Big Business Turns To Solar

by | Jun 8, 2017 | Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money, Solar Power

Government Lags Behind, As Usual

Last week Telstra signed a deal to purchase the entire output of a new 70MW solar farm to be built in Queensland.

Rapidly rising power costs have prompted the move as part of Telstra’s long term energy management strategy.

Telstra consumes about 1% of the nation’s electricity so rising power costs have negatively affected the company’s bottom line.

The unusual aspect of this deal is that Telstra has signed a contract with the developer directly, rather than through an energy retailer.

Telstra has plans for more solar farms as the cost of renewable energy falls, while power prices continue to rise.

 

Korean owned Sun Metals has also announced a new 125MW solar farm for its Townsville zinc refinery. The facility is expected to provide about 30% of the refinery’s power requirements.

Both these projects are expected to be completed and delivering power in 2018.

That’s one of the great benefits of solar power. An installation can be up and running quickly, without long design and construction phases.

Monash University has also called for tenders for a 40MW wind or solar farm to supply their on-going power needs.

Both the Telstra and Monash projects can be built in locations that are remote from their own facilities. The power output from the farms can be sold to other users, and that income used to offset the power costs of Telstra and Monash.

 

Australia’s biggest horticultural company Costa Group has identified power costs and reliability of supply as major risks to their business.

They are currently reviewing plans for a solar farm and battery storage facility at their South Australian mushroom farm.

We know that Australians love solar power.

Now Big Business has done the sums and they are voting with their wallets.

We expect to see more businesses follow Telstra’s example and probably groups of smaller businesses forming consortiums to build their own power plants to manage their energy costs.

The federal government is out of step with the Australian community, with its’ continuing support for the coal industry, and constant attacks on renewables.

More and more, consumers and business are turning to wind and solar energy and that trend will only continue.

Solar power is here to stay and will only get bigger, better and stronger, whether the government supports it or not.

The $800 Power Point Problem Solved

by | Aug 16, 2016 | Common Repairs, Save Money

Add New Power Points Without Expensive Upgrades

The Problem
In our previous blog post we looked at the cascading series of events and spiralling costs that could result from a simple installation of new power points.

Click here to see our previous article “The $800 Power Point”

When changes are made to certain parts of your electrical installation it can trigger the requirement to upgrade other parts of the installation to comply with current regulations.

This can be a costly exercise for what started out as just a very minor job.

Regulations require that all new power points, all additions to existing circuits and all relocations of existing power points must be protected by an earth-leakage circuit breaker.

Jargon Explained
An earth-leakage circuit breaker, a safety switch and an RCD (residual current device) are all names for the same thing. They are devices that detect an imbalance in the electrical current flowing through a circuit and switch off the power within 30 milliseconds to hopefully prevent injury or death from electric shock.

The regulations around RCDs are designed to improve electrical safety and are a good idea, but there are additional costs involved.

Even if your switchboard is not suitable for the addition of a safety switch there is a way to comply with the regulations, improve electrical safety and keep the costs down.

Problem Solved
The solution is to install an earth-leakage protected power point.

This power point has a built-in safety switch which avoids the requirement to add a safety switch to the switchboard.

If the earth-leakage protected power is installed as the first power outlet on a circuit it also protects any other outlets downstream on the same circuit.

The RCD protected outlet alone will cost a little over $200, but installation is the same as a normal power point.
Despite the higher cost it is still far cheaper than replacing your switchboard and mains cables.

Changing To Gas Hot Water

by | Oct 10, 2015 | Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money

How Easy Is It To Change From Electric To Gas Hot Water?
Hot water accounts for up to 30% of the average household power bill, so it’s a major cost for most people.

With an electric storage cylinder you are paying to heat 160 litres of water day and night, whether it is needed or not.  A much more efficient way is to just heat the water as you need it.

Gas is the best way to achieve this.  Gas can provide the heat necessary to quickly heat cold water to a suitable temperature for showers, washing up etc.  But how easy is it to change?  And is gas the best alternative?

Electric instant hot water heaters are available but they don’t work very well in Tasmania.  The water we are trying to heat often starts off very cold so an electric system struggles to lift the temperature to a usable level.  Gas is the way to go.

Most of the work involved in changing from an electric to a gas hot water system is plumbing work.   The old cylinder is disconnected and the pipes re-run to the instant hot water unit and bottled or town gas is connected.

