If you’re like many Australians out there, and are concerned about the environment but not too sure how you can make a real difference, then you’re not alone.

According to the 2018 Australian Department of Environment and Energy’s emissions report, combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity was deemed one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions. This really is not that surprising, as fossil fuel combustion is heavily relied on as a source of electricity across Australia and around the world.

So then why is it important for us, as consumers, to start reducing our emissions? And how can we do this without moving to an off-grid farm, 100km from the CBD where you live only off the land, and generate your power through wind and solar?

You might be interested to know that reducing your emissions doesn’t have to change your entire lifestyle, and there are easy things you can start doing today to contribute to fostering a more sustainable future.

Why is it important we reduce our emissions/carbon footprint?

Basically, our emissions affect our world, atmosphere and consequently, our health.

Fossil fuel combustion emits both CO₂ and harmful particles which not only contributes to global warming and other environmental effects, but can cause deaths as a result of air pollution. Countries such as China and India count millions of deaths from air pollution yearly, and incur billions of dollars in cost. It may seem obvious, but by reducing our emissions we can not only lower the number unhealthy particles in the atmosphere, but also lower the spread of non-communicable disease, better our water conditions and improve our air quality.

Easy ways you can reduce your carbon footprint

Although we as Australians are continually striving to reduce our carbon emissions, we can do a lot more. By incorporating these minor lifestyle changes into your everyday routines, you can do your bit for the environment and help create a more sustainable world.

1. Drive less

Apart from combustion of fuel to generate electricity, one other major contributors to emissions is transport. Most vehicles will, to a certain degree, have emissions due to fuel usage. So the next time you’re thinking of driving somewhere, try other alternatives such as walking, cycling or even carpool with your friends – especially if you’re only travelling a short distance.

2. Use energy efficient products

Using energy efficient products can significantly reduce your emissions. By switching to compact fluorescent lightbulbs or by using TVs, dishwasher, and washing machines with high energy-ratings, you can dramatically lower your electricity usage and consequently reduce your carbon footprint and emissions.

3. Reduce, reuse and recycle

Landfills and electricity used in the production of products such as plastic bags or plastic cups significantly affect carbon emissions. You can lower emissions by reducing your waste; reusing products such as reusable bags or coffee cups; and recycling or composting. Australia is currently banning plastic bags across all states and are phasing them out, so now is the perfect time to make the change.

4. Plant more trees

You can further help to lower your emission of CO₂ in the atmosphere by growing more plants or trees. This not only leads to a cleaner atmosphere (as plants utilise CO₂ to grow in a process called photosynthesis) but also creates a more sustainable and healthy environment for the future.

5. Switch to clean energy

Switching to solar energy is one of the best and easiest ways you can reduce your carbon emissions. Solar PV uses sunlight to generate electricity, reducing your reliance on the grid and reducing your carbon footprint. With various grants and government initiatives available across the nation, going solar has never been more affordable. Want to take the first step? Simply speak to one of our energy consultants today about finding the right system to suit your needs. 

Unfortunately, many consumers in Australia have found that their solar retailers have liquidated or left the country, leaving them as what’s known as a ‘Solar Orphan’. So what do you do when your solar provider is no longer around?

On December 28th, 2018 – A Current Affair did a brief story on “Solar Orphans” which started an important conversation amongst the industry and consumers alike. Various concerns have been raised including warranty issues, completion of installations and company liability – more importantly, what should consumers do if their solar company is no longer around?

Leaving consumers without a solar company has been an issue since 2011, where there was a reduction or loss of feed in tariffs around the country.

The recent closure of two larger solar providers, True Value Solar and Energy Matters, has reignited this discussion due to their sheer (former) presence in the industry. In fact, from the outside these solar companies ticked many of the boxes for what a ‘good solar company’ should be, meaning they were often a top list contender on consumers’ lists. So how can consumers be fooled into thinking these companies will be there for them in many years to come?

What led to the demise of these (and many other) solar companies?

