Rooftop solar panels are often pitched as a great way to slash energy bills and create independence from the power grid. But what’s often left out is the importance of choosing the right plan to accompany your solar energy production– at least, that’s what Sydneysider John Kritikos found.
The father-of-three had had solar installation on his mind for several years, and like many Australians, bit the bullet during the pandemic when looking for investment opportunities.
“Really it was the idea of how much money I could save because the price of electricity had started creeping up at that time, or energy in general,” Mr Kritikos said.
“Basically, I just looked at solar, spoke to a few family members and friends and worked out that solar would be a better investment because I’d have paid it off in four years and any savings after that is a real bonus.”
Within the first six months of generating his own energy however, Mr Kritikos realised that maximising his returns through the right power plan wasn’t as simple as choosing the highest solar feed-in tariff, but rather based on a number of complexities not often explained to solar owners.
“I was scared to go into an energy provider that had a higher solar feed-in tariff because their other rates were so high as well,” he said. “You get scared to move because you don’t want to make a mistake. Trying to work out the rates and how they will work for you is incredibly confusing.”
After feeling what he described as ‘solar analysis paralysis’, Mr Kritikos set out to find some assistance when he stumbled across Solar Analytics.
“If it wasn’t for the Solar Analytics optimiser tool then I would have never have bitten the bullet to go. I would never have moved over and that was a pivotal moment for me to move over otherwise, I would have still been chugging along at paying $100 to $150 a quarter.”
Mr Kritikos claimed using the company’s monitoring software helped him identify areas where he was missing out on potential solar savings each quarter and gave him the confidence to switch his solar plan to a better suited option.
This switch has now saved him an estimated $800 annually on his home power bills.
“Once I changed plans, the first bill was like a $5 credit which I was laughing at because I was paying $100 – I think my previous bill was $150 with AGL so prices had increased – and now I’m in credit so I was over the moon,” he said.
“Then we went through summer and my next bill was close to $100 in credit, I think it was just over $100 in credit actually, from memory.”
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I think I am on the wrong energy plan for my solar, what should I do?
Choosing the wrong energy plan for your solar system could end up costing you more than you’d think. But picking the right option for your home isn’t always smooth sailing either.
This is where solar monitoring tools, like those Mr Kritikos used from Solar Analytics, could be helpful to solar owners.
Solar Analytics CEO Stefan Jarnason said solar monitoring provided a guide to homeowners as they embarked on important energy decisions, such as buying a solar battery or choosing the right energy plan to maximise their solar savings.
“What we do is we actually connect to the data coming from your solar inverter and your electricity meter so that we can see how much electricity you are using and how much you are generating,” he said. “Sometimes you will need an extra bit of hardware to let us see that data and sometimes you don’t. It sort of depends on what your solar system is made up of.”
Mr Jarnason said there were typically two major mistakes homeowners made when installing solar that impacted the return on their investment.
“The first, most common mistake that people make is not choosing the right solar retailer, so not choosing a good solar retailer who will install a good quality system that will last for 20 years.
“The second one, which is quite common, is not installing enough solar because the more you install, the lower your bill will be. And with most people planning on getting an electric vehicle sometime in the next five years, more is better.”
As for choosing the right number of solar panels to install on your roof, Mr Jarnason believed bigger was always better.
“Most solar retailers will show you how much you can fit on your roof, but the answer in most cases is cover the roof,” he said. “What’s tricky is that that wasn’t true three or four years ago but [is now] because solar panels are now cheap and peoples’ electricity usage is going to go up with electric vehicles and heat pumps.
“We’ve analysed our fleet of 35,000 customers and found that actually, the best size is to cover the roof. As much as you can practically fit on there is good – always think bigger.”
Making the return on investment really sing however, all comes down to a good energy plan. And while solar monitoring is the more accurate way to determine what may work best for you, Mr Jarnason said it was generally reliant on how much a household exported back into the grid.
“On average, people use about half of their solar in their home and they sell the other half back to the grid.
“Broadly, if you’re selling more than half of your electricity back to the grid, go for a high feed-in tariff. If you’re selling less than half your electricity back to the grid, go for a low feed-in tariff and a low consumption tariff.”
Compare power plans with high solar feed-in tariffs
Here are some of the cheapest solar-specific deals from the retailers on our database. These costs are based on the Ausgrid network in Sydney but prices will vary depending on your circumstances. We show one product per retailer, listed in order of lowest price first. Annual price estimates assume general energy usage of 3911kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Price estimates exclude solar feed-in tariff credits. These are products from referral partners†. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, and please check retailer websites for up to date information.
Here are some of the cheapest solar-specific deals from the retailers on our database. These costs are based on the Citipower network in Melbourne but prices will vary depending on your circumstances. We show one product per retailer, listed in order of lowest price first. Annual price estimates assume general energy usage of 4000kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Price estimates exclude solar feed-in tariff credits. These are products from referral partners†. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, and please check retailer websites for up to date information.
Here are some of the cheapest solar-specific deals from the retailers on our database. These costs are based on the Energex network in Brisbane but prices will vary depending on your circumstances. We show one product per retailer, listed in order of lowest price first. Annual price estimates assume general energy usage of 4613kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Price estimates exclude solar feed-in tariff credits. These are products from referral partners†. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, and please check retailer websites for up to date information.
Here are some of the cheapest solar-specific deals from the retailers on our database. These costs are based on SA Power network in Adelaide but prices will vary depending on your circumstances. We show one product per retailer, listed in order of lowest price first. Annual price estimates assume general energy usage of 4011kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Price estimates exclude solar feed-in tariff credits. These are products from referral partners†. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, and please check retailer websites for up to date information.
Compare power plans with cheap usage and supply rates
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the Ausgrid network in Sydney but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 3911kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the Citipower network in Melbourne but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4000kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the Energex network in Brisbane but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4613kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Here are some of the cheapest published deals from the retailers on our database that include a link to the retailer’s website for further details. These are products from referral partners†. These costs are based on the SA Power network in Adelaide but prices may vary depending on your circumstances. This comparison assumes general energy usage of 4011kWh/year for a residential customer on a single rate tariff. Please use our comparison tool for a specific comparison in your area. Our database may not cover all deals in your area. As always, check all details of any plan directly with the retailer before making a purchase decision.
Image credit: simez78/Shutterstock.com
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