#101 Making Our Home Sustainable
In 2007, my wife, Leeanne, and I undertook a study of the costs and benefits involved in 'greening' our home. This included looking at installing photo voltaic (PV) panels, solar hot water, grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting systems. This was a time before government grants and subsidies were available. Suffice it to say, the costs were prohibitive. We decided to wait until the federal election of that year as we expected a change of government and a new approach to Australia's response to global warming and climate change. One decision we did make was to switch to 100% Green Energy with Origin. It costs us 5.5c extra for each kilowatt-hour of electricity we use. However, we have the peace of mind knowing that it'll be sourced from green and renewable energy suppliers.
We have recently decided to install a 2 kW PV system and a solar hot water system. We are also looking at installing a rainwater-harvesting tank but the Council has managed to make that more difficult than it should be. I'll recount the story of our experiment in the form of comments as time permits. Thanx for having a look. :-)
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Am looking forward to hearing more. We started off with good intentions in 2000 when we moved from a terrace to a house with vegetable garden. Because of council regulations we could not install a tank bigger than 2000 lts without a DA, so we now have a 'boutique tank' that tops up the frog and native fish pond and little else! We had installed solar hot water in the 80s on the terrace roof so it was no brainer to do that one - but we didn't get any RECs. Spent a lot of time investigating grey water recycling but gave that idea away because of the expense. The organic herbs and vegetables are too important to compromise with a dodgy recycling system. Photovoltaics - still waiting for cheaper polymer technology. Did approach someone who was supposed to be a Sustainably-minded architect to provide advice but he was more interested in changing the look of the house at the front which meant getting rid of the trampoline that our 3 boys were using on a daily basis. Part of the problem in the sustainability business is there are too many people who don't have a handle on everyday living or they are busy running fairs, distributing fridge magnets and collecting sustainability awards rather than facilitating changes many of us want to make. In local council they should take their planning colleagues to task for the stupid regulations which put aesthetics above sustainable function, eg. solar panels, tanks, clothes lines are not meant to be seen from the street! A tank in the front yard, clothes flapping in the sun etc. should be badges of honour! Most householders have simple needs and will be prepared to make changes particularly when there are long-term savings. Governments at all levels just need to make it simple - cut the red tape, direct the money where it is most useful, and provide certainty to businesses and households alike. I think the Federal Government should be providing a long-term strategy on rebates. The more households that recycle grey water and produce their energy the more ambassadors to carry the messages around the neighbourhoods. The way it works now the people who have been pioneers in sustainable living have incurred exhorbitant costs and there has been no thanks for the work they have done in raising awareness and supporting innovative technologies. At the very least the government could give them some retrospective rebates!
Well done Gregory & Lynda, after your detailed & interesting comments, I just had to say that I admire your stickability & I will be sticking in there too & I am very excited about getting our PV panels & solar hot water! Maybe we should have a "solar" get together?
Leeanne.
Update #1: HOW WE GOT RESTARTED ...
You may be wondering what prompted us to reconsider retrofitting our house for sustainability. We received an email from Lynda informing us that the Randwick Council Sustainable Home makeover Rebates deadline was being extended from April 30 to June 30, 2009. These were quite substantial and, combined with the new Federal and State Government rebates, have made the cost far more affordable, albeit still largely the privilege of the more financially secure and environmentally philanthropic. The rebates applied to solar hot water, rainwater tanks, greywater systems, downlights and insulation.
At about the same time we received info of a great offer from NuEnergy, a Tasmanian solar panel installation company, of a 'free' 1 kW PV system. (It actually isn't 'free' as purchasers will have to pay about $750.) And so, we embarked on the quest of evaluating and costing the whole project.
Update #2: The Chronology Part 1.
I must start this story with a word of thanx to Lynda, local stalwart and community advocate, and her husband, Gary, with whom Leeanne and I lunched after Lynda's "Explorers of the Southern Skies in Botany Bay" tour which she led at La Perouse on Sunday April 12. Whilst munching on lunch I observed a magazine, ReNew, a publication by the Alternative Technology Association, a not-for-profit organisation, promoting sustainable technology and practice in Australia. Our discussion shifted to solar hot water which Lynda had installed in 2000 at considerable cost as there we no rebates then! I said that since we were buying 100% Green Energy from Origin, solar hot water was unnecessary and far too expensive. Lynda argued that at least she had control over that area of her energy consumption. This was the beginning of my conversion to it AND PVs. I was offered a loan of the two latest ReNews which I accepted.
