Solar Power Case Study – Ford Home

System Capacity

2.115kW

Expected Quarterly Benefit

$380

CO2 reduction

4 tonnes annually

System Specs

9 x REC 235W panels; Fronius IG20 inverter

Installation

November 2010

When Sharon and Noel Ford decided to install solar on their Queensland holiday home, they did not anticipate just how great the benefits would be.

The Ford’s run a fairly energy efficient home, but like many Queenslanders, they own a pool which uses up a lot of their power.

“We did a lot of research to determine how many panels we’d need to make the best use of the feed in tariff”, said Mrs Ford. “Because it is a holiday home, we don’t use much electricity at certain times of the year. During the summer for example, the house is running on minimum power.”

Unfortunately their first summer of solar was one of Queensland’s worst. While their area was not hit by the massive floods that plagued so many parts of the state between December 2010 and January 2011, with record rain and little sunshine, the Fords worried about their solar system.

“We had a huge storm here; an electrical storm with lightning and hail! We were very nervous, but we needn’t have been: the solar system just kept going – undamaged and producing power.”

In fact, the Ford’s solar power system generated more savings than anticipated. Not only did they not pay a single dollar in 2011 for electricity, their account is now in credit for $136. Without solar, their total year’s worth of electricity would have cost them around $1,200.

“Originally we had calculated a five year payback. Now, looking at the credit on our electricity bills, we think it’ll pay back in three to four years – thanks Energy Matters!”