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Getting solar panels installed - One

I finally bit the bullet and commissioned a company to put in solar panels. A guy came around canvassing households and I got to talking with him. Later he got another guy to come and go through the numbers, explain the process. After that I signed a contract and the company Think Renewables called me to organise a site visit by the installer. 

They’ve consulted with Ausgrid about voltage and the installer comes next week to survey the house.

This is where I am in the process, and it’s not going to cost me anything at the outset. What happens is that the government pays a subsidy to the company on my behalf and then I pay a monthly fee to Think Renewables’ money handler named Plenti by putting money in my transaction account, which they debit.

The guy who came around to get the sale is named Charlie and he’s a Brit. He carefully described how my quarterly electricity bill will be reduced after installing the system. He also said that it would be double the cost if I got a battery, so I’m not getting a battery.

My quarterly electricity bill has gone up 100 percent in the last two years – even though the government said that electricity bills would go DOWN if they were elected – so it’s now worthwhile to get panels put in. I paid almost $700 last quarter and the cost is still going up.

Come by next time for updates, I’ll be chronicling the process here.

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