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Hi.
Thank you for your interest in Local Power. This is our first email
update and we promise we won't overburden your inbox with too many email
messages.
Going solar (the basics for new comers to the
idea)
PV Solar panels installed on your roof will allow you to generate
green electricity and reduce your greenhouse gas emissions and over time
will pay for itself. A PV Solar system consists of a number of solar
panels on your roof, cabling, and an inverter (which converts the DC
electricity which the panels generate to AC which your lights and
appliances can use). The inverter is then wired into your circuit
breaker box which powers your home. An additional electricity meter is
also installed to measure how much electricity is being "exported" to
the grid, which you get paid for, if you are not using it at the time.
At night you continue to purchase electricity from the grid as normal.
In rural areas where there is no grid, people also have batteries which
store the electricity allowing it to be used at night. Batteries
significantly increase the cost of the solar system and also need to be
replaced after a number of years.
Advantages of a buying group
As you know, Local Power’s first project is a PV Solar buying group,
so that we can save money through bulk buying. In the case of PV Solar
there are several areas of savings for the installation companies which
can then be passed on to the customers. Firstly they can buy the panels
in bulk from the manufacturers. Secondly they can spend less money on
sales and marketing. Thirdly by installing the systems locally on a
suburb by suburb basis, their installers and electricians can greatly
reduce travel time and work together more effectively to efficiently
install the PV systems on a number of nearby homes at one time.
Where are we up to?
We have been very busy since we launched our website in mid-June.
After starting with emailing friends and family, we also began letterbox
dropping the West End (4101) area. After issuing a media release about
the project, 612 ABC radio picked up the story and interviewed one of
our founders and in the same week we had positive coverage in the City
South News. Many of you signed up to our website on that week.
Welcome!
We are all volunteers and are working in our spare time as quickly as we
can to get this initiative up and running. We are continuing the
letterbox drop campaign in the West End area. We still rely heavily on
word of mouth to get the word out and would welcome your help. Please
talk with your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues about your
interest in solar power generation. For those of you who like to walk
in your neighborhood outside of 4101, Local Power is happy to provide
some fliers you can distribute in your suburb (while stocks last). A
couple of people, after seeking permission, emailed all the people in
their workplace to get the word out, which also generated a lot of
registrations of interest for us. Thanks!
What's next?
We expect to have our target of 500 people signed up to the Local
Power website by the end of August or before if current trends continue
(your assistance can help achieve this goal!) We can then get an
indicative saving and price for the various sized systems from several
suppliers based on the number of people interested. The actual price
for your specific home may vary as different types of roof and length of
cables to the inverter, switchbox, meters etc., can change the price of
materials and labour.
By that time we also plan to have a public meeting, for anyone
interested in attending, to outline how PV solar electricity works, the
buying group process going forward as we see it, and also to answer any
questions which may arise as a result of that meeting. Soon after that,
we will then call for a formal "expression of interest" where we can
confirm your street address, size of the system you would like etc. In
some cases the suppliers may need to do a site inspection to ensure you
will have enough room on your northern roof, not have too much shading
etc..
If you have any questions, please email us and we will try and answer
them individually the best we can, but we will also develop an FAQ
(Frequently asked questions) section on the website. Unfortunately we
can't speak to you all on the phone to answer your questions at this
time, due to the volume of interest.
We look forward to working with you and perhaps meeting you at the
public meeting, where you will also be able to meet with others like
yourselves making a positive difference in helping the environment for
ourselves and future generations.
That's all for now. Thanks again for your interest and support.
regards,
The Local Power team
email -
info@localpower.net.au
web -
http://localpower.net.au |
