Sunny spells...

... and we are producing power.
Even this morning when it was foggy and drizzly, we were producing power. Not much, of course, but still some. It is absolutely amazing!

Some figures off the inverter as at 3pm:

There are clouds hanging about and we are 'only' producing 875W. When there is very clear sky (seldom at the moment) it has reached up to 2700W.
The total output for today (as of 3pm) is: 10.3kW
The total output in 23 operating hours: 20.3kW

I love every single cell of these panels. :)

We are producing power!

This morning at 8am the solar people knocked at our door to install the solar panels.

What a long wait it has been! Here is the roof at lunchtime.And here it is in the early afternoon. All done. We are already producing power. It is very exciting. I have already zipped out into the backyard a few times to look at the panels. Beautiful!
The inverter is just outside the front door and shows how much energy we are producing. Neat!

It is a 3kW installation and should cover quite a bit of our needs. As we are on rainwater, the electric pump kicks in every time you turn on the tap or flush the toilet, to pump the water from the rainwater tank into the house. So this alone uses quite a bit of power. The home office is set up for 2 businesses and needs a bit of power, too. But we have also implemented quite a few measures to save energy.

Anyway, gotta dash, must have another look at the panels and the inverter. :)

Going solar #3

We have just received the letter that the rebate has been approved! Much earlier than expected. Now the solar company will set a date for installation. Excited! (Understatement of the year.)

Oh, and we went with Energy Matters.
Thanks for all the input from you all out there. It helped immensely.

Going solar #2

I would like to ask you - who are already on solar power - a few questions, if I may.

How many companies did you contact?

How many of those did actually come to your place to give you a quote?

What determined which company you went with? Price? Salesperson? Quality of information? Etc.?

We have had 2 quotes so far and they are so different where the set-up (type of panels, side of roof where to put them, etc.) is concerned it is mind-boggling. So at the moment we have no clue who to go with. We have another person coming next week. Maybe that'll clear things up a little?

Your experience and suggestions are as always very, very welcome!

Going solar!

Finally we managed to make a list of companies that do solar installations.

The list consists of 5 companies (so far) and they were all contacted today. One has already replied and set a date for a quote. Woohoo! I'm getting excited. It has been our dream for quite some time now to go solar.

We have been reading up heaps to make ourselves as knowledgeable as possible. But I am sure when the day comes we will probably still be overwhelmed by all the information.

Now, if anybody has any advice, suggestions, words of wisdom, own experience (good or bad), etc. please do not hesitate to share it with us. We will appreciate any feedback from you all.