When, on April 16, Lynda emailed me the announcement that Randwick City Council was extending the Sustainable Home Makeover Rebate Scheme to June 30 my mind started to tick over ...... $500 for solar hot water, $300 for thermal insulation, $1800 for greywater, up to $900 for rainwater tank, up to $800 for installation of energy saving downlights, how could I refuse? So, I decided to get an updated quote on rainwater harvesting and greywater treatment systems from Water Care, previously New Water. (I must say, it's very hard to get any quotes in this area for a rainwater harvesting system. There seems to be a deficit of 'green' plumbers. I eventually found some on the GreenPlumbers website). My great plans to use recycled water in the shower, hot water tank etc were dashed when I discovered that Sydney Water regulations allowed rainwater and treated greywater to be used ONLY for flushing toilets and in washing machines. Certainly NOT for drinking!
Update #3: The Chronology Part 2.
On the 18th, Lynda emailed me the NuEnergy 1 kW PV offer and I nearly fell over! These were offers to good to ignore. I then remembered we had an Energy Audit done well over a year ago but had not as yet received a report. On the 21st I got onto Council and discovered that the company doing them had changed and my report was lost in the confusion. So I rang StepLight and spoke with Ryan who interviewed me on the spot and gave me a lot of good sustainable ideas including the fact that 100% Green Energy, although good, is still largely offsetting greenhouse gases emitted by coal fired power stations because they can't source enuff clean energy to meet the current demand. In addition he said that, although off peak hot water systems are cheaper to run they are still using coal fired energy. It finally dawned on me that we really needed to get rid of our off peak hot water storage tank and get a solar system. 30% of our energy was used to heat our water. Soon, that would be reduced to almost nil. (Great news, when we finally received the Energy Audit report on May 7, we were rated 3.5 stars for water and 5 stars for energy!! The average Sydney household is 2.5 in both).
I phoned NuEnergy on April 22 and signed up for the 1 kW PV system, paid the $2,500 deposit and awaited the arrival of the documents to sign to get the ball rolling. The deal is that NuEnergy will accept the $8k Federal grant as full payment for the panels, take possession of the RECs generated to pay for installation. We only pay for the frames and the smart meter, about $700 all up.
Update #4: The Chronology Part 3
Well, we decided to become members of the ATA on April 24, as I became enthused with the possibility of finally being get our house as sustainable as it can be! ATA members are entitled to get help from their support people and post questions on their forum. Through them I researched PV panels and started research on solar hot water systems.
I discovered that there were basically two types of solar hot water panels. Flat and evacuated tubes. It was clear that evacuated tubes were much more efficient albeit more expensive. So I got quotes from Apricus, Endless Solar and the Energy Superstore. After lots of questions and comparisons we finally decided, on May 15, to go with Apricus who will be installing a 30 tube, 250 litre stainless steel tank with off peak electricity back up which will cost us $1,490 after all the relevant rebates.
On May 18 I enquired with NuEnergy about increasing our PV system to 2 kW. This would cost an additional $7,080. A 1.5 kW system would cost an extra $3,285. I set up a spreadsheet which costed out the three different systems over 30 years and I discovered that all three cost about the same, $21k, after 22 years if we get a feed in tariff of 20c per kWh. This is currently what Origin are offering If, however, we were to see a feed in rate of 50c per kWh, we'd be making a profit from the 2 kW system after 18 years! Obviously, the savings would be more if the cost of grid electricity increased as was indeed announced by the NSW government today, a 20% increase at that!
Update #5: The Chronology Part 4
So what's happening with the rainwater harvesting system I hear you ask? Well, nothing just now. The council requires a DA approval because we have to locate our tank in the front yard. We won't have enuff time to get it approved and have the tank installed before the Council rebate ceases on June 30.
