While many of our clients today at Energy Rating Perth wish to reduce their carbon footprint and their energy bills, they are moving towards renewable energy sources like solar panels. It may be an expensive initial investment but our clients at Energy Rating Perth are usually placated by the fact that the government provides them with a hefty subsidy on solar panels. Our energy assessors are saddened to announce that the initial gold rush of solar panels seems to be over. Government subsidies are becoming something of the past and residences are starting to stop receiving payments for the power they export into the electricity grid. In households in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales power exported into the grid will receive no payment from the end of the year.

However, this scheme of paying solar households for their exported electricity was used to kick-start the Australian solar photovoltaic (PV) industry. By offering high payments on electricity fed back into the system from roof-mounted photovoltaic systems the state governments boosted the industry. And even though the wind back may hurt some households, it may result in another upturn for the industry.

Households should now be considering larger systems compared to the previous 1.5kW (kilowatts) systems, used with the initial subsidies. We urge our clients at Energy rating Perth that they can now buy a 5-10kW system which will be approximately the same size as older models. The average total cost for a domestic 10kW PV system is approximately $15,000. And over the course of a 25 year period, this equates to an energy cost of 7 c/kWh. In comparison, the average electricity price for Australia is 29c/kWh.

However, not all is abysmal, the declining cost of PV and other renewable energy sources are allowing for Australia to progress into the renewable energy world whilst saving consumers money. Investing into a PV system will not only reduce the cost on your energy consumption but help Australian residents reach 2020 renewable energy target. It is predicted that, with continual interest, renewable energy can be achieved at a modest cost by 2030, with 70-100% of the market running on renewable energy. At Energy Rating Perth, we urge our clients to take advantage of this as soon as possible to achieve a more sustainable home that will provide savings in the long run as well as contribute positively to the environment.