A Bunya Tree

Bunya Solar

Stand alone solar power systems / Remote area power systems.

6kW-Array
Not all of Australia is connected to the national electricity grid. In some cases a property can be only a short distance from the local town and still have no mains power connection. Being a kilometre away from the closest connection point can cost you tens of thousands of dollars to get power to a property. If you live on a rural block there is also the destruction of bush, trees and land to consider. All of these things make a stand alone solar power system an attractive alternative to a mains connection.

What you should expect to pay.
A small system to provide 1-2kWrs per day.

Small holiday shack or shed. approximately $9600 after STC’s discount.
This system will run a small energy efficient fridge, lights, TV and stereo, phone chargers, medium powered domestic power tools etc.
System includes:

A medium system to provide 3-5kWrs per day.

Small home or holiday shack. approximately $20000 after STC’s discount.
This system will run an energy efficient fridge, small house water pump, lights, small microwave oven, TV and stereo, phone chargers. domestic power tools etc.
System includes:

A medium to large system to provide 5-9kWrs per day.

Medium home. approx $26000 after STC’s discount.
This system will run an energy efficient fridge, house water pump, lights, microwave oven, toaster, kettle, washing machine, dish washer, occasional use of small air con, TV and stereo, phone chargers. domestic power tools etc.
System includes:

Large system to provide 10-15kWrs per day.

Family home. approx $32800 after STC’s discount.
This system will run an energy efficient fridge, energy efficient freezer, house water pump, lights, microwave oven, electric oven with gas cooktop, toaster, kettle, energy efficient air con, washing machine, dish washer, TV and stereo, phone chargers. domestic power tools etc.
System includes:

We only use premium brand equipment with Australian warranties. We offer two year warranties on the installation of the system.

Use our contact page to ask for a more specific quote to suit your needs. It would be handy if you could have an idea of how much power you’re likely to use per day. There’s an example load sheet on the links page that you can download. Use the blank section on the second page to add any other electrical appliances that are not already listed. Send the load sheet back to us and we’ll be able to generate a system design and quote to suit.

Other costs to keep in mind.
You will need a generator to provide power and battery charging in the event of prolonged overcast weather. The system will shut down to protect the batteries if the battery charge gets too low. The above mentioned inverter / chargers have generator inputs to allow for efficient battery charging. The generator can be configured to start and stop automatically if it is an auto start unit. We usually supply a red light in a prominent place to let the client know when to start and stop the generator if they have a manual start unit.
The batteries and electronic gear will need to be housed in a suitable spot. A sight visit by us will usually sort this out.

What are the on-going costs associated with a stand alone power system?
The battery system will need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years. This is a large cost, anywhere from $4000 to $16000.
Petrol or Diesel for the generator. Most stand alone power systems will need to run a fossil fuelled generator a few times a year.

How would life change if you were to live on a stand alone power system?
As far as day to day life is concerned there wouldn’t be much difference.
All house hold appliances would need to be as energy efficient as reasonably possible. It’s usually cheaper to buy a new energy efficient appliance than it is to buy solar panels to run an older less efficient one.
You would become the manager of the power station. Any decent system installed these days will be able to tell you how much power you have at your command. If you were running low and you knew that the next day was going to be cloudy you’d turn the lights out if you weren’t using them. If there was heaps of power and tomorrow was going to be another sunny day... don’t worry about the lights.
You’d finally have an excuse to ask those grown up children to move out as no known power system on the planet can cope with their profligate usage.
Your precious land wont have bulldozer tracks through it to get the power in.
Heating would ideally be gas or wood powered. A efficient reverse cycle air conditioner could be used when power is plentiful.
Stove cooking would need to be powered by gas or wood. Microwave ovens will run with solar.
Hot water would ideally to be solar with a gas or wood back up.

What type of maintenance is required on a stand alone power system?
Solar panels will need a clean once a year to keep their efficacy up. Batteries will need a brief inspection twice a year to make sure all is well with their connections.
All the other gear is fairly maintenance free. An annual general inspection is all that is required.
Renewable Energy Systems