This magnificent picture of Annandale must be one the best solar photos we’ve ever posted!
Showing Johnston St and the Hunter Baillie church in the middle of the picture, it was taken to feature Jemima Garrett and Rob Garnsey’s new solar PV system. You can see their 20-panel system at the bottom of the picture in the middle.
Thanks to Inner West Community Energy’s preferred solar installer Paul Hutt of Brightside Solar and Electrical for taking the photo. Fortunately, he managed to avoid planes on the third runway flight path!
This system was the result of a desire by Jemima and Rob for at least 10 years to get solar on the roof. It wasn’t until mid-February that it finally happened.
“The problem was that we needed to make some renovations before we could go solar,” Rob says. The whole back section of their house, where the solar would go, had to be rebuilt first.
So when the work finished late last year they approached Inner West Community Energy for advice on an optimal system for their four-person household.
Rob, a retired IT manager, had done a lot of research and was convinced he wanted a system with microinverters to maximise generation, despite their higher initial cost. As well, they wanted a big system.
“We had 100% Greenpower,” Jemima says, “but I was desperate not to be aiding and abetting coal companies in any way so I was very happy that we are now able to be self-sufficient and someone else can use our Greenpower, and also that we will be putting electricity back into the grid, so we’re helping other people to not take their power from coal.”
The final design was for a 6.6 kilowatt system comprising 20 QCells Q.Peak Duo panels and 20 Enphase IQ7 Plus microinverters. It’ll generate more than enough for their household of Jemima and Rob plus daughter Kate, 28, and son Hugh, 26.
Jemima, for many years the ABC’s Pacific correspondent, says it’s great to have solar on the roof at last. “It’s really comforting to know the panels are up there – and this may be a bit idiosyncratic – but another advantage is the panels cover a lot of our roof at the back so they’re probably adding to the insulation quality because they’re shading the roof in all its hottest parts.”
If you’re thinking about going solar, Jemima has some simple advice. “I’d say go for it. It’ll make you feel much better about your power use. It’ll save you some money. And so far it’s completely hassle-free.”
If you’re considering installing solar in the Inner West, our Solar Information webinar will be on Tuesday May 5 at 8pm via Zoom. Bookings via Eventbrite. :
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/inner-west-community-energy-17742086285