Solar Designs

Links

Links about PV

Wikipedia

A great introduction to PV is found here.

Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE)

Very informative brochures specifically for Australian conditions:
Electricity from the sun: Solar PV systems explained
Solar PV systems: Users maintenance guide

Using Renewable Energy in your Home

SEDO (Sustainable Energy Development Office) has lots of good information on their website, including this short and informative brochure.

Information on the Solar Homes and Communities Plan (SHCP)

Guidelines for residential applications
Residential Application for Pre-approval Form

Information from Synergy

Website for Synergy's Residential Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme
Information Pack (warning, very detailed!)
Application Form

Information about Renewable Energy Certificates

ORER website (Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator)

Energy Payback Time

The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) has published some very interesting documents showing the energy payback time of PV in different locations around the world.

Most relevant for Perth: The Australia page from the summary brochure of the IEA study (extracted with permission). See the full brochure (warning 5MB download) to confirm for yourself that Perth has a record low energy payback time of 1.59 years (page 6) for a roof mounted PV system when compared to all other places that were part of the study.

The actual report entitled "Compared assessment of selected environmental indicators of photovoltaic electricity in OECD cities" is a very detailed document explaining all the methods used. It is the source of the graphics on our 'details' page.

Many more interesting reports from the IEA about PV can be found by browsing their website here.

CO2 Intensity or Energy Sources

The AGO publishes (and regularly updates) the so called 'Factors and Methods Workbook'. Here you find the 2008 edition. Page 16 of this very detailed document shows a table comparing electricity in different states.

Energy Efficiency

SmartWays Energy calculator (by Synergy). Flash required. Start here.
A low cost power meter.

Government Initiatives

Western Australia's web portal for sustainable living.
South Australia's feed in tariff.

Leading manufacturers of components

SunPower - our preferred solar panels

An overview on their products.
Their 210W module (also in white).
Their regular 215W module.
Their premium 225W module.
Their 10year/25year warranty.

SMA - our preferred inverters

An Overview of their inverters.
The Sunny Boy 1100 data sheet
Details of their 5 year warranty.

Conergy - our preferred roof mount solution

Overview on mounting systems.
SunTop III for roofs with a slope from 10 degrees upwards
Solar Famulus for flat roofs

Schletter

Showcasing their products.
The SecuFix anti theft system.
Their outstanding 10 year warranty (German version only at the moment).
Calculating the energy payback time for their mounting rack. Note that in Perth condition it takes just one summer month.

What the Future holds

Future of Photovoltaics

Nanosolar promises to revolutionize the way solar cells are made. They simply print them! They do that a cost far below what was thought possible and expect a factory door price of below $1 per Watt (that is only between 30% and 50% of the cost currently achievable with other technologies). They have started mass production and the first large scale installation of their product is currently under way in Germany.