What Can I Do with Surplus Electricity?

jason101 on 08/12/2016 - 23:14

I've recently moved house and left behind my generous 54c feed in tariff. My new home has a Pv system which is feeding about 70kw per day back in to the grid for a measley 6.8c feed in tarrif.

I'm running all my appliances while the sun is up, vacuuming like never before, charging up my eneloop collection, running the ac, to keep everything at a constant 21'C, we've even rediscovered why we have a clothes dryer - but we just can't use all the daytime power.

So in ozbargain spirit what can I do with this power which may offer some benefit?

Until battery tech comes down in price, I'm looking for some novel or fun ideas or projects or something that will put $ in my pocket.

  • Bitcoin mining
  • Hydro
  • Commercial printing

….??

Home & Garden

Comments

  • captobvious on 08/12/2016 - 23:43
    +1

    Flux capacitor

  • altomic on 08/12/2016 - 23:49
    +1

    does the neighbour have solar? run an extension cord out to their house and give them free power as well (during the day).

  • Almost Banned on 09/12/2016 - 00:46

    If battery storage isn't an option some form of power sharing with your neighbours seems like your only other chance.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2016 - 00:50
    +6

    Wash your clothes again straight after drying them and dry them again.

  • silverrat23 on 09/12/2016 - 00:59
    +1

    Super massive Christmas lights display on your front lawn?

    • cloudy on 09/12/2016 - 09:30

      At midday? Coz when the sun is down no more PV

  • scupper on 09/12/2016 - 01:02
    +1

    Car charging station
    Free battery charging for the street
    Hydroponics
    A massive Christmas light show edit: ugh, beaten already while I was typing

    • holdenmg on 09/12/2016 - 01:27

      Hydroponics with a cash crop. lol

      • Diji1 on 09/12/2016 - 01:59
        +1

        Tomatoes?

        • holdenmg on 09/12/2016 - 02:47

          Sure… :+)

        • xoom on 09/12/2016 - 06:57

          Herbs.

  • idjces on 09/12/2016 - 01:19

    Buy a tesla? Or build an EV

  • psyren89 on 09/12/2016 - 01:46

    left behind my generous 54c feed in tariff

    Isn't this supposed to follow you?

  • scrimshaw on 09/12/2016 - 02:20

    Fire up an arc furnace and use it to refine some raw metals and minerals.

    or build yourself a DIY Tesla Powerwall out of 18650 batteries and store loads of power.

  • chumlee on 09/12/2016 - 07:27

    I read that next year sometime there will be new products out that will let you trade surplus energy from solar so maybe this will suit you.

    • derek324 on 09/12/2016 - 07:33

      The OP already feeds back surplus to the grid, but pay for that is disproportionately low. This is the reason I decided not to go solar.

      • mskeggs on 09/12/2016 - 07:42
        +1

        You probably made a poor financial decision unless you use a very, very low amount of power during the day or have lots of shading. PV is so cheap now only edge cases aren't financially viable.

        There is already software called Reposit that allows people with battery storage with their solar to trade power on the wholesale market. When power prices spike they pay $1kWh for your stored electricity fed into the grid. I think they are likely to offer even better deals in future as battery uptake increases. FWIW, battery + solar is about breakeven now with grid prices, and battery prices are still dropping.

        • derek324 on 09/12/2016 - 08:14
          +1

          In my case (clearly each specific case requires individual calculation) power usage was to low to make any type of solar installation viable, and 6.8c feed in tarrif did not change the balance. I was very, very far even from breaking even. I even confirmed it with solar panel installers. Yes, I considered everything from small, simple roof systems up to the ground installed mini-solar farm with computerized sun tracking and solar batteries storage.

          People also often forget that solar panels do not last forever, and their efficiency (non tracking systems) drops dramatically with non optimal angles. To simplify: large family using a lot of electricity during the day will benefit, small family with high usage from early evening hours will not. But it is all case by case, and individual results will vary.

        • mskeggs on 09/12/2016 - 09:49
          +1

          @derek324:
          An average Australian household uses about 17.5kWh per day.
          http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/…
          (Note that is all households, I have seen higher figures for 'houses', but can't find a reliable link).
          Power prices range from around 25c per kWh upward.
          PV systems are about $2 per watt installed now.
          And a rule of thumb is each watt will produce 4 watt hours per day.

