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Residential solar is an imperative when heat waves become more common. I live in Queensland, Australia where we are headed into an El Niño summer. Which means s

Residential solar is an imperative when heat waves become more common. I live in Queensland, Australia where we are headed into an El Niño summer. Which means sweltering heat for many months. My current 10 kW solar setup plus Tesla Powerwall is already sufficient to cover 85% of my electricity needs. That includes charging an EV, running pool pumps, a heat pump warm water system and everything else. Shifting these loads into the day means no loss of comfort at all. Exception being the aircon, which we didn’t run as often during the past 3 (cooler) La Niña years. I will add another 10 kW solar panels to my roof this year to also be able to run the aircon on hot days. Without taking electricity from the grid. Which (sadly) is still mostly based on burning coal in this country.

10u152 3y ago
You’re in a very privileged situation to be able to afford $20-$25k up front for a big system like that. These problems are technologically solved, they’re just not solved from a cost perspective for the average Joe. Average Joe is therefore stuck paying per kWh from the grid.
- mrDmrTmrJ 3y ago
  10u152, I don't know where you live, but you seem to be quoting US solar prices. Tragically, US prices are 2x-3x that of Australian residential solar prices. Generally Australian prices are $10k-AUD for a 10kw array or roughly $6.6k USD for 10kw,[1] compared to the $20-25k USD in the US depending on location. High US residential solar prices are a policy/political choice the US makes! [2] [1] Austrialian solar prices, article from Jan. 2023. https://www.canstarblue.com.au/solar/solar-installation-cost/ https://www.canstarblue.com.au/solar/solar-installation-cost... According to google Australian dollar is $0.66 US Dollar [2] https://www.amazon.com/Electrify-Optimists-Playbook-Energy-Future/dp/0262046237 https://www.amazon.com/Electrify-Optimists-Playbook-Energy-F...
  - 10u152 3y ago
    That’s solar though? What about the power wall?
    - Arainach 3y ago
      Peak temperatures (and thus peak air conditioning/heat pump usage) correlate well with peak sunlight; solar reducing demand during those hours is a significant benefit even without any additional storage.
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  Taking an alternate perspective on this: this up-front cost issue is why government programmes to offset costs of installing renewables systems, and/or mandates for either new-construction or retrofit installation, are so critical. Efficiencies of scale mean that individual homeowner or property-owner installations are not as effective as large-scale deployments, new-construction developments, and/or large-scale retrofits. But greasing the skids for new installation helps considerably to promote the technology.
- marssaxman 3y ago
  Who says they paid for it up front? Home improvement loans exist, and depending on your jurisdiction there may be subsidized low-interest loans for energy-efficiency projects. When I had solar panels installed on my house ten years ago, I put $0 down.

10u152 3y ago

You’re in a very privileged situation to be able to afford $20-$25k up front for a big system like that. These problems are technologically solved, they’re just not solved from a cost perspective for the average Joe. Average Joe is therefore stuck paying per kWh from the grid.

mrDmrTmrJ 3y ago
10u152, I don't know where you live, but you seem to be quoting US solar prices. Tragically, US prices are 2x-3x that of Australian residential solar prices. Generally Australian prices are $10k-AUD for a 10kw array or roughly $6.6k USD for 10kw,[1] compared to the $20-25k USD in the US depending on location. High US residential solar prices are a policy/political choice the US makes! [2] [1] Austrialian solar prices, article from Jan. 2023. https://www.canstarblue.com.au/solar/solar-installation-cost/ https://www.canstarblue.com.au/solar/solar-installation-cost... According to google Australian dollar is $0.66 US Dollar [2] https://www.amazon.com/Electrify-Optimists-Playbook-Energy-Future/dp/0262046237 https://www.amazon.com/Electrify-Optimists-Playbook-Energy-F...
- 10u152 3y ago
  That’s solar though? What about the power wall?
  - Arainach 3y ago
    Peak temperatures (and thus peak air conditioning/heat pump usage) correlate well with peak sunlight; solar reducing demand during those hours is a significant benefit even without any additional storage.
dredmorbius 3y ago
Taking an alternate perspective on this: this up-front cost issue is why government programmes to offset costs of installing renewables systems, and/or mandates for either new-construction or retrofit installation, are so critical. Efficiencies of scale mean that individual homeowner or property-owner installations are not as effective as large-scale deployments, new-construction developments, and/or large-scale retrofits. But greasing the skids for new installation helps considerably to promote the technology.
marssaxman 3y ago
Who says they paid for it up front? Home improvement loans exist, and depending on your jurisdiction there may be subsidized low-interest loans for energy-efficiency projects. When I had solar panels installed on my house ten years ago, I put $0 down.