This is a great pity as we really need the $900 that would provide to make it affordable. State and Federal grants for a water tank which services cisterns and washing machines get rebates totalling $2k. With a bill of around $6k for a 5,000 litre tank and all the plumbing required to get it connected up, that extra $900 amounts to 15% of the cost. I have emailed the council to ask for them to consider extending their rebates indefinitely so that more people can get their homes made sustainable as well as waiving the DA for front yard installations.
Our Council is working hard to promote itself as a green one. Let's ensure that their actions will continue to be strong by lobbying them to continue with their Sustainable Home Makeover Rebates indefinitely.
Future updates will concentrate on developments as they happen and hopefully, the installation process of the solar hot water system in a few weeks.
Well done Gregory, keep up the good work! :-)
Update #6: PV Blues
We haven't received confirmation from the Federal Government as yet regarding our application for pre-approval for our PV system. I contacted NuEnergy on May 18 and Jenny said that, since we were one of the first to accept and return the signed documents in late April, we should be one of the first to get the nod. She said there may be an eight weeks wait. Mmm, our government seems understaffed in this area! I wait impatiently. No word from Apricus as yet either.
Update #7: Solar Hot Water Update
At last some positive news! I phoned from HotH2O on Thursday, June 4, and Lee replied to my message saying that the tank has arrived. However we are still waiting for the tubes and manifold. Shane, who’s away on a short holiday, also replied saying that he'll speak to me on Tuesday about the latest developments.
I know it’s not much but it’s better than nothing! ☺
Update #8: Request For Sustainable Home Makeover Rebates Extension Development …
At our Local Precinct meeting on Monday, June 1, I put to the group that we ask Council to extend Sustainable Home Makeover Rebates indefinitely. We agreed to move for a initial six month extension. Councillor Robert Belleli offered to act as intermediatory and I have emailed our request to him and he has forwarded it onto the relevant Council folks.
I eagerly await their reply.
Update #8: Solar Hot Water System To Be Installed On June 23!!
Hip, hip hooray!!! Shane form Hot H2O will be installing our 30 tube Apricus solar hot water system on Tuesday, June 23!! (if the rains holds off that is). I’ll post some photos when I can. ☺
Update #10: PV System Pre-Approved!!
Hip, hip, hooray (again)!!! On Tuesday I got a letter from the Federal Government pre-approving our PV system. It’s now over to NuEnergy to get their act together and pop over of a site inspection so we can install the maximum sized array, hopefully 2kW!!! ☺
keep the updates coming Gregory, you're providing very thorough and valuable info that i'm sure many of us will find useful!
"In local council they should take their planning colleagues to task for the stupid regulations which put aesthetics above sustainable function, eg. solar panels, tanks, clothes lines are not meant to be seen from the street!"
I think the solution to this problem is twofold: these products should be designed with more aesthetic sensitivity and we should reconsider the way we've come to think that our neighbourhoods should look and feel. Perhaps the former will encourage the latter.
Update #11: Apricus Solar Hot Water System Installed!!
Great news! Our Apricus Solar Hot Water System has been installed and is working well even though the sun isn't coming to the party just yet. HotH2O did a great job. I recommend them to anyone.
I love the electronic monitor that reveals the tank and tube temperatures. All I have to do now is get the rebate forms in to Council, which I’m going to do on Monday :)
Update #12: Council Sustainable Home Makeover Rebate Reply
I received a reply from Randwick City Council’s Sustainability Manager, Peter Maganov. He confirmed that the rebates WILL end on June 30, Council is considering their next action in respect of supporting it’s ratepayers who wish to undertake a sustainability ‘makeovers’. It is clear that there will be huge rebate cutbacks and withdrawals.
My concern is that, given that there has been a huge increase in enquiries, now is NOT to time to downscale the financial support being offered to rate payers as seems to be the crux of what Peter was saying.
