What motivated Phil to invest in solar power for his home in Merimbula?

Phil Birch lives in the beautiful Tura beach in NSW. The Sapphire Coast is known for its wonderful weather, lovely people, and stunning beaches. With a five-kilometre long beach and a modest climate, this place is just perfect for living. Phil loves the place because of its blue, crystal clear sea and the fact that the beach is crowded with only 15 people during Christmas time.

Phil decided to invest in solar energy to save on power bills and make a profit. With the cost of power rising, he found solar energy investment the best way to save on any cost with a 10-15% saving. Phil purchased a one kilowatt solar panel a decade ago, and when the prices started to increase, he added extra panels. His system is performing incredibly well and providing zero bills for the last three quarters.

My name's Phil Birch and we're in Tura beach, which is about six kilometres out of Merimbula, in NSW. I love this part of the world because of the weather the people, it's really lovely spot to be living in, And it's just a wonderful place to live. It's got a wonderful beach. We've got a beach here, five kilometres long, and it's crowded at Christmas time with 15 people. So that's fantastic. The climate from Merimbula to Eden is one of the modest climates in the world. So we get a fairly good, not too cold in the winter, not too hot in the summer between 16 and 32. It's all in the far South coast. It's just beautiful. They call this a Sapphire Coast in fact, because the sea is so blue its just beautiful.

I first started thinking about solar because of the cost. Power prices were going up, the cost of money was reducing, and I thought this was a good way to invest in my roof. And I find it would give me a 10% to 15% saving, on any cost. I was making a profit from the roof basically, that's what it was. But I think the flash point was when they first brought in the savings when you purchase solar, which to us was about 10 years ago when the first savings came in and we bought a one kilowatt, a couple of panels on the roof. That was the first time, the second time was when the prices started to really go up and we thought this is ridiculous. So we then got the extra ones put on. Well, system's performing amazingly well.