News

Envirogroup Nomination for Design Award for 60KW on curved roof

Envirogroup has been nominated for a Clean Energy Council 15-100kW solar design and installation award for a challenging 60kW Solar Power System installed on a curved roof at the Monash Business Incubator in Monash. The winner of this award will be announced 26th June in Brisbane.

Watchdog finds nearly 20% of Australian pv systems are 'substandard'

A random audit on 7000 systems across Australia found 4% of installations were unsafe and shut down on the spot and 19% were deemed substandard and required further works at the expense of the home-owner.

EU to impose up to 68% Tax on Chinese Manufactured Solar Panels

A uniform tariff of 11.8% will be charged on all Chinese solar panels, effective immediately. For some 130 other Chinese companies that have cooperated in the EU investigation a preliminary duty will apply of 47.6%.

Many Solar Panels Found to Fail Within 2-Years

Leading Manufacturer Yingli Solar reported only 15 defective panels from 2.8million shipped in 2009.

Victorian Solar & Gas Hot Water Rebate Closing 31 May

The Victorian rebate offered for the installation of Solar and Gas Hot Water systems will be closing on 31 May 2013.

Earth Hour - Switch To Renewable Power

This year the organisers of Earth Hour are asking us to do more than switch off our lights for an hour, instead asking that we switch to renewable power.

Sustainability Victoria's Energy Efficiency Retrofit Trial

Receive 75% off the cost of Energy Efficiency Upgrades for your home
Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian Government agency, is working with EnviroShop to conduct a field trial to test innovative energy saving technologies to verify their effectiveness and assess the potential for wider uptake across Victoria.

Solar Hot Water Rebate Closure Specials

Looking Ahead In 2013

The Australian Solar Industry will be happy to see the back of 2012. Numerous policy changes and other last minute surprises made for a challenging 2012. So what can we expect of 2013?

Can LED's Help Shift Energy Demand? 

New statistics from Beyond Zero Emissions have shown that if all of Australia switched over to LED's, we would cut electricity use by as much as 15 Terawatts per year. LED's can also reduce power bills by between 7% and 30%.

Top 10 Solar Manufacturers of 2012

The latest news from NPD Solarbuzz shows a new order in the top 10 Solar PV module suppliers in 2012. EnviroShop is pleased to see its Solar Panels ranked in this list.

SMA buys majority share in Zeversolar

German Solar Technology manufacturer SMA, has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Jiangsu Zeversolar - a leading solar inverter manufacturer in China, manufacturing a range of solar inverters, software and monitoring products such as EverSolar and SolarEye. So what does this mean for the Australian Market?

Sustainable Kris Kringle Ideas for under $15

Finding an appropriate kris kringle gift within a small budget is hard enough, let alone finding something that isn't damaging to the environment! We've tried to help by selecting a range of products under $15 that are perfect for the office, school or family Kris Kringle!

Solar Whiz Solar Ventilation System

More effective than 15 Whirly-Bird roof ventilators

The Solar Whiz is a solar powered roof ventillation system that actively pumps hot air out of your roof 15 times faster than a traditional Whirly-Bird.

100% Solar Powered with $0 running costs, the Solar Whiz is amazingly simple and incredibly effective. Don't spend another summer without it!

Ideas on Giving Sustainable Gifts

Every year stores are chocker-block full with toys that are costing us the earth.  From PVC toys that release toxins (during manufacture, during their usable life and after disposal) to battery operated toys and gadgets that don’t last, all these toys are harming our natural environment...

The PowerRouter: Integrated Solar Grid-Connect and Battery Storage System

The Ultimate Solar Energy Solution - combine the power of grid-connect solar with battery storage. The PowerRouter is a revolutionary, intelligent solar management system that allows you to use, store or export your Solar energy in order to achieve the best savings outcome. It provides the ultimate energy solution, utilising the best of stand-alone and grid-interactive solar power configurations.

Our Top Reads for this Summer 

We've asked our shop staff which enviro books are their favourites. We think that these have potential to be great Christmas gifts, but they also make great reading for you in the holiday period. Sometimes it’s nice to get a guilt free pleasure for yourself too.

Win for Tasmanian Forests

Thanks to the hard work of so many passionate and tireless activists including those at the Wilderness Society, more than half a million hectares of high conservation value native forests are now protected in Tasmania. 

This all comes at after a long 30 years of ongoing negotiation and often tense friction between a range of stakeholders including governments, communities, forestry groups and environmental organisations. 

To learn more about this monentus achievement, you can read more on the Wilderness Society website. https://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/forests/peace-for-our-forests/view

Maximising The Return From Your Solar System

With the current Victorian Feed-in tariff, the rate of return is most favourable when all the solar energy generated is used in the house (approx. 14.9% rate of return), rather than being exported back to the electricity grid as excess electricity... read more

Rate of Return of a Solar System in Melbourne

Calculating a rough rate of return on your solar investment is a useful way of determining the size of the system you require as well as realistically estimating how viable a solar investment is for your personal situation.

The best way to look at the rate of return is to separate the system into two operating tariffs. Where:
  a)    Some panels are generating electricity and immediately off setting your peak time of use power and
  b)    And other panels are generating excess electricity, which is being fed into the grid.

The maths is separated according to the two approximate tariff rates and the percentage of day time versus night time usage (plus also solar generation from the good summer months versus the winter months).... read more