Harnessing amazing cosmic forces

We all live on a giant magnet spinning through space at incredible speed and it’s only logical that my little cottage in Killcare should tap in to the vast power source conveniently supplied every day by the star to the earth’s east. 

I was the ABC’s former science correspondent and capturing the power of our sun involves some pretty cool science. 

Without getting too technical solar panels somehow convert sunlight into electricity while batteries store this energy. 

Few people realise the element Lithium is the result of a super nova explosion when  a star and a white dwarf star collide. 

So we are harnessing amazing cosmic forces when we go solar.

Making it actually happen down here on planet earth is a little tricky especially with all the complex and seemingly outrageously cheap “out of this world” offers for solar systems. 

I wanted a roughly 8 kilowatt system on my Killcare cottage as my roof largely faced north and didn’t have any real shade issues. My power bills were high for a single person so I was sure to get them down. 

I’d had a solar system on my house in Manly a few years ago with a battery which worked well but this time I couldn’t justify the cost of the lithium battery. 

I worked out I would have to spend around $10,000 for tier one good quality panels and an inverter with a return over 7 years. 

My friend who was the MD of BP Solar in Australia gave me some advice in looking for an installer but in the end it’s all a bit of a leap of faith. I feel it is a great bonus around here that we can rely on Electrify Bouddi to recommend a reputable local installer.

I jumped early though and contacted a consultant from a fairly large solar company called Powersmart Solutions in Sydney come over and run me through the details and costings. 

He certainly knew his stuff as I got my head around what kilowatts are, the load, yield and etc. 

The quote was pretty much as expected and 3 men installed all the panels and wiring in one day. It was a very hot day and I didn’t envy them up on the roof. 

They were professional and so far everything is performing as promised. My power bills are way down but not gone of course and I can run 2 air conditioning units on a hot day without using all my solar power. 

I suppose the only disappointing thing is that without a battery I cant store the energy, and in winter the production halves to about 3 kilowatts. 

Cloudy and rainy days… well the panels barely get excited. 

Nevertheless I feel good harnessing the power of our star and while a lithium batter would be great, I will have to wait a little longer till they get cheaper.

Michael, Killcare

Powersmart Solutions installed the following for Michael:

19 panels (7.8 kW)
Installed December 2023.