Household FAQ's
What size solar power system should I install?
What is an inverter and what sort should I buy?
What will happen to my meter at home?
What happens after my solar power has been installed?
What if my electricity account is in a different name to my quote and grid application?
What if I have a private agreement with an electricity provider?
How will I know if the solar power system is performing to its maximum potential on a daily basis?
Why is there a difference between my inverters reading and the meter reading?
How long will it be before I see credits on my electricity bill?
What kind of warranties come with the solar power products?
What size solar power system should I install?
It depends on how much physical unshaded space you have on your roof as well as how much energy you want to produce to offset what you consume. Using your current electricity bill you can calculate your average daily consumption and the average amount of electricity your solar power system needs to produce to offset your electricity needs.
What is an inverter and what sort should I buy?
Solar panels produce DC electricity, whereas household appliances and the electricity grid use AC electricity. Therefore an inverter is required to transform the DC electricity into AC electricity. The efficiency of an inverter is measured by how well it converts the DC electricity into AC electricity. The CMS Transformerless Inverter has an efficiency of 96.9%.
What will happen to my meter at home?
If you have a traditional accumulation meter (with a spinning disk) this will need to be replaced with an interval meter or a smart meter. This is because an accumulation meter does not record the energy you export to the grid or the electricity you import from the grid. An interval or smart meter provide half hourly readings of the electricity you consume and the surplus electricity you produce.
What happens after my solar power has been installed?
After your solar power system has been installed you will need to contact your electricity retailer to opt into a feed-in tariff and organise an accredited utility electrician to change your meter over if required and connect the meter to the grid.
What if my electricity account is in a different name to my quote and grid application?
They must all be in the same name, the quickest way is to put the application and quote name in the account holders name, if this isn't possible you must change the name of the account holder.
What if I have a private agreement with an electricity provider?
You many not be eligible for any tariff, so you will need to raise this with the utility provider you made the agreement with.
How will I know if the solar power system is performing to its maximum potential on a daily basis?
The best way is to monitor your data from your inverter on a daily basis, this way you can determine your average daily, weekly, monthly and yearly production.
Why is there a difference between my inverters reading and the meter reading?
The electricity meter is a calibrated instrument that is approved by the Australian National Measurement Institute and provides the reading used to calculate your electricity bill. The difference between the energy displayed on the inverter and the electricity meter can be in the range of +/- 10%.
How long will it be before I see credits on my electricity bill?
It could be up to 8 weeks after the meter has been installed - you will still be credited but you may not see the credits until your second bill depending on the billing period.
What kind of warranties come with the solar power products?
All solar panels have a 25 year efficiency warranty (10 years at 90% efficiency and 25 years at 80% efficiency) and a 5 year manufacturing warranty. CMS Inverters have a 5 year warranty with an additional 5 years optional.
When purchasing solar power products direct from CMS you will be charged the total amount. Then you will need to claim your REC's yourself or through your installer.
For more information please read the Consumer Guide to Solar PV by the Clean Energy Council.
