How One Family Saved Thousands on Energy Bills
Are you tired of being held hostage by ridiculous electricity and fuel bills that just keep climbing higher and higher? Do you want to make a positive impact on the environment and your household finances?
The Duggan family of Sunrise Beach made the decision to become energy self-sufficient and it has completely transformed their lives. With a solar system capacity of 30kW of panels, they are producing more than enough energy to power their home and sell enough back to the grid to run their neighbour's homes as well. And the best part? They are saving thousands of dollars every year and doing their part to help the environment.
As a Clean Energy Council accredited Solar Designer, Gareth knew the benefits of becoming energy self-sufficient and the impact it would have on their family's finances and the environment. Consequently, in 2018 when the Duggan's were looking for a family home there were two non-negotiable criteria that they had - it had to have a pool (Victorians!) and the roof had to have sufficient space for an appropriately sized solar system. The first thing that they did was upgrade their meter box to 3-phase power, at a cost of approximately $2000 this allowed them to install a larger solar system. Next, they filled all the good areas of the roof with solar panels and built a patio that allowed them to put more on, bringing their solar system capacity to 30kWs, enough to future-proof their home and never have to worry about energy again. When we asked Gareth what his thinking behind this was he said "Modelling and designing solar systems all day, every day, it was very clear to me that we could have a massively positive impact on the environment while also having a massively positive impact on our household finances - the decision was simple. I knew that the system would pay us back what we had invested, which it has, and would set us up to be able to run whatever we wanted in our home, a heat pump for the pool, electric vehicles, air conditioners etc.., while still selling enough energy back into the grid to always have a positive electricity bill and always be carbon positive.
Their solar installation company, Home and Energy, who Gareth works for, set their home up with automation allowing them to run their household appliances during the day using their own energy.
As a family passionate about sustainability they had discussed that they would buy an EV as soon as they could afford it and last year with the release of the BYD Atto 3 Gareth says they finally had no excuse not to have an EV.
Since getting the car in December and installing an intelligent EV charger that can be set to only charge the car with available solar power, they have ran their car 100% on solar power and not been to a petrol station since! Now that’s got to feel nice!
But it's not just about the financial savings. By becoming energy self-sufficient, the Duggan family is doing their part to combat climate change and create a better future for our planet. They're also reducing our countries dependence on oil/ fuel from overseas and making Australia more self-sufficient. Think about it we could be powering our entire vehicle fleet with energy that we generate in Australia - now that’s smart!
And the best part is, it's becoming more and more affordable to become energy self-sufficient. With the prices of solar systems and electric vehicles coming down, it's easier than ever to make the initial investment and reap the long-term savings.
So, are you ready to join the energy self-sufficient movement and make a positive impact on your household finances and the environment? Follow the example of the Duggan family and take control of your energy and fuel costs today. It's the best decision you'll ever make.
Gareth and the Home and Energy team will be sharing the latest technologies available to set your home or business up to be self sufficient at the Noosa EV Expo. Make sure to say hello.