Darren's story How Darren stretched his solar further with Flexible Exports  Darren lives in one of the first areas of South Australia able to access Flexible Exports	2022 Flexible Exports customer, Darren from Sheidow Park
‘I’m $2,500 better off in one year!’

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More about Flexible Exports

What is the Flexible Exports option?

The Flexible Exports option is world-first smart solar technology giving South Australians stronger returns from rooftop solar.  
 
The Flexible Exports option means: 

Savvy — Direct savings on your energy bills  

Stability — Keeping our grid healthy and less prone to outages  

Smarts — More renewable energy with less waste . 

 And with more people who opting into Flexible Exports, cheaper electricity may become available for everyone.

Stretch your solar further when you opt into, or switch to, Flexible Exports:

The Flexible Exports connection option uses an internet-connected inverter that lets you export up to 10kW back to the grid — getting us closer to our goal of doubling the energy we’re making from the sun.  

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Flexible Exports allow Darren to export much more solar than he could have done with any other system. 

This is because, until now, solar exports have needed to be capped to avoid problems such as inverters being tripped off and power outages.

Flexible Exports is an option that uses smart internet-connected technology to change all this, giving Darren the ability to export a whopping 10kW back to the grid at most times. Learn how the technology works. 

A sound investment

"I knew for some time that getting solar would be a good investment and pay for itself quickly.  I knew that it would cover almost all my electricity costs (approximately $2,000 per year) and it would pay for itself within 3-4 years."

 

When Darren decided it was time to go solar, he did thorough research. After some solid number crunching, Darren decided it was worth installing solar now.
 
Applying the feed in tariff through his energy retailer, Darren estimated the investment would pay for itself in about 4 years.

It was important that Darren could save money on his power bills and get an early return on investment for his new system.

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A smart decision

"In the summer months, I’m exporting 50 – 60kWh per day. Even during winter months, I'm often exporting 20 - 30kWh each day and exports are rarely limited. I’m very happy with what my system can achieve with Flexible Exports."

 

Initially, Darren did not know about Flexible Exports, and believed his export limit would be capped at 5kW. 

Darren was happy to discover that he could access Flexible Exports — enabling exports of up to 10kW. 

To be able to access Flexible Exports, Darren needed to opt for a compatible inverter from one of the brands participating in the Flexible Exports trial. Darren decided to purchase an 8.2kW compatible inverter.

The past 12 months proved Flexible Exports was the right decision.

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Big savings one year on

"I’m $2,500 better off in one year! It’s close to one year since I’ve installed my solar system with Flexible Exports, but I’m still in front financially.  My power bills were on average around $2,000 per year before this.  The last bill I paid was about $100 and my current bill is around $150, and I was given a credit of over $600 for the summer months.  I’m still in credit! I’m expecting, come at the end of the year, I’ll be in credit at least $500 or more.  So instead of paying $2,000 a year, I’m in credit by $500."

 

Now that Darren has been using Flexible Exports for almost a year, he can clearly see the gains.
 
Darren is very pleased with his choice of Flexible Exports, his investment and how it’s performing. 

For Darren, having solar and Flexible Exports has made him more conscious of his daily consumption and how it impacts his energy bills. He can clearly see his usage and export data which helps him understand when to best leverage time-of-use for his household appliances.

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