My recommendations are Randwick City Council should:
1) Continue the Sustainable Home Makeover Rebate for the next term of the environmental levy;
2) Improve the Sustainable Home Makeover Rebate Scheme by waiving DA fees for installing rainwater tanks in front yards and increasing rebates for low wattage lighting;
3) Follow up the June 2009 Randwick Community News with a letter, delivered to every residence and business, explaining the importance of Sustainable Home Makeovers and detailing all of the rebates on offer. This way EVERY ratepayer gets a copy and no one will be left out;
4) Assist ratepayers by supplying lists of approved certified green plumbers, electricians, suppliers for bulk community purchases etc who will be able do the work for a specified price thus avoiding overcharging as may occur while rebates are available;
5) Continue programs that recognise the power of the example local 'Sustainable Home Ambassadors' provide in getting the community moving more quickly for change;
6) Initiate and support 'Sustainable House Open Days' where homes already benefiting from Sustainable Home Makeovers may be opened for inspection. Discussion with the owners and a presentation by Council officials would be part of the event.
Even with the rebates, rainwater tanks, greywater recycling, solar panels and so on require personal expenditure. The Environmental Levy needs to directly fund this discretional expenditure by ratepayers. Climate change will only be affected by real action by individual community members who are supported financially to do so by progressive and insightful governments. Withdrawing financial support now is a BIG mistake for the environment and the environmental goals of the Council. Now is the time to stand up and continue to boldly join with willing ratepayers to make real difference!
Update #13: Meeting With Sustainability Manager, Peter Maganov.
On Monday, June 29, I met with the Randwick City Council’s Sustainability Manager, Peter Maganov for about 45 minutes to discuss the points in my email to him, a copy of which are in Update #12.
I was impressed with Peter who was very receptive and cleared up several of my concerns. It’s a tough job balancing sustainability priorities with the available funds.
Nonetheless, I am intending to present my concerns regarding the scrapping/altering of the previous Sustainability Home Makeover Rebates scheme to the Council’s Environmental committee on Tuesday, July 14. They will have received Peter’s report on the scheme which is being published on the Council’s website on Wednesday, July 8. So have a look at it and respond if you wish!
I will have three minutes to address the committee. The main recommendations I’ll be placing before Randwick City Council will depend on Peter’s report but will be along the lines of my previously published letter. ☺
Update #14: The Economic and Environmental Results Of Installing a SHWS and a 2 kW PVS
I stayed up far too late last night going through my electricity bills for the past three years in order to determine how much we’ve managed to reduce our consumption of electricity with the simple economy measures we have instituted. These include installing low energy light globes, turning off all unused lights, heating rooms that we actually occupy, keeping doors closed in those rooms etc.
I’m very pleased to announce that, compared with the year ending March 2007 we’ve reduced our general electricity consumption by 18%, our off peak by 29% and, overall, we’ve managed to reduce our electricity consumption by 22% from 8,860 kWh PA to 6,938 kWh PA in the year ending March 2009!
Furthermore, the New South Wales Government announced details of the state's feed in tariff (FIT) scheme on June 23, 2009, as follows:
• 20 year program
• Pays 60 c/KWh on a net basis
• System eligibility up to 10 kW in size
• Commences 1 January 2010
• Reviewed in 2012
With all of this info I went back to my spreadsheet and discovered that when our 2 kW PV system is installed, combined with the savings from the SHW system, we will be providing 72% of our current general electricity needs and 100% of our off peak use (I don’t plan to use the booster). That’s 80% off our current overall electricity use!
As well as that, the FIT will enable us to cover 97% of our all of our electricity costs. Our annual bill will be $31.31 and that is taking into account the 20% increased rate that has been imposed by our State Government from July 1!!
The simple equation for us is that for the outlay of $10k in the purchase of a SHWS and a 2 kW PV system, we can virtually eliminate our electricity bill forever. We’ll be saving about $1,300 PA. This means that we’ll have paid off the $10k initial outlay in seven years and eight months. From then on we’re actually earning an income from our sustainable investment and eliminating our greenhouse gas emissions from household energy use!! (This is because we buy 100% wind generated electricity from Origin, at a 5.5c per kWh premium, so we’ve got all bases covered). Wow, it makes one feel good!! ☺
Good on you. We are doing the same at the moment. Just installed a very efficient 327 litre siddons stainless steel split heat pump hot water system to replace the off peak electric ( $900 installed after rebates ), and am currently awaiting Govt. approval for the $8000 subsidy, so we can likewise install a 2kw system ( I think I just have enough north facing roof ). Are you sure you will eliminate your offpeak useage 100% ( do you have a fridge ? ). Anyway, I'm looking forward to cheaper electric bills in the future also.
