Household photovoltaics — A worthwhile investment?

A combination of factors, including recent advances in Small-Scale Energy Generation (SSEG) legislation as well as decreases in the cost of photovoltaic cells and batteries, have recently made investment in Solar Photovoltaic energy for a consumer's household more appealing. In order to quantify the benefits of investing in such an installation a simulation model was created to test the financial feasibility of different configurations of such an installation. This model was then used to simulate several different configurations of battery and photovoltaic installations for a medium- and high-income urban household. From these simulations it was found that a household pure photovoltaic installation is economically feasible, with payback periods for medium- and high income households being 7.52 and 6.94 years respectively. SSEG contracts with the municipality were also found to increase the economic benefits to the consumer. This was largely due to the consumer's ability to use the municipal grid as a ‘battery’ and offset power generation to peak-use times with an SSEG contract.