The Sunshine Coast has one of the largest rooftop solar uptakes of any local government area in Australia, with 41% of dwellings choosing to harness the sun and last week Caloundra was named one of the top five rooftop solar postcodes in Australia.
Sunshine Coast Council is helping residents make the most of their investment and has engaged an independent renewable energy expert to assist.
Energy guru Trevor Berrill said installing solar panels was just the first step to saving on your energy bill.
"A common reason people don't get the dollar return they should is they install panels then forget about them," Mr Berrill said.
"To get the very best return on your investment and maybe even a credit rather than a bill, you need to understand your tariff and then use your energy accordingly.
"For instance, someone on the high bonus rate feed in tariff of around 50c per kilowatt-hour (kWh) should be using their appliances at night, while those on the newer 8c per kWh tariff rate should use their appliances during the day."
"There are also impressive additional feed in tariffs available to solar owners and independent comparison websites like WATTever can help you find them."
To find useful articles, resources, events aimed at helping you save on your power bills, visit saving with solar on council's website.
Sunshine Coast Councillor Steve Robinson said the Sunshine Coast Solar Farm was just one piece of the clean energy puzzle
"Our community have the real power to change our region's energy use, so it's important we help them on their renewable journey." Cr Robinson said.
