Warrick Tidswell lives in Redridge, Queensland. He received a Solargen grid solar power system earlier in 2008. “Our objective in purchasing a system was to reduce our household carbon footprint”.

The Tidswell’s believe that climate change will have an impact upon Australia however its severity could be diminished. They also feel that Australians will need to accept and adapt towards a new and changing climate.

They currently pay their energy retailer for ‘green power’ in addition to their grid solar system and their reasons for doing so were independent of each other.

Their solar panel grid solar system provides them with accurate energy production data which they monitor and record.

The Tidswell household consumes 360 kW hours of electricity per Month. Their SolarGen grid solar power system has met their expectations producing 10kW hours of electricity per day. “Having the system has made us more conscious of household usage and more motivated to make savings. Many people ask questions about it and have shown interest, but the cost seems to put most off - even those who can easily afford it”.

In the future, if the Tidswell family decided to relocate, they would purchase a new grid solar system.

In February of 2008, Susan and Neil decided to make the commitment to purchase a 2kW grid solar system for their home in Kensington, Victoria. “…We wanted to be part of the solution to climate change rather than part of the problem”.

Both of them feel strongly about the issues facing the planet with climate change. “Climate change will have a major impact on Australia and on the world. We are all on the same planet. National boundaries are meaningless. Climate change has already started and maybe we cant stop it, but we can probably diminish its severity. Whether we can or not, it would be irresponsible and feeble not to try”.

They already purchasing green power from their retailer prior to having their grid solar system installed. “I am considering changing my green power ‘package’ if I can as I get charged a fixed amount per week rather than in proportion to the electricity I draw from the grid. So I am paying just as much for Green Power even though my grid usage has dropped enormously” said Susan.

Susan and Neil estimate their household consumes about 300 kW hours of electricity per Month. The motivation for getting a 2kW system rather than the 1kW they needed to get the maximum rebate was to try to generate as much electricity as they consumed on average over a 12 month period. "I don't think we'll quite manage it. We'd hoped to generate 9-10kwh per day on average, but it looks as though it will be more like 7-8. But that's just made us more determined to reduce our consumption further. Based on a week when the house was unoccupied, it looks as though our fridge uses about 3kwh per day, so we're investigating what we can do about that."

"We have no regrets about our decision to go solar. Some people have said we should have waited until it got cheaper and more efficient, but technology is always improving so there's never an ideal time. And while you're waiting for it, the climate is changing - maybe irreversibly. If you are serious about tackling the problem, you have to make a commitment."

Although their household is not high income (they would still qualify for the rebate even after the means test was introduced), Susan and Neil have already managed to restore the bank balance to close to where it was before making the $15,000 investment in solar. "Our reliable income is quite low, but we've worked out how to manage on it. When we get additional work and have a high wage month, we always put some aside and we don't claim family tax benefit through the year, so the tax rebate goes straight into savings. The outlay on the solar panels hasn't been as big a financial burden as we thought it would be and anyway we see it as an investment."

Margaret and Peter Forscutt are Tasmanian residents who have recently received a SolarGen 4kW grid connect solar system. “We are both pensioners on a fixed income, and our main objective was to minimise and control expenditure on power bills, both now and in the future. We have had a 20% price rise in electricity this Year with a guaranteed increase of at least 5% every Year into the future, without taking into account the possibilities of carbon tax”.

The Forscutt’s are concerned about climate change in the future. “I think there is going to be a high impact on Australia from climate change, because it is a very dry Country. Tasmania now imports high percentages of its power from the mainland grid because of decreased rainfall leading to extremely low (<30%) in the hydro dams. I don’t think climate change can be totally stopped and we will have to adapt to a new climate, changing our lifestyles, becoming more efficient, more self sufficient and less consumer orientated”.

In addition to the above benefits of a grid solar system, the Forscutt’s purchased a grid connect solar system because of the unavailability of green power in Tasmania. “There is great publicity about clean green hydro power but the reality is we import dirty brown coal power from Victoria. The demand is such that we would be experiencing brown outs if this were not possible”.

Their 4kW grid solar system was comprised of German quality Schott solar panels and a Sunny Boy 3800 inverter. “We have information on: total electricity generated; total electricity consumed and net electricity exported to the grid. Our average daily consumption last quarter (before the system was installed) was 21 kW hours per day. This varies with the season as we have electric central heating but no air conditioning”.

The Forscutt’s have noticed that their solar power system has generated more than just green electricity, with curious neighbors approaching to ask questions “…in fact someone asked me for information when I was walking the dog this morning. On the actual day of installation the tradesman were worried about there being an accident with so many people around watching them!”

The Forscutt’s intend to remain at their current residence well into the future. “We have no intentions to move at all! But if we were to build new we would incorporate solar generation or look at the option of moving the existing system".