What do I need to know?

Solar PV is the accepted best system used all around the world to generate free energy from the sun. In basic terms, the solar panels consist of 60 modules made up of either polycrystalline or monocrystalline silicon elements that respond to the sun’s radiation and produces direct current (DC), much like you will find in a battery. This free energy is then transferred by heavy DC cables to an electronic device called an inverter which converts the DC into Alternating Current (AC), which is what the majority of appliances in your home need to operate.

A grid connect solar system is the standard configuration of most solar panels you see installed around Townsville. The solar PV panels installed on the roof are connected to a solar inverter that is often installed near your meter box or garage. The inverter converters the DC power from the solar panels to 240V AC that your appliances and other loads can use. Excess power generation is sent back to the grid for a credit called a feed in tariff – these vary greatly from region to region.

On poor weather days, or if the household demand is greater that the output of your system, the grid supplies the necessary additional electricity you need. In the event of a power outage, the solar PV system will not work unless you have an emergency power backup function like the Fronius Gen24.

Grid Connect Solar is the cheapest, easiest and quickest way to reduce your power bill.

Hybrid solar systems, operate very much like traditional solar PV systems, however, they have the addition of battery storage, so that excess power production first goes to supply power to loads, then charging the batteries and once fully charged power gets exported back to the grid.

When the sun goes down for the day, the batteries start to discharge into the inverter to supply power to loads. If you have a blackout or loss of power then you still have backup power from the batteries.

Hybrid Solar is great if you have a high proportion of night time usage or you just want to be energy independent. 

Off Grid Solar has no connection to the main grid. It is a completely self-sufficient system that generates enough power throughout the day to run the household appliances and to charge the batteries. Overnight, the batteries discharge and feed the house with AC power in the usual way. In the event that bad weathers reduces the amount of power you need or if the load increases due to unusual demand, then a generator can be configured to start up automatically as a backup.

Most Off Grid Solar systems we install in regional Queensland are for cattle properties, remote homes, fishing huts and mine sites.

Also called Standalone or SAPS (stand Alone Power Systems). They do require an extra level of knowledge and experience to ensure reliability and performance.

They can be expensive, so it's essential you do your research and and don't rush in to anything

The Federal Government, currently provide incentives to householders and some businesses to install solar PV systems to help them reduce their energy costs and to reduce the emissions from dirty power stations. These rebates are paid in the form of “small-scale technology certificates” and what happens is that you the customer will be granted a number of certificates depending on the output of your system. You then assign these to the solar installer, who reduces your investment cost by that same amount, leaving you with a much smaller level of investment, essentially making solar more affordable.

The amount of the rebate increases as the solar system size increases, so a small 5kw solar system might have a rebate of $1800 and a 13.2kw solar system will attract a rebate of over $4800. This rebate if different from the 'Feed In Tariff'. The solar Feed in Tariff is paid by the energy retailers for excess power you send to the grid.

Feed in Tariffs or FiT for short are the credits you receive from your electricity retailer for the excess power you may generate on any given day. Presently, Ergon is mandated by the Queensland Government to pay 12.377 cents per, effective July 2024. You will see these on your power bill as Queensland Solar Bonus.

True North Solar is the only local Solar installation company operating today that pre dates their existence back to the days of the 44 cent Feed in Tariff. While still capable of saving $1000's of dollars per year, some have severely reduced their output or even stopped working all together.

If you have noticed a reduced output of have seen your power bills increase than you should book an inspection to discuss your options. Sometimes it may just be a faulty inverter or some loose cabling, other times if it deteriorating solar panels than its best to swap out the entire solar system.

With all of these system being installed prior to 2013, most if not all are out of warranty, installation companies have ceased trading and manufacturers have disappeared. 

But great news is that with new solar panels and a new inverter you are approved to get the solar rebate (for now) which brings the upfront cost down. 

When replacing these 44 cent Feed in Tariff systems its important that we check your household energy usage to determine if staying on the current Tariff is the best option as  you cant increase the size of the inverter or the panels. So if you have a 5kw system, if you go bigger you will lose the 44 cent tariff. General rule of thumb is if your system is less than 3.5kw you should upgrade to a larger system, but if your system is bigger than 3.5kw, so 4.2kw or 5kw, then it might be more financially rewarding to stay the same size. This will depend greatly on your energy consumption.

We have had these same discussions with hundreds of existing solar owners of the last couple of years

Benefits of upgrading your $0.44 cent solar system

• Save more
• Export more power
• New safer solar panels
• Get your system battery ready
• Higher performing inverters
• New warranties
• Pay of system faster with high feed in tariff

The  $0.44 Feed in Tariff is set to finish 30th of June 2028- Don't delay, speak to the True North Solar team Today!