Back in July, Springers Solar installed a 15.5kW solar system to the couple’s Redcliffe home along with a Tesla Powerwall Battery to help them maximise their solar energy consumption.

The couple had clear energy goals and expectations out of their solar system and as owners of an electric vehicle, Gavin and Judy were looking to install an optimised smart energy solution to cater for this.

“While we don’t have a particularly large house, our bill (before solar) was over $3000 a year when you include the pool filters and charging the car… Like many EV owners, we were on a quest to make recharging the car as green and economical as possible,” said Gavin.

With the couple’s strong emphasis on creating a green, cost-effective renewable energy solution installing a Tesla Powerwall was an easy choice, and energy independence was an added benefit.

“The battery is more about giving us that energy independence and while the payback isn’t as short term as for the solar, the battery warranty is greater than the payback period is likely to be so we are happy to make the investment.”

“It won't matter what time of the day we might go into a network blackout, as we will have sufficient battery capacity or solar generation to ride out the blackout,” said Gavin. 

Gavin and Judy were keen to change their relationship with the grid, making the conventional energy grid the backup and not their primary source of energy. While solar alone could have significantly increased their consumption of self-generated electricity, the couple were looking to push this consumption as far as possible through the addition of a battery.

“Our experience has been if we charge our car and run our high energy consuming appliances, such as the pool filter, at the right times (during the day) we seldom need to draw a kWh from the grid. We are basically 100% self-powered.”

“We’ve even run the aircon some nights and not needed to draw much, if any, power from the grid.”

The couple said they were initially hesitant about installing solar at their home due to concerns around shading at their property undermining the economics of the installation. Gavin reached out to Tesla to discuss solar energy and battery options available in Australia, and the team there recommended Springers Solar for their solar design and installation. 

Joe, a Director at Springers Solar, worked with Gavin and Judy to help them design and install the best solar and battery solution to align with their unique energy goals and requirements. Living mere meters from the waterfront, they shared concerns about the affect the harsh marine environment would have on their inverter/battery set up and were keen to plan a system that included sheltered components. 

"Springers put in the extra effort to do the technical assessment and plan our system how we wanted, with the inverters, gateway and battery in the basement away from the weather," said Gavin. 

Gavin and Judy's solar power system is estimated to produce roughly 25.86 MWh's of energy annually, which means this system is set to save approximately 20.69t of C02 emitted from their property a year. The solar alone comfortably covers their monthly energy bill and is estimated to save them roughly $4 500 a year; Gavin refers to the solar install as a "no-brainer" with the payback period only spanning 4 years.

"It was comforting to have the payback analysis, a detailed quote and the technical assessment all available to us,"

"The experience between the consultation to the installation day ran like clockwork and as publicised."

If you are interested in learning more about how much solar can help you save off your power bills, or you are wanting to lessen your household's environmental footprint, contact us today on (07) 3063 4039, or fill out your details below.