True Value Solar were established in 2009 and as such, had a long operating history in the industry. They had a significant market position and were well advertised, which made consumers feel confident in their brand. However in 2013, True Value Solar became wholly owned by an international investment group (German owned M + W Group) – a factor consumers should strongly consider before choosing their solar company. In the end, True Value Solar sited the competitive landscape of the industry as the primary reason for their closure.

Similarly, Energy Matters were a major player in the industry for the past 10 years. They held significant market share and positive customer reviews. In 2014, a US company, Sun Edison, purchased Energy Matters and it was then purchased from another US investment group (Flex) almost two years later. As of December 14, 2018 Flex announced that they will begin to wind down their business in the Australian solar industry stating a “managed withdrawal”, whereby similar to True Value Solar’s statement; they will honour their commitments.

What happens to solar orphans now these companies are gone?

Interestingly, both True Value Solar and Energy Matters exited the industry during record installation levels, claiming their low margins were a major decider. However, when comparing the Australian solar industry on the scale of an international portfolio, the margins are significantly lower. Due to this, it’s becoming integral to ensure that the ownership of the business is solely Australian.

It’s also important that consumers consider the age of the company they’re about to engage with as anything younger than 5 years old we would deem as infant, and anything from 10 years old would be considered a mature company. Other factors to look for when choosing a solar company include CEC accreditations, Quality Assurance and customer reviews.

Final thoughts.

So what can you do if you’re a “solar orphan”? All is not lost! Sometimes the manufacturer of your panels and inverter have service partners (Solargain is a preferred service partner for most reputable manufacturers in the industry). In this case you’re only exposed for the workmanship aspect of your installation, however at least your products should be covered. You may also seek further advice from your state’s independent consumer entity. You can get in touch with the appropriate body via the ACCC website: https://www.accc.gov.au

If you require any advice or assistance please get in touch with us here: https://www.solargain.com.au/contact

A full list of all companies no longer around to support their customers can be found on our site here: https://www.solargain.com.au/solar-companies-gone-liquidation

Recent changes in regulation have caused many solar installations to undergo grid voltage issues. After a tricky period during which we have had to go back to some installations a few times to fine-tune, network operators have been very pro-active in fixing the voltage issues that were causing the problems, and the worst is now comfortably behind us.

High grid voltages make for inverter outages

When you are producing more power than you are using, your inverter needs to send some power back to the grid. In order for a solar inverter to return power to the grid, it must put out a higher voltage than the grid to force it back.

This has never been an issue because the inverter voltage could always increase if the grid voltage was high. However, since changes to AS 4777.2 became effective on 9 October 2016, inverters have been limited to a 255V output. Thus, if the grid voltage is already high, your inverter is no longer able to overcome it and, instead, shuts itself off.

Nationally, this has not been much of a problem, but in Western Australia, it has been a greater issue due to the high grid voltage in some residential areas.

Putting new settings into your inverter

Despite the confusion this situation has caused, it has allowed us to develop viable solutions and processes which are now well in place and working. Premium inverters like the Fronius and Huawei have enabled us to customise settings perfectly to suit these conditions. Our ability to amend the inverter settings is different in each state and dependent on your inverter model.

Ramping

One term you may hear is “ramping”. Ramping refers to the inverters ability to reduce its output marginally during times of high grid voltage. As mentioned, to push power back the inverter will add some voltage so whatever your incoming voltage is, if you have solar it will add up to 2% volt rise. The settings on your inverter are required by Australian standards to ensure grid quality and safety. As such when your inverter begins to approach these voltage limits it will ramp down to ensure shutdown is avoided. This will minimally affect your yield, in most instances by less the 3% over the course of a year. However not all inverters have the ability to ramp and in this instance if your inverter reaches the voltage limits it will disconnect and only reconnect when the grid has reduced to 253V.