Thanx, Craig, for your comments and good on you as well for your commitment to sustainable home making!
Regarding your two questions, we will eliminate our off peak usage if we don't switch on the hot water booster. So far we've managed with the sun alone but it's only been a week since it was installed. It's been heating it to around 45 degrees C. We do have a fridge. It uses 565 kW PA, about 12% of our general electricity usage. I image that won't change.
For your information, I believe that the FIT will be calculated using a 30 minute interval. I have yet to confirm this. The February NSW Solar PV Feed-in Tariff Taskforce Report indicated that would be the fairest method rather than on a daily basis. Here is some a quotes from that report:
"A net tariff is applied only to the electricity that is surplus to a household’s internal consumption, thus exported to the national electricity grid. Solar PV systems generate electricity during sunlight hours, and at any instance in time if the system is generating more than the household is consuming, a surplus will be exported to the grid. As the use of interval meters typically measure consumption over 30 minute intervals, this is an appropriate length for a net tariff scheme. Under a dual channel metering
scenario both the generation and the consumption are measured. The surplus electricity exported to the grid would be calculated as the difference between total consumption and total generation over each 30 minute time interval. The FIT would then pay the appropriate Tariff Rate for any electricity that is surplus to the needs of the household; that is when generation is greater than consumption."
It's pretty hard for us to figure out what our exported electricity rate will be. I calculated 15% but that was because I used a daily interval that heavily reduces the figure. However, by referring to the Bureau of Meteorology NSW Climate Statistics site: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/ca_nsw_names.shtml, I did find that our 2 kW system will generate about 72% of our current general usage.
The SA Government has done some research on this and found that an average rate of exported electricity from the solar panels installed there is 50%. If we use this figure we will see that our financial advantage will be far greater.
I’ve developed a spreadsheet to calculate the affect the FIT generated by the amount of exported electricity has on our electricity bill. It’s not hard to do. It’s then a simple matter of looking at your most recent twelve months of bills and working out how much the FIT will reduce your future bills. From that info, you can work out when you’ll have paid off the systems you’ve purchased. Don’t forget to include the amounts you are NOT paying through the ‘free’ cost of your generated electricity that gets ‘overwhelmed’ by your electricity use in the ‘lean’ winter months.
Using the 50% FIT amount I calculated that we'll be earning $414 over and above our bill. When combined with the saving from our SHWS we'll be $686 in front!!! This means we get free electricity PLUS save an extra $686, $414 of which is cash in hand from the FIT!! If we had done nothing at all, we’d be paying $1,332 PA for our electricity.
Another way of looking at it is that our savings of $1,746 PA pays off our $10,000 up front cost for our SHW and PV systems in less than six years!!
Update #15: NuEnergy In Contact!
Great news! Rod, from NuEnergy in Tassie, contacted me today to ask a few preliminary questions regarding the site for our PV system. It looks like we’ll get a visit soon from the installers to an inspection. Rod told me that there are several households in the Eastern Suburbs who took advantage of NuEnergy’s special deal!
I await the phone call with bated breath ……..
Update #16: Federal Government Green Loans Up and Running
More great news! I had a call from the Green Loans office today to arrange an assessment for our eligibility for a Federal Government Green Loan. This is a great initiative. They are offer an interest free loan over four years up to $10,000 so that folks can buy green energy products. If we qualify, we’ll certainly take advantage of that!
Update #17: NuEnergy Makes Contact ......
NuEnergy are using TagTeam to install their PV systems in our area. TagTeam have called us and will be arranging installation in the next week or so. We have to get our roof inspected to confirm that we can get 2 kW on it. Hopefully we can!
Update #18: Great Site For Calculating PV System Requirements
Here’s a great site for working out your PV system requirements using climate statistics for your area: http://www.energymatters.com.au/climate-data/ Check it out!!
Update #19: Tag Team Playing Silly Buggers ..
