The Tolich’s in Auckland
Kristin Gillies, August 29, 2019
Solar panels: 18 x 285W panels. Inverter: 5kW String Inverter. Total cost: $11,000. Electricity price: $0.32. Solar export price: $0.08. Installation date: July 2017.
Mr Tolich prefers to “view solar power as an investment”, and with a return of 15.81%, it's looking favourable. He also mentioned how he likes the monetary savings and told us that “I’m pretty sure my wife likes it too”. The financial rewards have far exceeded all other benefits of the solar power system, the Tolich's stated. Through generating their own electricity, the Tolich's can now consume as much electricity as they wish, and are less concerned about conserving energy in their home.
Along with getting the solar power system both a pool pump and a heat pump were installed, all at the same time. The heat pump runs on a timer between 2 pm to 3.30 pm (in winter) to increase their solar self-consumption. Mr Tolich manually turns the pool heat pump on and off when the sun is shining (when he is at home), so as to capture more solar generation.
Although the solar power system is saving money on electricity bills, the owners were still surprised to see how much less solar power is generated in winter, mentioning that they didn't appreciate winters lower solar generation versus the sun rich summer months.
