So it looks like those so-called environmental Solar Panels mean higher voltage, raising bills, destroying appliances, etc.

Australia runs on 230V +10%/−6%. So, the 254V someone is complaining about is within range.

Please note that electricity bills are in kilowatt hours. So, "Based on the voltage that I'm seeing here at 254 volts, I'm roughly paying about $1,200 more for my electricity each year than I need to." makes no sense at all.

230V wrote:

Australia runs on 230V +10%/−6%. So, the 254V someone is complaining about is within range.

Math fail.

230V +10% = 253V

253 < 254, thus NOT "within range"

Yep, ABC buried the real story behind their farce of higher bills and such.

At the heart of the debate is this - Australia has almost two million solar panels delivering extra voltage to the grid. The poles and wires companies say therefore solar is responsible for boosting voltage on a broad scale, but the underlying problem is the networks are already delivering voltage that is at the top end of the range, regardless of solar and that is an expensive problem to fix.

a solar panel on every roof wrote:

Yep, ABC buried the real story behind their farce of higher bills and such.

At the heart of the debate is this - Australia has almost two million solar panels delivering extra voltage to the grid. The poles and wires companies say therefore solar is responsible for boosting voltage on a broad scale, but the underlying problem is the networks are already delivering voltage that is at the top end of the range, regardless of solar and that is an expensive problem to fix.

LIZ HOBDAY: There's one area where higher voltages are causing major headaches, and that's solar power.

PAUL RYAN: It's turned out to be a bit of an white elephant in a sense. It cost me an arm and a leg to set up this system and it's not performing.

LIZ HOBDAY: Pensioner Paul Ryan installed solar panels more than a year ago but for much of the time the voltage on the grid near Paul Ryan's house runs too high, and that forces his solar system to shut down to protect itself.

That's a common problem with home solar.

PAUL RYAN: So the red light indicates that it is cutting in and out and we're in full continuous sunlight.

LIZ HOBDAY: So for those periods where the graph has just dropped out, does that mean your solar is not producing anything for that period of time?

PAUL RYAN: That's right. It's obviously going to be collecting the energy from the sun, but it must just be dumping it.

LIZ HOBDAY: His energy network says too many rooftop solar systems in the area are to blame.

ANDREW DILLON: Voltage issues are a reality of having a growing amount of solar, two million installations across the country injecting back into the middle of the grid, in particular on sunny days.

Umm. Only knuckle daggers believe this. Solar is Progressive. Its Austin Texas shot! No way it could be anything but awesome bc, you know, liberal white people want it.

Haranbe wrote:

Umm. Only knuckle daggers believe this. Solar is Progressive. Its Austin Texas shot! No way it could be anything but awesome bc, you know, liberal white people want it.

Solar is a CHAUVINISTIC ideal created by the "idea" that the sun is "masculine", while the moon (luna) is feminine. Plus it gives WHITE iight for their supremacist views. Not only that, but it is CIS based, only allowing trans considerations during rare eclipses. How can anyone woke support this?

Don't go into STEM, pls wrote:

230V wrote:

Australia runs on 230V +10%/−6%. So, the 254V someone is complaining about is within range.

Math fail.

230V +10% = 253V

253 < 254, thus NOT "within range"

Idiot. Volts are meaningless. Watts are what equipment uses. Amps will kill you. A stun gun can be 50,000 volts and it will not kill you if you are stun-gunned.

Watts are what equipment uses.

This thread is pathetic. In every sense. This is letsrun, not Australia.

120V Vs 240V Hot Tub

Buying a 120v vs. 240v hot tub can be a difficult decision as anyone buying a hot tub for the first time is bound to get confused between the two. Even for people who have bought a hot tub in the past, choosing between a 120v vs. 240v hot tub can be tough.

At first glance, I was thinking this was some sort of electrician tradesman Onion article....

It is a real issue as it is difficult for electrical forecasters to incorporate every PV system that comes on to the grid. All systems, not just Australia deliver+- 10%. When they deliver +10% your power consumption actually goes up 21% unless your power supply has an active front end. Unfortunately the sun doesn’t always shine reliably enough for forecasters so a lot of grid tied solar ends up raising the voltage of the grid.

Amps Kill wrote:

Idiot. Volts are meaningless. Watts are what equipment uses. Amps will kill you. A stun gun can be 50,000 volts and it will not kill you if you are stun-gunned.

When your supply voltage is 10% higher than design, your wattage draw of your inductive and resistive loads (fans, ac units, certain types of lighting, etc.) increases by 21% (V^2)/Z. This produces extra heat and can shorten the life of your equipment.

You’re all wasting your time. What’s the alternative?

You want coal to supply your electricity? I’ll take my appliances having a shorter lifespan (15 years instead of 16) than pollute the air by burning coal.

You guys need to learn arguing without giving possible solutions is a waste of time and makes you look lazy and unintelligent.

Haranbe wrote:

liberal white people want it.

I have no dog in this fight, but how is the desire for cheaper energy without a fraction of the enironmental concerns only a desire of liberal white people? I am not sure how/why political ideology comes into this. I am very conservative on some issues but does wanting clean drinking water without harm to the environment also make me a "liberal white person," and a target of some sort of vented aggression simply for wanting it? Do people that are not liberal/white actually want potentially better alternatives for power to fail? I struggle to follow the logic.

Opinionated guy wrote:

Haranbe wrote:

liberal white people want it.

...I struggle to follow the logic.

This is me every time I visit this website.

"Potentially better"

joedirt wrote:

It is a real issue as it is difficult for electrical forecasters to incorporate every PV system that comes on to the grid. All systems, not just Australia deliver+- 10%. When they deliver +10% your power consumption actually goes up 21% unless your power supply has an active front end. Unfortunately the sun doesn’t always shine reliably enough for forecasters so a lot of grid tied solar ends up raising the voltage of the grid.

This is actually underestimating it. From the article:

The results of a recent trial, by the Victorian network United Energy, showed that when voltage was reduced at 20 substations in and around Melbourne, every 1 per cent reduction in voltage saw, on average, an estimated 0.69 per cent reduction in demand for electricity.

So 10% above the norm (253V) is firstly 6.9% extra demand, and secondly 21% more power consumption nominally, thus compounding to 29.3% more waste... but it's "green" energy, so that's good?!

Those volts and watts were just going to fall unused on the ground anyway, so who cares if we capture them and waste them?!