The installers of our PV system contracted by NuEnergy, Tag Team, have inspected our roof and decreed that we can only fit a 1 kW system, six panels, on our roof. Poppycock! That’s what I say.
Methinks they just want to get in and out and onto the next job as fast as possible. Time is money. You see, our place needs a bit more creative thinking to get the extra six panels on but I think they aren’t really interested in doing the right thing. I know this is cynical but I can’t help it. I hope I’m wrong.
I’ve asked for a second inspection. Tag Team’s boss hasn’t followed it up as yet even though it was over two weeks ago that the initial inspection was done.
The solution is very simple. All they need to do is use the frame that is required to install PVs on a flat roof. This will reinforce the panels against potential wind damage as they will overhang the ridge of our roof by 30 cm. See! Simple. If necessary, they can even angle the PVs a bit more to catch the winter sun better.
Hopefully, Tag Team will get in contact this week and we can get the job started ASAP!
Update #20: Tag Team Replacement Sought ..
I phoned NuEnergy today and told them of Tag Team's reluctance to install a 2 kW system. This was even more timely because my wife received a call from Tag Team today saying that we'd have to wait to October to get the panels since we didn't accept their earlier inspection report!
Claire, from NuEnergy, has urgently emailed the Coordinator, Warren, and hopefully we'll have their second Sydney installing contractor, Right Phase, call us very soon.
My goodness, just how hard is it to do the right thing these days?!!
Update #21: Still No Action From NuEnergy
Still no action after another two phone calls. Methinks I'll have to look at switching to a new supplier. This means I have to get the $2,500 deposit back from NuEnergy who seem incapable of delivering what they promised. :-(
Despite some of trials and tribulations you're facing I just wanted to say "Bravo!"
Great post - very informative. I live in a unit but am inspired to look into what we can do for the block.
Thanks
Anthony, thanx for your support and encouagement! I think we may soon have success with the PVs ........
Update #22: Latest Encouraging Developments ………
After several more phone calls to NuEnergy I’ve finally got an encouraging response. On September 9 I spoke with Simone who revealed that their old Coordinator has, “left the company” and she forwarded my enquiry to the new one, Matt who was returning from leave on Monday the 14th. However, she’d get the second in charge to call me ASAP.
I called again on the 11th after no phone call and spoke to Larissa who was very sympathetic and would get the installation manager to follow this up.
On Monday, September 14, I got a call from Tag Team stating that they had an email from NuEnergy asking him to arrange an inspection. I spoke with an installer, Jim, who is meeting me at home, this Friday the 18th!!! At last some movement at the station! Let’s hope this sees an expedient installation of the 2 kW PVs for which I have been waiting since I first paid my deposit on April 19, five months ago!!!!.
Update #22: Jim Postponed Until Monday, Ho Hum ………
It was always a possibility. Jim called to move his inspection to Monday. Vanessa, from NuEnergy, called to take personal responsibility for getting the paper work done as soon as Jim and I agree on the size of the system.
I have to check with Origin regarding the Smart, Bi-Directional Meter price. Since we have to pay for this piece of kit in addition to the PVs, I was advised to check with Sydney Electricity for a comparison quote. However, they don’t offer 100% green energy like Origin does. Another thing to consider.
Here is a bit of an explanation of Smart Meters from Energy Matters: http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=520
Normal 0 0 1 50 287 2 1 352 11.517 0 0 0
Update #24: Permaculture Garden Plans Afoot
I recently joined Permaculture East in order to learn about permaculture gardens so that we can build one at our place. We have a largely native garden but we want an edible garden as well.
Here’s a link to Permaculture East: http://permaeast.ning.com/
STOP PRESS:
I've just started a new Live Local page, Sustainability Street Approach Comes To Phillip Bay. Please have a look at it!
ENOUGH of the updates already!!!! Can we just get STARTED!!!!
Spouse.
Yeah Leanne, I'm with you. C'mon GJO Esq, let's do this thing Permablitz thing and get some stuff growing!
Peter D
Lady and Gentleman, good things take time to mature. Look at me, I'm 52 and nowhere near mature!!
Update #25: 2 kW PVs Are GO!!!
