Frequently Asked Questions

All of our hardware is installed with virtually no modification to your house. The framing kits are incorporated into your existing roof (with a tile roof, we remove the tile, mount the frame into the rafter, then replace the tile as if it was never removed). We also run the cables inside the roof and walls, and use conduit as a last resort, so you can be sure that the system will have very little impact on the aesthetics of your home.

For most 1kW and 2kW systems, we will start early in the morning and be done by tea time. Some larger systems can take the best part of 2 days, but houses with a tin roof are much quicker to install than a tile roof. The biggest delay used to be getting the rebate pre-approved, but with the removal of the rebate program, we can now install your system immediately, instead of waiting up to 12 weeks for the rebate approval.

Our solar panels have a glass face. This means they rarely need to be washed or cleaned, but it is advisable to wipe them down with hot, soapy water perhaps once a year. Small collections of dust, dirt and bird droppings won’t have much affect on the output, but over time this will build up and reduce the effectiveness of the solar panel.

You would have to be very unlucky! A direct lightning strike is about the only weather likely to do significant damage. As mentioned before, they are designed to withstand the harshest weather conditions possible.

Solar panels obviously require sunlight to produce electricity, but a certain amount of minor shading won’t impact the system dramatically. We always design our systems to avoid shading at every time of day, which is why we conduct a free assessment at your home before we provide a quotation. If you are concerned about shading on your roof, please contact us for more details.

The frames for the solar panels are connected to your existing roof, so nothing will need to be altered. For a tile roof, we remove some of the tiles, attach our brackets to the rafters in the roof, and then the tiles go back into place. For a tin roof it is even easier because the frames are mounted directly to the roof. All of the framing systems we use are certified for cyclone weather conditions.

In 2009, the new ‘feed-in tariff’ law will come into effect. This means that when you produce excess electricity you will get approx 4 times the price paid by you to the electricity company. The standard price of electricity is currently around 16c per kilowatt hour (c/kWh). With the feed-in tariff, you will be paid 60c/kWh for the excess. This dramatically reduces your payback period for the solar power system. Ask us if you require more detailed information.

Some power companies will actually pay you for excess produced, others will simply credit it against your bill, to be used at another time. Check with your current energy retailer and shop around for a better deal if you are not happy. We install a bi-directional Smart Meter that keeps track of energy flowing out of your house into the grid, e.g. when you are at work on a sunny day, as well as energy flowing into your house from the grid as usual.

It is not feasible to build this system, if you are in a grid-connected area. The cost for batteries and other components would be far too expensive. Having a connection to the grid also means you can ‘export’ your excess solar electricity.If you live in a remote area, you can install a Solar Power system and claim a cashback under the Solar Credits Scheme. This is a new rebate program, see the next page for more information.

No. Our grid-connected system effectively uses the electricity grid as a storage system, which means if you are not home during the day any excess power flows into the grid, and spins your meter into credit. You then consume power as per usual when you come home at night and you will only be charged for the extra power you consume over and above what your solar panels have produced.

Your solar power system will instantly shut off if the grid fails. This is Australian law and is designed to protect electrical line workers. When the grid power is shut off, the workers expect the lines to be 'dead' so they can safely repair faults without being electrocuted. If your system keeps producing electricity, it can risk the lives of the line workers. This also protects any electricians doing work within your home.It is prohibitively expensive to provide long term battery backup, but we can design a small system (incorporating a solar panel, battery and inverter) that you can use for emergency situations. This is ideal for keeping food cool, and especially for sleep apnoea (CPAP) machines.

Every location is slightly different but a 1kW solar system will produce approx 4.2 kilowatt hours (kWh) per day, averaged over the year. We use the Sunny Design program to estimate what your particular system will produce per year, based on your location in Australia and using data from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Every house is different, depending on how many people are living there, how efficient your appliances and lighting are and how you use them. It is more cost effective to reduce your energy use first and then install a smaller solar system than to try and cover all the energy use of an inefficient house. We can help you to identify and improve the inefficient aspects of your home with advice, an eco audit, and a wide range of products.

A 1.5kW system (8 panels) is the best value for money system, and will produce around 50% of the average home's power consumption.

No. The panels are made with a low-iron tempered glass face and are specifically designed and certified to withstand large hailstones. The aluminium frames are anodized for extra durability and long life.

Facing due north is the ideal orientation, but panels facing more east or west can still provide a high percentage of available power (perhaps 10-15% reduction). The optimum tilt angle of the solar panels is 20-25 degrees which makes standard roof pitches ideal, but if you have a low angle or flat roof we can use adjustable tilt frames to bring the panels up to the ideal angle.

The crystalline solar modules in the higher quality systems are relatively compact. For each 1.5kW of system size (8 panels) you would need an area of approximately 6.5m wide x 1.6m tall for a landscape layout, and 3.25m x 3.2m for a portrait layout.

For example:   

Landscape: 6.5m x 1.6m	Portrait: 3.25m x 3.2m

You are not however restricted to just the portrait and landscape formats. The layout of the panels can be configured in almost any way to meet your available roof area. Please contact us for a tailored solution.

Absolutely. A new generous rebate system has been introduced called the Solar Credits Program, which will assist in the upfront costs of installing a solar electricity system.

