THE power of the sun is virtually infinite.
With new grants becoming available from state government taking advantage of solar energy is becoming easier.
Solar power has many benefits, both financially and environmentally, but according to two local sparkies, there is a learning curve when it comes to harnessing the power of the sun.
Tori Costa and Matt Iannucci from Gary Schmidt Electrical said there has already been a great take-up for solar in businesses around town.
However Mr Costa said locals wrongly believe the rewards are not as good as they used to be for residential properties.
“If you size your system right, any power you use throughout the day is for free … you can pretty much drop your power bill completely,” Mr Iannucci said.
“If at night you just have lights, television, fridge, that sort of thing, and then during the day you have the dishwasher, washing machine — all the big stuff, it makes it worth it.”
Solar energy is absorbed from panels around the home, and harnessed by an inverter on the property — unused power is returned to the grid.
Power that is returned to the grid gives a return of 6 cents per kilowat, which is a great deal less than the 66c originally offered when solar first became popular.
Despite this, the pair believe that if people are mindful of when they are using power, the savings can be substantial.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (December 16).