          So a $6000 3kW system will produce around 12kWh per day.
          If you can use all the power produced, you will avoid $3 worth of electricity purchases, meaning it pays back in 5.5 years.
          You wouldn't want to install solar covering much more than your daytime usage.
          Here are figures showing a typical 1.5kW system at $3700 (a little over $2 a watt, it's true, but less in Perth and Brisbane, for example).
          http://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/news/residential-solar-sy…

          If you could use 75% of your production most days, you would have $1.18 per day financial benefit (including 6c from the left over FIT). This pays back in 8.5 years.

          The panels on the system will be warranted for at least 20 years, and 10yr inverter warranties are fairly common.
          Looking over 10 years, the 3kW system avoids nearly $11,000 worth of electricity, the 1.5kW system $4300. If the inverter keeps going for 20 years like the panels, then those figures double.

          Positioning panels away from the optimum Northern direction has a small impact on total production.
          This link suggest it is 7% for NE/NW and 15% for E/W, so not disastrous.
          https://www.solarmarket.com.au/tips/system-production/

          So I guess the take away is, if you are using less than half the power of an average house, mainly at night and no extra on weekends, in a house with a shaded or South facing roof then solar may not be economic if the inverter doesn't last more than the 10 year warranty. But for more than 90% of free standing households it is a pretty good deal.

          Note that batteries, tracking systems etc. all reduce the economic viability of solar, so probably shouldn't be considered unless you have special needs for these.

        • scrambledeggs on 09/12/2016 - 10:17

          @mskeggs: Your calculations assume you'll live in the same house for x many years. A lot of people don't live in the same spot for that long. I know I like to move around a lot.

        • mskeggs on 09/12/2016 - 11:01

          @scrambledeggs:
          Sure, but do you replace an old roof with a tarpaulin rather than tiles because you intend to move? There is fairly good reason to believe that renewable energy improvements add to the value of a property.
          If you are a renter, of course, you have different issues.

  • derek324 on 09/12/2016 - 07:39

    You can make some real money: see blockchain peer-to-peer trading platform: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2101667-blockchain-grid…

  • mskeggs on 09/12/2016 - 07:44

    There are elements you can retrofit to your hot water tank that dumps excess PV generated power into that, lowering your hot water bill (but most places with PV already have non-electric hot water).

    • derek324 on 09/12/2016 - 07:56

      When I calculated it some time ago break-even cost of such system was well beyond expected life of the equipment, and my hot water usage was much to low to make it viable. In my specific situation it did not make any sense. Obviously current calculation and individual cases may produce different result.

      • mskeggs on 09/12/2016 - 08:02

        Agree, same for me, but the OP is effectively getting close to unlimited free electricity in daylight, and might have a giant spa bath they like to use twice a day for all I know ;-)

  • cloudy on 09/12/2016 - 09:31

    Bit coin mining is definelty power instensive and can create currency (that id never use)

  • bdl on 09/12/2016 - 09:58

    Grow pot :)

  • Euphemistic on 09/12/2016 - 16:23

    Are you sure you ar feeding back 70kWh? that is a heck of a lot.

    My 4kw system generates around 20kwh per day, so you have over 15kw of panels? You're never going to use that in a residential setup unless you start growing hydro.

    Best bet is to try to work out a power share setup with neighbours. That might be very difficult to do given the radio report I heard this morning saying that you won't get a connection fee rebate for not using, but generating power.

    Buy more eneloops, build your own Tesla powerwall and set them up to run stuff at night.

  • CandyMan on 09/12/2016 - 19:03
    +2

    Buy more eneloops to power your house at night.
    Or just buy a proper battery to store your excess energy

  • outlander on 10/12/2016 - 23:35

    Electrolysis.
    Place up in Resvoir vic does this to extract the copper from circuit boards, and its powered by, you guessed it, solar panels.

  • HardQuiz on 13/12/2016 - 05:29

    Watch this….

    http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4398364.htm

  • ClintonL on 29/12/2016 - 14:08
    +1

    Bitcoin mining would be good if you can fork out for the equipment.

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