This rebate is not means tested, which means that everyone is eligible!

The Solar Credits program is based on Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s), which are allocated to households and businesses installing renewable energy. They are a kind of carbon credit you receive for being a green energy producer.

The REC’s system has been around for a few years now, but under the new Solar Credits program the Federal Government has stated that people will now receive five times as many RECs than they used to (for the firs t 1.5 kW they install). For any excess above 1.5 kW you will get the old RECs amount, as well as the five times amount on the firs t 1.5 kW .

What this means is that at the current RECs value you may receive around $3500 in RECs back for a 1.5 kW system.

When combined with the new Feed-in tariff (see below), installing Solar has never been more rewarding!

Most systems are mounted on the roof but we can also mount them on the ground (using a pole mounted into a concrete base). Ground mounting is ideal if you have limited roof space or if your roof is subject to regular shading. We can also supply and install ‘tracking’ systems, where the panels are mounted on a pole and the panels move during the day according to the position of the sun. They can provide an extra 3 hours of effective sunlight per day, but are considerably more expensive compared to fixed mountings (it is usually more cost effective to install extra solar panels) and can present maintenance problems inherent in any device with moving parts.

EnviroShop systems are covered warrantees and designed to stand the test of time.

The evacuated solar tubes are designed to absorb extreme forces, tubes can be replaced individually for a mere $30 each which is another big advantage compared flat plate systems where the entire system would have to be replaced for around $600.AAE Evacuated tubes are tested with 25mm ice balls as several different angles at a velocity of 90kph.

If your panels or unit is damaged in a storm or by accident then your household insurance should cover any damage received (you'll need to confirm with your insurance company).

EnviroShop installers are fully authorised and accredited for installing solar hot water systems and will typically fully install your system in the one day. You can install the unit yourself, but the services of an authorised installer must be used if you wish to claim government rebates and if you wish to gain the maximum efficiency from the system.

Options are still available so you can enjoy the benefits of solar hot water, supporting frames or additional solar collector area can be installed.

For best efficiency and to qualify for rebates the solar collector panel needs to face as close to due north as possible, up to 70 degrees west and 50 degrees east of due north is suitable.

The solar collector panel needs to be inclined by between 10-50 degrees of horizontal.

EnviroShop units are designed with the storage tank separate from the solar collector panel so your collector panel and storage tank can be in two different locations.

Discreet and practical and you won’t need to strengthen the roof.

To help reduce greenhouse gas emissions generous Federal and State Government rebates are available making the purchase of solar hot water systems very affordable.

Different rebates are applicable depending on the situation of the install.

For example, new homes are eligible for a rebate through: Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) scheme. An existing home for example replacing an electric water heater with a gas/ electric boosted solar system may eligible for multiple rebates through: Commonwealth
Government AND Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) scheme AND Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEEC).

No matter what your situation we will advise you on the most efficient system, which takes best advantage of the available rebates.

For more information regarding rebates please see www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au

Solar hot water systems in Australia generally fall into two categories:

Flat panel
Evacuated tubes

At EnviroShop we recommend evacuated tube systems as they represent the highest efficiency systems on the market.
Evacuated glass tubes provide superior daily heat output due to the cylindrical absorber shape always being perpendicular to the Sun.(Positive Sun Tracking)

Insulation properties of the vacuum in the solar evacuated tube allow up to 97% of the heat from the sun to be retained.

The copper heat pipe with a large surface area at the transfer point and increased water turbulence rapidly transfer heat to the circulating water from the storage tank passing through a well insulated manifold ensuring maximum solar heat gain.

Fibreglass insulated collector manifold, sealed evacuated tubes, tri-chlor absorber coating and freeze protected heat pipes allow reliable solar gain even the coldest areas and on cloudy or overcast days.

Evacuated glass tubes are naturally self-cleaning when it rains due to their cylindrical shape and thus don’t lose performance from collector being coated in dirt and pollutants.

Replacing individual tubes at approx $30 per tube is a low cost maintenance as opposed to replacing a full solar flat panel.

Light weight means can be installed on more types of roofs and can be cheaper to install compared to flat panel systems.

No. We install solar hot water systems with a gas booster or electric booster as a back up so you will always have hot water on tap. The electricity or gas will only heat the water when the Solar Collectors cannot heat the water to the desired temperature.

Our Solar Hot Water systems are designed to provide up to 80% of your hot water needs, so you might only be using electricity or gas for 6 weeks of the year!

A survey conducted by Australia’s biggest property website realestate.com.au found:

“An overwhelming 73.37% of respondents believed that having one or more environmentally friendly features around the home would make it more saleable, with half (52.88%) predicting the value of the property can attract a premium of 5-10 per cent if on the market”.

Help save our environment and save money too. Heating water is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions from the average Australian home (excluding vehicles) accounting for 28% of home energy usage.

A solar hot water system will:

Provide up to 80% of your household’s hot water requirements without emitting greenhouse gases

Save you up to $700 per year off your power bill
  
Reduce your households carbon footprint by up to four tonnes of CO2 per year
  
(Source: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts)

Example answer format for solar hot water questions.

Example answer format for solar school question.

Example answer format for water and/or insulation question