Case Study

One case study that we can share comes from an installation in Perth. The below graph illustrates what is occurring during the day with high voltage. In this case, if power is going back to the grid (requiring a higher voltage), the production has been reduced slightly to bring the output voltage within limits.

This is excellent management from the Fronius inverter and, in many cases, impossible with other inverters. Furthermore, we were able to share this data with the network provider to illustrate what was happening and Western Power’s response has been excellent, acknowledging the issue to the customer and commencing the process of rectifying it.

Taking the matter up with your network operator

Unfortunately, not all inverters offer the same degree of control as Fronius and Huawei, so we can’t always manage this as well. That being said, most premium inverter brands do offer some form of control over these settings.

Whether your voltage issue is resolved or not, we strongly advise you to take the matter up with the network provider in order to avoid any future problems. You will need to provide evidence – such as pictures from your inverter monitoring portal – that the grid voltage exceeds 255V, which is the maximum your inverter is allowed to put out. Although we are not allowed to contact network operators on your behalf, we can help you collect the required information.

For assistance, please contact Solargain.

South Australians - Want to Save Thousands on A Solar PV Battery in Your Home?

If you’ve been thinking about installing a Solar PV Battery in your South Australian home, now is the time to act. The South Australian State Government are offering subsidies and loans to assist homeowners in paying for their home battery systems, potentially saving you thousands on a solar PV battery installation – not to mention the countless number of benefits that will come from installing a solar PV battery in your home, overtime.

Here’s everything you need to know about the South Australian Home Battery Scheme…

What Is the South Australian Home Battery Scheme?

In October 2018, the South Australian State Government announced the South Australian Home Battery Scheme, which allows thousands of SA householders to have access to over $100 million in State Government subsidies, to assist in paying for the installation of solar PV home battery systems.

The Home Battery Scheme will directly reduce electricity costs for the 40,000 households who buy a subsidised household energy storage system. The installation of the systems will reduce demand on the network (especially at peak periods), whilst lowering prices for all South Australians. According to the SA Government, the subsidy will vary according to the size of the battery, and is capped at a maximum $6,000 per household.

What Are the Benefits of Having A Battery in Your Home?

The South Australian Home Battery Scheme allows you to make the most of installing a solar PV battery in your home. When you install a battery storage device in your home, you can store the additional energy produced throughout the day and utilise it during peak times - allowing you to naturally take advantage of your installed solar PV system, and the energy you’re generating. Read more about the benefits of installing a battery storage device in your home, here.

How Do I Apply for the SA Home Battery Scheme?

Applying for the South Australian Home Battery Scheme is easy. Simply visit the dedicated website available to assist all South Australian’s throughout the application, then visit our SA Product Register page to choose the right solar PV battery for your SA home.

Find Out More

Need more information on the SA Home Battery Scheme? Our team are here to help. Simply contact us today!

Did you know Solargain’s team has 12 Customer Liaison Officers to handle all post-install enquiries. Plus three additional staff to handle all warranty claims! We pride ourselves on training our staff to handle an array of challenging questions you might have about your system after it’s been installed so that we can best support you as a new solar owner. We also use dedicated service solar electricians to ensure you get a speedy and informed resolution should any issues arise. Our service department handle enquiries about:

• Grid voltage related issues
• Battery and monitoring enquiries
• Online communication issues
• Performance and yield enquiries
• Inverter or panel faults, and support through the warranty process.
• Recommendations about consumption patterns
• Customers improvement recommendations
• Organising annual maintenance

What’s more, we actually assist a large section of the market who are “solar orphans”. That is those customers whose original company has liquidated or that they find to be unresponsive to their concerns. Solargain can assist most of these customers as we are preferred service agents for most major inverter, panel and battery manufacturers in the market. We also have a lot of great content on our website to help customers monitor their systems performance, conduct resets, set up wifi and much more. Visit our service page here

Here at Solargain, we’re one of the few leading companies who are wholly Australian owned and are actually a family business to this day! While not everyone here are related by blood, this is a photo of our Rockingham “family”, having fun helping out customers!