Solar Power Case Study – Webber Home

More than 6 years after installation in the Melbourne suburb of Melton, Gavin Webber’s Energy Matters solar power system is continuing to generate high levels of solar electricity  – as we would expect!

“Our 2.8 kW system has generated a total of 24.668 megawatt-hours since installation without flaw,” says Gavin.

Even based on a conservative value of 25c per kilowatt hour; in today’s money (March 2014), that’s over $6,000 worth of electricity.

One of Energy Matters’ earlier grid connect clients, Gavin takes green living seriously – in fact, he’s author of the very popular blog, “The Greening Of Gavin“; a site that documents his family’s journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle. The tips Gavin provides have been an inspiration for others to lead a more sustainable life in the suburbs.

A major motivation for Gavin in going solar was to slash his family’s energy consumption related carbon footprint. While previously he had taken advantage of Green Power offerings from his electricity retailer, he yearned to do more and set a goal of sourcing at least 65% of his electricity from his rooftop. This was back in the days when solar power was still quite expensive; particularly in the case of very large systems as Gavin’s was considered at the time.

After extensive research, he contacted Energy Matters and set about designing a system to meet his goals with the Energy Matters solar team. Happy with the result and quote, he selected Energy Matters as his solar provider.

The big day arrived – installation.

” At about 3pm, it was installed in its entirety, and I had the gracious honour of throwing the main breaker,” says Gavin.

“It was a wonderful feeling to watch the inverter start up and then synchronise with the power grid.”

The system performed as expected and in the following months, Gavin noticed other positive effects from the shift to solar in Melbourne.

“By generating our own energy, we began to respect all of our power usage much more than our simple effort of energy efficiency. Lights and appliances began to turn off without a word from me, and the kids all became power savers instead of power wasters.”

Through this effect, Gavin’s system is now providing an even higher percentage of his family’s power needs.