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A typical 1kW solar power system in the EnergyAustralia network area provides around 25% of an average household’s energy needs (excluding hot water). This reduces energy usage by up to 1,400kWh per year, saving $200 on energy bills and up to 1.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
A typical home uses about 20 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy a day, or around 7,300 kWh a year (including hot water). Check your energy bills for your exact usage.
In sunny conditions in a city like Sydney, a 1kW solar power system could generate up to 1,400kWh per year.
An example of the costs and paybacks of an optimal residential 1kW solar power system can be found in the following table
| A 1kw solar power system | Results |
| Energy production (kWh per year) | 1400 |
| Estimated savings per year ($) - Powersmart | $200 |
| CO2 abatement per year (tonnes) | 1.5 |
Use EnergyAustralia’s online solar power calculator to estimate the maximum savings you could make if you choose solar power for your home. Remember to choose the PowerSmart tariff if EnergyAustralia is your electricity retailer and you live in the EnergyAustralia network area.
Solar energy buy-back rates
EnergyAustralia retail customers who have a solar power system smaller than 10kW per phase and live in the EnergyAustralia network area, can participate in Solar Buy-back after installing a bi-directional meter.
In EnergyAustralia’s network area, this will be a time-of-use meter which measures energy usage throughout the day. If EnergyAustralia is also your electricity retailer you will be moved to PowerSmart (time-of-use) pricing for all of your energy usage and any excess you sell back to the grid following the installation of this meter.
With PowerSmart pricing, your electricity rates are broken down into three different time periods – Peak, Shoulder and Off Peak. This means you pay for the quantity of electricity you use, based on when you use it. A higher rate is charged during the Peak period, than the Shoulder and Off Peak periods. So your rate is less when the demand for electricity is lower, and more when it is higher. And this means you have greater control over your electricity bill.
EnergyAustralia buys back electricity at the following rates (valid from July 1, 2008 and subject to review):
| Tariff | cents/kWh (excluding GST) |
| PowerSmart | Peak (2pm-8pm working weekdays) | 27.5 |
 | Shoulder | |
| (7am-2pm & 8pm-10pm working weekdays) | 9.9 |
| (7am-10pm weekends and public holidays) | 9.9 |
| Off Peak (10pm-7am all other times) | 5.5 |
Standard Domestic Tariff
(single consumption rate for existing customers only) | 12.7 |
EnergyAustralia’s existing solar customers who are on the single rate “Standard Domestic Tariff” can opt-in for time-of-use metering, which will provide a greater level of control over the price received for electricity exported to the grid. All new solar customers will automatically go onto time-of-use metering and billing and cannot go back to single consumption rates.
Note: EnergyAustralia has a “net metering” policy for customers who generate their own electricity, which may not be the case with other electricity retailers. As a result, the electricity registered on the export meter (sales) will be less than the total amount of electricity generated by the solar system. The difference between the solar electricity generated and that registered on the export meter is the amount that has been used to directly supply your home’s electricity consumption. This results in a reduction in the amount of electricity registered on the import meter.
EnergyAustralia will provide a regular bill showing the energy you consume from the grid, with another line showing the amount of energy sold to the grid. The value of the energy produced by a solar power system will be credited to your account balance.
More information:
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