilised by you, can be SOLD back to the grid.
A solar feed-in tariff, also referred to as the “buyback rate”, is a credit for excess solar power that is transferred and exported back to the grid. Feed in tariffs differ in each state and valued at between 10-20c. These can offset your bills further which in turn helps you recover the cost of your panels in a very short time.
To see and compare the solar feed-in tariffs currently offered by electricity retailers in your area, simply enter your postcode and use this electricity retailer comparison tool.
4. Reduce your Carbon footprint, save the environment
Generating electricity with solar power instead of fossil fuels can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). Greenhouse gases, which are produced when fossil fuels are burned, lead to rising global temperatures and climate change.
Australia is known as one of the highest per capita emissions of carbon dioxide in the world, with its 0.3% of the world’s population releasing 1.07% of the world’s greenhouse gases.
Australian households generate at least one-fifth of Australia’s greenhouse gases – more than 18 tonnes per household each year. Depending on where you live and your lifestyle, annual greenhouse gas emissions can vary from as low as 3 tonnes to up to 30 tonnes or more.
Conscious about your carbon footprint? By considering going solar, you can help eliminate carbon emissions, ensuring that our planet stays healthy for the generations that follow.
5. Your neighbour’s got one!
Australia now has a total of more than 2.9 million rooftop solar power PV systems installed as of October 2021, according to figures provided by Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER), which only confirms that we are indeed experiencing a solar boom.
Here is a fun fact: there were only 118 solar panel installations in 2001! Today, about one in four homes have rooftop solar panels – and there’s no sign of slowing down. It’s likely that your neighbour has got their solar panels installed already, and are already receiving all the benefits we talked about above!
So what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone and dial 1800-VENERGY now!
