With our abundant Aussie sunshine, big rooftops and rapidly decreasing cost of solar power systems, 10kW can be an ideal size solar system for Australian homeowners looking to maximise their electricity bill savings.
The big question is – exactly how much can you save off your electricity bills with a 10kW solar system?
The quick answer is around $2,000 to $3,000 a year, with the exact amount depending on four main factors:
In this article, we’ll tackle each of these topics in turn and, in the process, demystify the way in which solar electricity bill savings are calculated!
As a rough rule of thumb, each kilowatt of solar panels installed on your roof generates 4 kilowatt hours of electricity on average throughout the year. That means that a 10kW solar panel system will generate around 40 kilowatt hours of solar electricity on average each day.
But….this is just a general guide. The exact amount of electricity your solar panels generate depends on:
The table below shows the average daily amount of solar energy a 10kW solar system generates in Australia’s major cities, throughout the year.
| Melbourne | 36 kWh |
| Sydney | 39 kWh |
| Adelaide | 42 kWh |
| Brisbane | 42 kWh |
| Canberra | 41 kWh |
| Newcastle | 41 kWh |
| Perth | 44 kWh |
| Darwin | 46 kWh |
| Hobart | 33 kWh |
It’s important to remember that this is an average. In summer you’ll be getting more than the average – and in winter you’ll get less.
It’s a good idea to get a handle on how your electricity usage varies by season; you can see this on your electricity bills. Alternatively get in touch and we can work it out for you.
The direction your solar panels face can make a difference to the amount of power generated. Whilst north facing can be best, this isn’t set on stone. Matching when your household uses electricity with the direction the panels face will result in higher self-consumption of your solar power. This is the best way to save most on your electricity bills.
The tilt angle of your panels in relation to the roof is also important. The tilt should be optimised for your location and take into account any constraints posed by your roof line.
Working out the optimal panel layout and tilt for your solar system is a specialist task – every home is different. Get in touch with a Solar Run expert today for the best solar advice for your home.
One of the most important quality measures is solar panel efficiency –the rate at which panels convert sunlight into electricity. The best solar panels like Risen, Jinko and Sunpower all perform at the top end of the ladder at 20 per cent plus efficiency.
The same goes for the best solar inverters. You want a solar inverter that’s got a good rating for the efficiency – i.e. the rate the inverter converts DC power (direct current) to AC power (alternating current) which can be used in your home.
Solar Run only stocks leading brand solar panels and solar inverters. We can advise on the best solar panels and inverters to optimise your power generation and fit your budget.
Whilst shading will reduce the efficiency of your solar panel system, the effects of shading can be minimised with clever solar technology – like half-cut solar panels and power optimisers which maximise power generation at panel-level.
A bit of shading doesn’t mean solar is out of the question. Find out about the best solar systems to address your shading issues.
The way to save the most off your electricity bill with solar is to maximise the amount of solar power you use during the daytime. You’ll get the biggest electricity bill savings if you consume most – if not all – of the solar power your 10kW solar system generates at the time when it’s being generated.
The trick is to maximise solar self-consumption and minimise the amount of solar electricity you export to the grid. Getting a good solar monitoring system will help you achieve that goal.
The more you pay for grid electricity, the greater your potential bill savings with solar. That’s because when you use your own self-generated solar power in your home, you don’t need to buy the expensive electricity from the grid.
On average, Australian households pay 25-30 cent per kilowatt hour for grid electricity but this can vary widely from state to state and between retailers.
Solar feed-in tariffs are now worth around 7 cent per kilowatt on average in Australia. If you shop around, you may be able to do a better. But watch out that an enticing looking feed-in tariff isn’t a ploy to get you to pay more for the daily supply charge or grid power.
Generally speaking, the amount you pay for grid electricity is around 4x what you’re paid for your solar exports. Solar exports only contribute a small amount to your total bill savings. Whilst trying to get a higher feed-in rate is not a bad idea, it’s not the main way to save on your electricity bill – maximising consumption of your solar power is where it’s at!
Again, that’s where a good solar monitoring system can help.
Here’s a worked example of the electricity bill savings you could get with a 10kW solar power system based on the following assumptions:
The bill savings are modelled for two different usage profiles:
| Estimated total annual bill savings in year 1 | ||
| Melbourne | Sydney | |
| Household 1: uses 60% of solar power in their home – exports rest to the grid | $2,566 | $2,913 |
| Household 2: uses 40% of solar power in their home – exports rest to grid | $2,026 | $2,300 |
This table emphasises the message that the more solar power you use during the daytime, the bigger your bill savings. It also shows that even at the lower solar consumption level of 40 per cent, the bill savings are still worth having!
With prices for high quality 10kW solar panel systems now more affordable than ever, many of our customers are getting a payback of between 3-5 years.
As this article has demonstrated, the best payback on a solar system is when you maximise the amount of solar power used in your home – ideally getting it to 60 per cent or higher.
Having said that, even if a 10kW solar system is a bit bigger than what you need right now it could be a smart move if you’re thinking of any of the following:
A 10kW solar system may be a lot less expensive than what you think. Factor in the bill savings and the future benefits and the sums may well stack up for you. Solar Run can help you with this process and we offer interest free options
Get in touch. We’ll work out whether 10kW is feasible for your roof – and accurately model the bill savings and payback of a 10kW solar system for your home.
We are available! Have a question? Text us here.
Text Us
What i don’t understood is in fact how you are no longer actually a lot more smartly-liked than you might be now. You’re very intelligent. You know therefore significantly on the subject of this matter, made me for my part believe it from numerous various angles. Its like women and men aren’t fascinated unless it?¦s one thing to do with Lady gaga! Your own stuffs excellent. At all times care for it up!
Simply wanna input on few general things, The website style and design is perfect, the subject matter is rattling wonderful : D.
Great job on your blog post! The information you shared was relevant and up-to-date. I appreciated the links to additional resources and references you provided. click here to explore more on this subject.
This is a very good tips especially to those new to blogosphere, brief and accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read article.
Valuable information. Lucky me I found your site by accident, and I’m shocked why this accident did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
Sweet internet site, super pattern, really clean and utilize friendly.
Добро пожаловать в нашу студию SЕRM – эффективного управления репутацией
в сети!
Наш коллектив – это специалисты, освещающие ваш бренд в лучшем свете и обеспечивающие его
положительное восприятие в цифровой сфере.
SЕRM – это не просто инструмент для
борьбы с негативными отзывами,
но и стратегия формирования долгосрочной положительной репутации.
Мы осуществляем мониторинг, анализ и разрабатываем индивидуальные стратегии для улучшения вашей
репутации.
Полагайтесь на нас, и ваш бренд
всегда будет ассоциироваться с качественным обслуживанием, надежностью и положительной репутацией!
Давайте вместе сделаем ваш бренд безупречным в глазах
вашей целевой аудитории!
Адрес: г. Москва, Варшавское шоссе, дом 125, стр.
1, секция 8, оф. 8501
Телефон: +7 (495) 969-27-80
Simply desire to say your article is as astounding. The clarity on your submit is simply cool and that i could suppose you’re knowledgeable in this subject. Fine with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with imminent post. Thank you a million and please keep up the rewarding work.
Thanks – Enjoyed this post, how can I make is so that I receive an update sent in an email every time you write a fresh post?
Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information. Your website is very useful. Thanks for sharing.
Gummies that obtain optimistic feedback from customers who’ve skilled noticeable outcomes got higher rankings.
My blog – Lift Detox black 60 Cápsulas
Hi there, I found your web site via Google whilst searching for a similar topic, your web site came up, it appears to be like great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.