QLD solar panel rebate, what's the deal?

[jerrybee]

Ok I never cared too much about this but everyone keeps saying I should look into it, so here I am.

So I bought a house with some solar panels. The neighbour says how she got in just before some deadline so she gets the full rebate / ongoing discount for like another 10 years. She said the previous owners of my house installed them too late and just missed out so their rebate isn't as good (but they still received benefits).

Then someone told me that because I purchased the house, I don't "inherit" the old owners rebate, I get nothing.

Ok again I have no idea what this even is and whether I should care, but can someone give me the gist of it? Do I stand to benefit in anyway? And I plan on renting this out in a few months...I assume even if I did get some benefits, they would all be transferred to the tenant?

 

[Jaggannath]

You inherit the deal they signed as far as I'm aware, so you should get money back on your power bills which may not cover the full amount, but better than nothing

 

[jerrybee]

You inherit the deal they signed as far as I'm aware, so you should get money back on your power bills which may not cover the full amount, but better than nothing

And would my future tenants get it too?

 

[Perp]

I believe you - and any future tenants - will be eligible for any feed-in tariff on offer at the time, presently about 6 to 10c per kWH (depending on your energy supplier). The feed-in payment is not that significant, because you pay about 30c per kWH for what you consume.

The real benefit is in not paying 30c per kWH for all the power you generate with your panels.

So let's say that you generate, say, 20kWH of energy per day, and use 12 kWH of energy per day.

The power you generate gets used by your house first, and you sell excess to the grid. It's not generated throughout the 24 hours, though, obviously; it might be 2.5 kW in the 8 hours of strongest sun. (Again, over-simplifying a bit but should give you the gist.)

But the 12 kWH you use is more evenly distributed; let's say it's 0.5 kW per hour over the whole 24 hours. (Again, over-simplification for demonstration purposes.) And assume you get 8c per kWH with your energy company.

With no solar:

12 kWH x 30c per kWH = $3.60 for your electricity that day.

With solar:

1) 8 hours you're generating electricity: you pay nothing, use 0.5 kW, sell back excess 2 kW to grid, earn 8 hours x 2 kW x 8c = $1.28 from electricity company
2) 16 hours you're drawing electricity from grid: pay 16 hours x 0.5 kWH x 30c = $2.40

Net electricity cost: $2.40 - $1.28 = $1.12

So your electricity costs are reduced from $3.60 per day to $1.12 per day in this example.

Obviously, when you're on solar, you want to do as much electricity consumption as you can during the day, when you're generating, so you do *not* want to have off-peak circuits. Try and use your pool filter, clothes dryer, air-cons, HWS etc during the day as much as possible.

 

[wylie]

You inherit the deal they signed as far as I'm aware, so you should get money back on your power bills which may not cover the full amount, but better than nothing

I don't think so (but happy to be wrong). Our son put on solar in his house, and one of the "bummer!" moments was knowing that he is giving up the tariff, and as far as I know (and I'm pretty sure of this), once you sell, the tariff disappears and the new owners sign up fresh with whatever electricity company they choose but they don't get the old tariff.

 

[Perp]

I don't think so (but happy to be wrong). Our son put on solar in his house, and one of the "bummer!" moments was knowing that he is giving up the tariff, and as far as I know (and I'm pretty sure of this), once you sell, the tariff disappears and the new owners sign up fresh with whatever electricity company they choose but they don't get the old tariff.

My understanding is the same as yours, wylie.

The good news is that the cost of solar has come down so much that even at 8c per kWH feed-in, it's still very cost-effective. We're just installing a system right now, and estimate it'll pay for itself in about 1.5 to 2 years, which is amazing.

 

[jerrybee]

I don't think so (but happy to be wrong). Our son put on solar in his house, and one of the "bummer!" moments was knowing that he is giving up the tariff, and as far as I know (and I'm pretty sure of this), once you sell, the tariff disappears and the new owners sign up fresh with whatever electricity company they choose but they don't get the old tariff.

You've misread my question. In the scenario you described, *I* am the new owner, so I'm asking the question from the other side of the fence. So what you said is actually consistent with what wylie said, unless I'm confusing things.

So it appears that I and any future tenants inherit the deal.

 

[wylie]

You've misread my question. In the scenario you described, *I* am the new owner, so I'm asking the question from the other side of the fence. So what you said is actually consistent with what wylie said, unless I'm confusing things.

So it appears that I and any future tenants inherit the deal.

No. I didn't misread it. When the owner who installed the solar sells the house to "you", you don't inherit the juicy feed in tariff the vendor signed up for.

You sign up fresh and get what is on offer "now".

 

[jerrybee]

No. I didn't misread it. When the owner who installed the solar sells the house to "you", you don't inherit the juicy feed in tariff the vendor signed up for.

You sign up fresh and get what is on offer "now".

oh god I confused you with the guy you quoted. a whole lot of confusion all around

Ok makes sense, so I get nothing? Should I even keep them around? Is the cost of maintenance worth it? If I have to repaint the roof would it make sense to just tear them off while I'm at it?

 

[Paul@PFI]

You get the current deal. They BUY excess electricity. That what panels do. At a lower price that the old feed in deal obviously.

The rate they buy from you is credited to your own power consumption.

Speak to a range of providers. But they collude and its a govt backed cartel.

 

[Perp]

Ok makes sense, so I get nothing? Should I even keep them around? Is the cost of maintenance worth it? If I have to repaint the roof would it make sense to just tear them off while I'm at it?

What?!? No! Why would you take them off, when they give you free electricity?

The maintenance is near-zero.

You don't get "nothing"; you save 30c per kWH on the electricity it generates during the day that you use, and you get paid a modest amount - about 8c per kWH - for your excess.

Did my earlier explanation not make sense?

 

[jerrybee]

You get the current deal. They BUY excess electricity. That what panels do. At a lower price that the old feed in deal obviously.

The rate they buy from you is credited to your own power consumption.

Speak to a range of providers. But they collude and its a govt backed cartel.

Ok thanks. Sorry for the silly questions, as I said I know very little about this and cause it's just a few thousand bucks either way it didn't really show up on my radar, it only piqued my interest because everyone around me was going on about it like it was a big deal. Thanks

 

[jerrybee]

Did my earlier explanation not make sense?

No it did sorry I've just heard the govt keep changing things so I wasn't even sure anymore. Thanks

 

[Perp]

No it did sorry I've just heard the govt keep changing things so I wasn't even sure anymore. Thanks

Yes, things do change.

People who get in before a certain date get paid 44c - instead of 8c - for the energy they put in. RIDICULOUS policy. But as you know, you can't get that; now you just get what you can convince your supplier to pay.

The government also changes the rebates that are paid for installation of the system. As your system's in place, that's history and not really relevant to you.