Energy Matters Forums

[veronim]

Hi All,

I am new and I apologise for jumping straight in with a question. Earlier this year we installed a 1.5kw system in qld. Our bill had always been around the $180 a quarter mark so we were pretty excited about perhaps going neutral. Anyway he 1st bill came and it was only for the last month of the quarter tht we had the solar panels - we had a $2 credit for our system - fanastic. Anyway he 1st full quarter bill has arrived and it was $145!!!! Our feed in credi amount came too $132 which is prey good for winter, but our total usage and cost has risen dramatically, apparently we are using an extra 3KWH per day then this time last year. If it were not for the solar credits our bill would have hit $300. So my question is - could this somehow be an error, I am wondering if they are somehow recording on our meter our usage as what we generate as well and then deducting the solar credits - sort of double dipping if you know what I mean? Now I have no idea how these things work and am getting nowhere with the power company. But what I know is this. We live in Qld and do not use ANY heating in winter. there are no new appliances that could do this - we have a coffee machine that is religiously turned off a the wall and since our last bill have invested in standby switch remotes. The only new thing we have is a fantast 6 bulb light in the kitchen which is only used occasionally. We have a climae smart meter and the other day I went around the house and turned EVERYTHING off, and the KWH Used went up, I am worried, that my solar production is acually being regisetered as usage and then being deducted from my bill, meaning we only get a small amount of benefit. Sorry if this is convoluted and painfully long, but I have no idea what to do. The extra 3kwh a day usage is suspiciously close to what our average daily production amount is......

[Tracker]

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Something that you could try, is to pick three similar week-days for you..
and at 7am each day, read the IMPORT meter reading and the EXPORT reading and the reading on the Inverter (Pac)
First day - normal operation... Second day - Switch off the solar isolator.. Third day - Solar back on

Compare the readings, having tried to do the same things each day.

If all is normal - then the three IMPORT figures should be the same, and the EXPORT should just go from X to Zero and back to X. (assuming similar sunshine conditions)

I can't help the feeling that we ALL need to write down the IMPORT and EXPORT figures , on a regular basis.
In that way - YOU can see when usage is changing, instead of blindly accepting that your usage has gone up..
Naturally THEY control the price and everyone is complaining about the cost increases..
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