Great news, folks! Tag Team sent Jim along for a second site inspection and we got up on the roof and found a way to get 2 kW of PV installed.
We have also qualified for the interest and fee free $10,000 Green Loan so I’ll have to get that organised ASAP as well before we pays any more money as they don’t back date the loan.
Update #26: Garden Rennos Begin ......
A local chappie, Nathan, has been hired by us to help with some heavy reworking of our gardens so that we can get our veggie garden site prepared for the PermaBlitz. He has a chainsaw and a strong body and @ $35 and hour does what I do in three!!
We heavily pruned the grevillea pictured in the photo. This will allow more light to get to our proposed garden extension site right where Leeanne is sitting in the photo at the top of this page. Several more shrubs will be removed/pruned to open up the area to sunlight and generally clean up the place.
The southern, front garden is also getting the treatment before the water tank goes in. Out go the exotics and inappropriate plants and in go more natives and veggies!!
Update #27: The Trials of a Green Loan Application
Well, I don’t know if they could have made it more difficult ……
After receiving our Green Loan Assessment early in August I finally managed to get around to arranging the application for the loan late in September. My first mistake was to believe that it was the Federal Government that was hand out the funds. No, it’s via an authorised lending institution to whom the government pays the fees and interest which would normally be charged to us!!
After looking searching for such a lender on the Green Loans website, not an easy task at all might I say, I contacted Sandra from Community First Credit Union on September 29 and tried to apply over the phone. Don’t bother if you don’t have at least 40 minutes, which I didn’t, so I had to ask her to email me the info and I’d reply ASAP.
As it happened, they require so much documentation I procrastinated and put off doing anything for over a week and, when I finally emailed a reply last Saturday, October 3, I was afraid that’d I’d shut down their email server as it was such a large email with all the attachments.
I checked yesterday if they’d received the email and, wouldn’t you believe it, they hadn’t. Now, this was my fault as I failed to note the correct reply address and simply return it to Sandra who, would you believe, it was on leave. I had to explain everything again to Jenny who curtly insisted that I supply even more documents to satisfy the new provisions for eliminating risky loans. Understandable, I suppose, since the financial problems of recent times, but what a frustrating and time wasting experience it was!!
After resending the first email, successfully, and sending three new ones with all the extra stuff attached twice, unsuccessfully, I have to wait until the email people turn up again tomorrow to see if they can find them. Oh the pain, the pain.
In the meantime, time moves on and the process is getting more delayed and more frustrating. I was told it’ll take a week to get the approval confirmed once all the documents are in. I wonder if we’ll get the PVs installed this year!!
Update #28: The Trials of a Green Loan Application Update
Today, I have emailed the answers to the latest set of questions from Sandy. I truly hope this is this final requirement. :-)
Update #29: We Have Finally Ditched Community First Credit Union!
On Saturday, November 21, I phoned Heritage Building Society. They appear much better organised than the Community First Credit Union. They comprehensive website which actually refers to Green Loans: http://secure.heritageonline.com.au/Personal-Banking/Personal-Loans/Gree... and their employees seem to understand a lot more and they promised a provisional answer in three days. They managed this by November 23 with a positive!!!!
Today, I emailed them contact details for our employers for their risk assessment and they said that once that's confirmed, it'll take between seven and ten working days to get a final approval from the Australian Government.
NuEnergy are now backlogged to February/March for PV installations so I guess we just have to wait even more patiently!!
An interesting point is that the loan will save us $1,543 in interest that we'd have to pay if we used funds from our line of credit. Of course, the Green Loan represents an even greater saving for those who don't have such a luxury with all fees being covered as well!
Did I say something about the hip pocket nerve? ;-) At least we are not adding to the carbon pollution as we are still buying 100% Wind Energy from Origin!!
Update #30: Heritage says "YES"!
Well, pick me up from the floor folks, it's all systems go with Heritage BS. I have the loan documents and we'll be signing them on the morrow and posting them forthwith!! They still managd to stuff up our names and had to send out another set. Yet another delay.
