We would do this as part of the installation process with a price ranging from around $300 to $1500.

That depends on the size and capacity of the cabling from your shed to the meter.  This is something we assess with a site inspection.

The power that can’t be exported goes into a heat sink – so basically is lost.  Ways around this are: to get a smaller system so use as much as possible of the solar power you generate in your home and have hardly any excess power to export.  Another way is to get battery storage but this is pricey.

MASH, in partnership with Hepburn and Mallee Sun bulk-buys, supports local communities by donating one percent of project revenues to community groups and schools in the form of free solar.  Click here for a list of MASH Community Bonus Recipients.

In our aspiration to continually improve MASH’s service, we appreciate all constructive feedback. To this end, we have a Customer Satisfaction Feedback Survey which we ask all customers to complete after their solar installation. This provides us with a gauge on how we are going, highlights areas that we can improve, and gives opportunities to share customer testimonials to promote the bulk-buy programs.

Customer Satisfaction Survey

A standard installation means:

1. Pitched roof in good condition made of corrugated iron or corrugated colourbond or Trim-dek fixed with roofing screws (i.e. excludes tile roofs, flat roofs or Klip-lok fixed from underneath)
2. Single phase electricity supply
3. A ceiling cavity large enough to work inside of (i.e. excludes cathedral ceilings)
4. No asbestos within the areas where the installation is to occur, including but not limited to roof cladding, insulation, meter boxes/switchboards, eves or walls.
5. Panels installed in portrait in one continuous array or with dual tracking where possible.
6. Single story (i.e. less than 3.6 metres to the gutter line)
7. Roof slope less than 30 degrees but more than 10 degrees
8. Customer switchboard and/or sub board is compliant with current regulations and has sufficient room for a single pole main solar isolator
9. Inverter able to be mounted in location chosen by installer. Customer requests to be accommodated where reasonable to do so.
10. Cable run from the array to the consumer switchboard to be 30 metres or less
11. No switchboard or meter re-wiring changes other than that required for the solar installation (i.e. excludes additional requirements mandated by some retailers including but not limited to rewiring of hot water boost tails, rewiring of climate saver boost tails or installation of timers on hot water).
12. Within the Region.

The not-for-profit Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance (CVGA) receives a small commission on each installation in order to make a contribution towards the costs of marketing and administration of the bulk-buy program.

The MASH Solar Bulk-Buy can supply and install solar power systems from 2kW to 100kW+.

Almost all solar panels sold today have a 25 performance warranty, and the majority are expected to go the distance.  When solar panels do eventually reach end-of-life we work together with companies such as Ecoactiv and PVCycle, who specialise in solar panel recycling and e-waste management solutions. Ecoactiv have solar panel recycling stations in all Australian states. Upwards of 95% of the PV panel can be recycled.

You can read more about Ecoactiv and PVcycle here:

https://www.ecoactiv.com.au/solar-panel-recycling/

http://www.pvcycle.org/

Yes. Our solar provider is fully accredited to design, supply and install off-grid solar power systems. If you are interested, then request a quote online or call 1300 466 274.

Have you been told by your electricity network provider that there’s a limit set to the amount of solar power you can export to the grid? This is called export limiting. Unfortunately it is starting to crop up more frequently, particularly in rural areas where the electricity grid is weaker.

This FAQ explains what export limiting is, and whether it is still worthwhile getting solar if you have an export limitation imposed on your property.

The amount of power that you can export to the grid is set by the local electricity network operator. In the Bendigo, Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander shires as well as much of the Hepburn Shire, that’s Powercor.

The ‘poles and lines’ infrastructure of the electricity grid were designed years ago when solar wasn’t so popular. Now that more than one in five Aussie homes have solar, this infrastructure is starting to show its age. On sunny days, when lots of power is being produced by solar systems, the grid can get maxed out resulting in power surges and issues with the quality of electricity supply.

Of course, the network operators have controls in place to maintain the supply and reliability of power to homes and businesses. One of these controls is to set limits to how much electricity can be sent back to the grid from solar power systems on homes and businesses. This is where export limiting can occur.

Typically in the Powercor area, the export limit is 5kW of exports for each single-phase household solar PV system. Sometimes Powercor can reduce that to a lower figure, or even set a zero-export limit.  (Note: it is possible to install a larger system, say 10kW on a single phase property and meet the Powercor rules by export limiting the system to 5kW, assuming that Powercor provides approval for the 5kW export for your property).

If you are export limited, is it still worth getting solar? The answer is quite often YES, as long as your solar power system is designed correctly. If your solar system is sized so that most of the power generated by your solar system is used in your home, then you will be saving money. That’s because you’ll be using free sun power to run your home, rather than buying it from the grid. This is called ‘self-consumption’ and it is widely recognised that this is where the greatest savings are to be had.

Other ways of using the power that you can’t export to the grid include:

1/ Solar battery storage
We find that some people, when faced with an export limit, consider installing a solar battery storage system. With this approach, any excess power generated by your solar that you can’t use immediately in your home, is stored in your battery so you can use it later. The MASH Solar Bulk-Buy supplies and installs the Tesla Powerwall 2 battery – find out more here.

2/ Hot water system
There’s nothing stopping you from diverting any excess power from your solar system into a hot water system that’s powered with an electric heat pump. With hot water accounting for around one-third of many household power bills, that can prove to be a smart financial move.

3/ Air conditioning split system
Another great option is to install an air conditioning split condition for heating and cooling your home using the electricity generated by your solar power system.