Solar Hot Water is Great!

JACKIE MEYERS
A HIGHLANDS electrical contractor is turning to the sun to help people save money and become more energy efficient.
Russell Seymour of Seymour Solar, a family business based in Moss Vale, has spent the past five years specialising in the installation of solar power systems; both those that are connected to the grid, which allow for solar credits on electrical bills, and stand alone systems on properties without access to the grid.

Meanwhile, payment for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) received for the installation of solar systems and increased payment for grid credits is making the sustainable alternative for power more affordable.

Mr Seymour has been an electrician since 1981 and an electrical contractor since 1991.

He said he became interested in alternative solutions to power more than a decade ago, but had not pursued the career direction of solar power until 2005.

Mr Seymour said he made the move because he saw solar power as an important part of the future.

“I started installing stand alone systems for people that lived in areas that didn’t have access to the grid,” he said.

“These systems stored power in batteries which provided reliable 240 volt power to the property.”

Mr Seymour said he was amazed at the rapid growth in interest for solar power.

However, he said it was not surprising considering the more recent incentives on offer.

“It used to be the case that anyone who was connected to the grid would get about 20 cents for the electricity they generated from their solar power. That was the same price they had to pay for electricity they used,” he said.

“The payment from electricity generated from solar panels and sent to the grid increased to 60 cents earlier this year, but the cost for using electricity remains the same at about 20 cents.

“This means that people who generate solar power from their home and are connected to the grid now have the chance to make money from their system.”

The changes mean that people who invest in the installation of solar panels could pay the system off more quickly and then have the capacity to make an income for several years after.