This whole Green Loan process started with the assessment on July 9. The report arrived on September 18, a very long 10 days, delayed by problems with the "reporting tool". Our actual Green Loan application commenced September 25 and now, we finally have the documents, almost three months later.
When I contacted NuEnergy to get the ball rolling again, they weren't surprised about our story. Our experience appears to be a common one. We now look forward to the completion of our plan early next year!
Update # 31: NuEnergy Dumps Tag Team!
On December 14 I called NuEnergy to get the PVs ordered. Well, knock me down with a feather, they dumped Tag Team a fortnight again. Now Harlec is the installer. They are to call us ASAP to get yet another site inspection and an evaluation as to the number and location of our panels. As yet, now contact has been made. :-(
Update #32: Rainwater Harvesting Systems Quotes Underway!
On December 4, I contacted three rainwater harvesting companies. The third inspection occurred today and with it, the first actual quote TWO WEEKS LATER!!!! One lot doesn't offer an integrated service while the first bloke hasn't sent me the quote even though he was over on the 9th!!
So, I need one more quote before we can consider a purchase. The good news is that I am installing it at the side of our house, not the front. Therefore we won't need a DA!!
It looks like the price will be around $6k for a 5,500 litre tank, with a submersed pump, connected to our two cisterns and one washing machine as well as two garden tap outlets. I hope to negotiate a price that will put us out of pocket $4k after the $1,900 rebates.
What a wealth of information! Fantastic! There's nothing that beats others’ personal experiences. I find it particularly interesting reading about the Green Loan saga.
I am an Accredited Home Sustainability Assessor under that program, and just on general enquiry, I've found it hard to get a straight answer about the process people have to go through. My understanding is they are stripping it down a bit - & Westpac & Anz are now offering it, which creates a bit of pressure for the smaller Credit Unions. The link for participating institutions is http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/about/subsidy.html for anybody elses info...
I'm going to go back over these posts & read them again in more detail..they're great! :)
If anyone’s reading this & is interested in getting a free Home Sustainability Assessment + Report, which is 1st step to qualifying an interest-free Green Loan, then please don't hesitate to contact me on 02 8090 5411 or bookings@ecovise.com.au. Only 360,000 homes will be assessed, and then the subsidy will end - & we’re at about 100,000 already… so tell your sustainable friends… quick!
p.s. I forgot to mention...the free Assessment is available to renters, owners, & landlords alike... :)
Update #33: Rainwater Harvesting Systems Deposit Paid, Still No Contact From Harlec.
We decided to go with the most expensive option of a stainless steel tank, costing us around $6k out of pocket. We felt that, since stainless steel is 100% recyclable AND should last just about forever, it was the best long term option. Poly tanks are definitely out even though it would cost about half the price. Aquaplate steel, while a pretty good option, still has limited life and contains unrecyclable materials.
It appears that stainless steel is so rarely used that we may well be the last customer to whom TanksWorks supplies one! We anticipate installation sometime towards the end of February. However, based on our experiences so far, we are not holding our breath.
I had to phone NuEnergy again today as I still haven't received contact from Harlec. I was told that NuEnergy's NSW Coordinator would get onto Harlec immediately to contact us.
Another good piece of news is that our latest electricity bill arrived today and we have lowered our daily usage to just 7.6 kWh!! This would be well and truly accommodated by our 2 kW PV system which would be generating up to 10 kW per day this time of year!!
Update #34: Harlec Makes Contact!
True to their word, NuEnergy got Harlec to call me this morning. Russell will be inspecting our roof (third time but a different person) tomorrow @ 9AM.
I've decided to have the panels angled at the optimum 34 degrees. This will require the use of frames, a side effect of which will hopefully allow all 12 panels to fit on to the highest section of the roof.
Update #35: PV Panels Are In, Inverter Isn't!!
Russell, from Harlek, inspected the site on on January 12 and we decided to install the panels without aditional framework. He said that they are about to run out of panels and there is no inverter for the job. They are awaiting a delivery of same.
I phoned Harlek on the 18th and Ryan told me that the panels still weren't in. I phoned them again this morning to the half good news that our PV panels arrived on Monday but the SB 2500 inverter didn't!! Bummer. Well at least it's getting closer to actually happening.
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