Month: December 2021

The Price Of Everyday Products Is Rising – Save Money With These Powerful Solar Products

Posted on by solarbright

Many Australians are feeling the pinch right now, with everything from lettuce to petrol costing more each day. Coupled with interest rate rises and low wage growth, the average Aussie needs to find other ways to save money. When you think about it, reducing unnecessary costs is almost the same as giving yourself a pay rise.

There are so many ways to save money around the home. Some will have a small impact while others will be quite dramatic. So, it’s really your choice on how much you’d like to save. Every little bit adds up, and there are several money-saving ideas that won’t cramp your lifestyle.

 

One of the best places to start is with your power bill. Electricity and gas prices are skyrocketing right now, meaning cutting energy usage has never been more important. Rather than spending your time shopping around for better gas and electricity deals, these options can help now and in the future.

Solar Installations

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about solar energy, now might be the time to pick a side. It seems crazy that we pay so much for electricity when the sun provides us with more than enough free energy to power our homes. Installing rooftop solar is a great way to slash your energy bills. A basic on-grid solar power system can power your home all day, and you only need to pay for power at night.

Alternatively, you could invest a little more and get an off-grid solar solution with battery storage. This means all of the excess power your solar panels generate during the day can be stored and used at night. You’ll practically never have a power bill again.

Of course, the cost of installing solar can be prohibitive to some, so talk to your local solar retailer today. They can let you know how much you’ll save, and they can even give you information about government rebates and schemes to make solar panel installation cheaper.

Solar LED Skylights

If you’re not ready to make the full leap to solar power yet, that’s ok. There are other solar products you can take advantage of without committing to a full system installation. One of those options is an LED skylight.

Traditional skylights give you natural light in the home during the day, but they aren’t much use at night. A solar LED skylight with a small storage battery, however, gives you free light whenever you need it. It consists of a diffuser kit with LED lights installed on your ceiling, a solar panel and battery on the roof, and a cable connecting the two. Skylights installation is an easy and economical way to cut down your electricity costs.

Solar Hot Water

The other solar option you have is likely to make an even bigger impact than your skylights. Hot water is one of the biggest electricity costs we have in modern residential homes. So, what if you could heat all of your water for free rather than using gas or electricity?

Solar hot water tanks, as the name suggests, are heated by solar energy. Solar hot water heaters can be placed on the roof or on the ground, and are installed alongside a solar panel that delivers all the energy you need. Why pay exorbitant gas and electricity prices when you can get all the hot water you need thanks to the sun?

Solar Roof Ventilation

We often forget about ventilation in the energy-saving discussion. However, proper ventilation is crucial to keeping your costs down. Heat can get trapped in your roof cavity without proper ventilation, and this ultimately causes mould and moisture problems. It also means the heat finds a way into your home and air conditioners need to work harder.

Consider installing proper roof cavity ventilation such as a solar roof ventilator. A solar-powered roof ventilation fan like the MaxBreeze uses a small solar panel to drive a brushless, quiet DC electric motor and fan. The fan is thermostat controlled so the unit will start operating when the roof cavity reaches about 30°C.

It will help keep your home cool in summer without cranking the AC all day. And in winter on a cold, windy day it will not operate, keeping warmer air in your cavity, unlike a whirlybird.

Contact SolarBright Today

SolarBright can save you money in more ways than one. From LED skylights and solar-powered roof fans to solar and battery installations in  Sydney, we’ve got your back. If you’d like to make the switch to solar energy and stop wasting money on energy bills, contact our team today. We’ve got solutions for every home, every family and every budget.

4 Considerations For Choosing The Best Solar Battery

Posted on by solarbright

If you’ve considered making the switch to solar, you’ve probably wondered whether you need battery storage. It’s not essential to have a battery, however including one in your installation gives you a lot of added benefits.

 

Why Do You Need Solar Battery Storage?

In a typical grid connected solar system setup, there are two main components: the solar panels that generate solar energy, and the solar inverter that converts solar energy into electricity. The only problem is that the solar energy from your panels can only be used as it’s produced. So, if your solar panels generate more power than you need, the excess energy is typically sold back to the main grid.

Your electricity retailer will only offer you a feed-in tariff of around 5 to 10 cents a kWh for this power. It also means when the sun isn’t shining, like during the evenings, you still need the main electricity grid to power your home. This electricity will cost you about 35 cents a kWh.

With solar battery storage, you don’t need to worry about any of that. The excess solar energy you produce during the day is stored in a battery and used when the panels stop producing power. Solar battery storage will help you gain energy independence. Some battery systems can also be setup to provide backup power to the home when there is a blackout. This improves your energy security.

 

How To Find The Best Solar Battery

Choosing a solar battery comes down to your personal needs. Every house is different, with varying levels of energy usage. That’s why there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to solar battery storage. Here are some of the things you should consider when choosing your solar battery.

 

1-Capacity

The capacity of a solar battery is probably the most important thing to measure. Battery storage is expressed in kWh, which is essentially power multiplied by time. As such, the capacity tells you how much power your battery can store, and how long it will last. This obviously depends on how much energy you use in your home.

Generally, if you’re unsure of the capacity requirements, it’s best to choose more rather than less. This gives you flexibility in case your energy consumption increases.

It is important to make sure solar system will be able to produce enough excess power to fill the battery each day.

 

2-Power Rating

The other key measurement is the power rating, which is expressed in kW. This rating tells you how much power can be drawn from the battery at any one time. If you have appliances that require a lot of electricity, you’ll want to be sure your solar battery can deliver the required output to keep everything in your home running smoothly.

 

3-Back Up Power In A Blackout

Another consideration is do you want backup power during a blackout? Many batteries can provide power your home if there is a power outage. The battery will need to be specially set up by the installer to do this. Often extra hardware may be needed.

Some batteries cannot charge from the solar if the grid is down. You will only be able to use the charge that is in the battery. Other systems will allow you to keep charging the battery from the solar until the power comes back.

4-Battery Life

You can measure a battery’s quality by its expected throughput and cycles. This refers to the number of times a battery can be charged and discharged. Throughput is also important here because it tells you how much electricity can be pumped through your battery in a lifetime. Generally, this will be reflected in the warranty.

A battery may offer a 10-year, 10,000 cycle warranty. This means the battery is warranted for 10 years or 10,000 cycles, which ever milestone is reached first.

SolarBright’s Solar Battery Options

Perhaps the most well-known solar battery option is the Tesla Powerwall 2, which is a 13.5kWh battery that is powerful enough for most modern residential homes.

4 Considerations For Choosing The Best Solar Battery

However, here at SolarBright we also offer the Sungrow Modular SBR Series batteries. These powerful units can be expanded in 3.2kWh modules from 9.6kWh to 25.6kWh. You can even join four fully stacked Sungrow batteries together for a whopping 100kWh capacity. Although that’s far more than most residential homes need, it does give you enormous flexibility.

 

Need More Information?

SolarBright is your local expert for solar installations and solar battery storage in NSW. You can book a free consultation today and one of our solar experts will visit your home. We can tell you how much money you could save with any of our amazing solar packages

Whether you want a full solar and battery storage solution or a standard solar panel installation, we’re the team you can count on. Contact us today and be part of the green revolution!