Long term solar planning with Chris from Yarra Ranges
As is the case with many households installing solar though the Solar Savers program, when speaking with Chris from the Yarra Ranges recently, he explained to us that his family decided to install solar “mainly to reduce the carbon footprint of the household and save a bit of money … we’ve been here 20 years, but it’s just been too expensive.” Chris wanted to make the best decision for his home, so along with receiving a quote through Solar Savers, he “also compared with a couple of other companies as well”, finally deciding to proceed with Solar Savers because “I wanted to be able to go back to the company in 10 years’ time, to talk about an upgrade, talk about improving the system … I just wanted to know that they’d still be around, a lot of companies come and go in this industry.”
Chris also discussed with us his long terms plans to help make the most out of his new rooftop solar, “what we want to do, is to move everything onto electric, and then try and run things during the day to maximise the value of the solar we are generating. We also bought a reverse cycle air-conditioner, had it installed at the same time.” These larger changes, such as converting to electric heating and cooling, can make a big difference to utility bills. Chris predicted that by shifting more of their energy usage to electric, his savings would increase even further. “If we can eliminate gas by changing across to electric appliances, then we are going to save another 3,4,5 hundred dollars per year, from not having the gas service at all. So that’s the plan.”
