Families with solar panels save one-third on energy bills!

The latest report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) showed that Australian homes with solar panels saved on average one-third of the electricity bills compared to those without.

The ACCC report

The ACCC’s primary responsibility is to ensure that individuals and businesses comply with Australian competition, fair trading, and consumer protection laws.

To do this, inquiries are held into various sectors, one of which is the electricity market.

The most recent inquiry found that those who had solar panels installed last year paid less for their power than their non-solar neighbours.

Many solar customers already know this, but for those wondering if solar panels are worth the investment, the answer is now officially yes!

COVID-19 and lockdown

Last year saw the first (and unfortunately not the last) lockdown to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

As expected, this resulted in residential power consumption rising by 9%, while business energy use dropped by 2%.

As people worked from home their electricity usage increased, resulting in bigger power bills.

The median quarterly bill for residential households without solar was $347, while those homes with solar panels only paid $253, almost a hundred dollars difference.

This reduction of almost a third is only for a quarter, so averaged out is almost $400 difference over the year!

The report highlighted the importance of energy retailers’ feed-in tariffs to their customers.

Basically, any surplus energy your solar panels create is fed back into the grid and you get a rebate for it.

Overall this means that those with solar panels use almost as much energy from the grid as those without, but get that energy at a much cheaper rate.

How to get the most out of your solar panels

If you’re thinking of installing solar panels, then there are a few things you can do to get the most out of your system.

Choosing the right solar panels in the first place is probably the most important thing. There’s no point getting the biggest system if you live alone and don’t use much electricity. Likewise getting too small a system for your needs won’t tap into the system’s potential.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere, the sun is always in the north, and that’s where you want your solar panels pointing.

But as the sun moves across the sky… in the morning it’s in the northeast, by mid-afternoon it’s in the northwest.

By splitting up your solar panels, half facing the northeast and the other half facing the northwest, you can maximise their output, just at the time you need them the most.

Of course, by installing a solar battery, you can keep any unused energy you create instead of feeding it back into the grid.

This not only saves you money in the long run but means you’re less dependent on others in times of power cuts.

Solar panels make you money in other ways

A solar panel system doesn’t just save you money on your energy bills, but can add value to your home.

Many home buyers want a house with solar panels already installed, and they’re happy to pay for it.

Real estate statistics suggest that installing a 5kW solar system adds an average of almost $30,000 to the retail value of a medium-sized home.

Spending five, ten or even 20 thousand on a system will pay dividends if you’re planning on moving within the next few years.

And not only is your house worth more, but homes with a solar panel system sell 20% faster than those without.

Let us help you make the switch to solar panels

The world is making the switch to solar, slowly but surely.

Individuals, businesses and governments are all going sustainable with their energy, so taking up solar is a question of when rather than if.

It’s only a matter of time before we’re all looking towards the sun for our energy needs, so why wait for years and keep paying the extortionate rates to the big energy companies?

Invest in solar panels now and start saving immediately.

Making the switch is the smart thing to do, so if you’re interested in joining the solar revolution, we can help.

Here at Bright Earth Solar, we have decades of experience in the installation of solar panels, both residential and commercial.

Our experienced engineers can help you choose the right system for your unique needs, explaining everything before we even start, and working out how much you’ll save over the coming years.

Give us a call today and let’s get the ball rolling on your new home solar system.

We promise you won’t regret it.