The electrical work needed could be quite simple.  All that’s needed is a weatherproof power point.  Often the old wiring from the hot water cylinder can be used, but sometimes that wiring is the wrong size and a new circuit will need to be run.

Regulations require that all new power points be protected by an earth-leakage circuit breaker (safety switch) so some modifications to your switchboard may be required.

Sometimes major modifications could be required, if you have an old fuse board where it is not possible to to install a safety switch.  For this reason it’s a good idea to talk to your electrician before any work commences to find out the extent of electrical work required.

You wouldn’t want to disconnect and remove your old hot water cylinder, get the new gas system installed and then find out it cannot be used without first replacing your switchboard.

In the worst case scenario a switchboard replacement could involve new mains cables, relocating your power meters and replacing some of your wiring.  Talk to your electrician first to avoid nasty surprises.

Gas hot water is cheaper to run and you have the added advantage that it never runs out of hot water as long as you still have gas.

Do some research, get a couple of quotes and involve your electrician in the project before you begin and you’ll enjoy a smooth transition from electric to gas hot water.

Dumbest Place To Install A Light Fitting

by | Aug 18, 2015 | Common Repairs, Dodgy Installations, Save Money

Poor Design Leads To Big Repair Bills
The photograph above shows a pretty dubious set up for installing a light fitting in the ceiling at the top of a stairwell. While the initial installation is risky, how on earth is anyone supposed to repair that light in years to come?

After these clowns have finished, a builder will fit a handrail around the walkway and there will be no easy way to get to that light even to do something as simple as replace a blown globe. (more…)

Your High Power Bill Is Probably Due To High Power Usage

by | Mar 9, 2015 | Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money, Uncategorized

Have you ever had a nasty shock when they received your power bill?

Maybe your  first reaction was “How could it be so high?  Surely there must be some mistake!”

There are unusual situations that could lead to a high power bill, however 99% of high power bills are due to high power usage.

We’ve done many investigations for clients who have received an unusually high power bill. Sometimes we find there has been an error with the meter reading.

Occasionally we’ve  found instances where one person has been paying for someone else’s power.  These are rare occasions, and always occur in multi- tenancy buildings.

The most common thing that catches people out is excessive use of electric heaters.

Most people underestimate the amount they run their heaters, and they aren’t aware of the running costs.

We have seen clients with quarterly power bills of more than $2,000 simply because they didn’t understand the cost of running their appliances.

It’s easy for costs to escalate quickly if you don’t know the best ways to manage your power use.

Common Oven Repairs – Door Seals And Hinges

by | Nov 25, 2014 | Common Repairs, Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money

Is Your Oven Slow To Heat Up? Does It Seem To Take Ages To Cook Something Properly?

If your oven is heating up but taking a long time to get to the correct temperature then the element is probably ok.  Elements usually tend to work or fail, not operate at half power.

Check The Thermostat
The problem could be the thermostat, and you can check that yourself if you have a cooking thermometer.  Place the thermometer in the oven, set the oven thermostat to 180 degrees and when the oven indicator light goes out, check the temperature on the thermometer.  It might not read exactly 180 degrees but it should be fairly close.  If it is substantially different then the thermostat will probably need replacing.

Check The Door Seals
Another common cause of your oven being slow to heat up and taking a long time to cook your food is a faulty door seal.  A damaged or missing or poorly fitting door seal can allow much of the heat to escape, resulting in slower cooking times.

Door seals are fairly easy to replace and you can do it yourself as long as you get the correct spare part.  To get the correct part you will need the model number of your oven.

Find The Model Number
Getting the model number is not always as easy as it should be, as most manufacturers seem to either hide this valuable information, or put it on a sticker that is designed to fade and become illegible soon after purchase.  Check for stickers inside the oven or grill door, or on the back the removable kick panel below the oven door. If you are lucky enough to locate and actually decipher a model number you have a good chance of getting the right door seal.

Check The Door Hinges
Loose or worn door hinges are another common cause of heat loss that results in slow cooking times.  The oven door hinges may be worn out if you can see a gap at the top of the door, and the door does not close firmly against the body of the oven.  You may also need to change the door hinge guides, which are inside the oven body.  New hinges won’t make a lot of difference if worn out hinge guides are not replaced.

Once again, having the model number of the oven, not just the model name, will be important for getting the correct parts.

If you are losing heat from your oven due to worn hinges or a faulty door seal then it’s also costing you money in extra power used due to the extended cooking times.

If you are having problems with slow cooking times and low oven temperatures, or need any oven repairs fixed as quickly as possible …

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