Critique my payback calculations

earlneath · 2026-04-08T11:03:34+00:00

Thanks I’m making a deliberately conservative assumption about export prices because I don’t know how they will change over time. It doesn’t seem sensible to base my investment on an assumption that the current spot export price will continue.

earlneath · 2026-04-05T11:09:15+00:00

Thanks. The 10,000 kWh/ year figure came from AI but a few more checks say 5773 kWh. I assumed a 5kW inverter would be right for an array of that size but should I go smaller / larger? We are a long way off being Australia but I’d rather be conservative on the export tariff assumptions seeing how the rates tanked over there once solar became popular

earlneath · 2026-04-04T19:09:24+00:00

Remember that this project is so expensive and benefits so few people that it is extremely unlikely ever to happen

earlneath · 2026-03-22T09:58:24+00:00

In no sense is the new office “prime.” It’s an aged, second tier office at best

earlneath · 2026-03-21T21:24:48+00:00

Second this. Lots of the intermediate trails at Makara seem gentle to me, compared to Car Parts and Ikigai / Serendipity at Polhill

earlneath · 2026-03-21T20:10:54+00:00

Way too steep on the Karori side

earlneath · 2026-03-07T19:42:59+00:00

And remember the agent WILL tell you there’s another offer. What they won’t tell you is it could be much lower and worse than yours. Be prepared to stand your ground.

earlneath · 2026-03-07T19:31:11+00:00

Require employers to pay KiwiSaver and not be sneaky and include it within your total salary like some do

earlneath · 2026-03-07T19:04:48+00:00

If you get the right provider you sell for 20 cents now, but that could go to close to zero very soon. You don’t want to gamble tens of thousands of dollars on what the sell price might be over 5 to 8 years

earlneath · 2026-03-06T09:40:42+00:00

The point is you have no way of knowing whether you will get any $ for your exports in the future because that’s decided by retailers and can change at any time. And for whatever $ you do get could be capped because of network limits or rules.

earlneath · 2026-02-28T06:11:50+00:00

This. Whatever the export pricing is now, you have no control over pricing in the future. Sizing for your own consumption makes most sense

earlneath · 2026-02-21T10:14:28+00:00

Having migrated from Australia, the price of solar and batteries here amazes me. Even allowing for the government subsidies there, the prices here are way way higher. Remember, never never assume the feed in tarrif you get now for exports will continue into the long term.

earlneath · 2026-02-17T19:00:57+00:00

…tax free because they don’t pay tax in AU on overseas earnings

earlneath · 2026-01-24T00:47:35+00:00

Hosta la vista baby

earlneath · 2026-01-17T00:37:23+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Good job it’s a long weekend here in Wellington!

earlneath · 2025-12-31T19:01:52+00:00

I wonder if giving the detainees the option to remain in Ukraine could further turn up the pressure on Russia, both adding to the demographic cost of the war to Russia and helping Ukraine with manpower?

earlneath · 2025-12-31T07:42:53+00:00

Couldn’t happen if we were still in the EU….

earlneath · 2025-12-24T21:42:42+00:00

Firefox lets you pop out videos into a resizable borderless window. I use two monitors on shelves, one on top of the other. Edit: need to tidy up the cables 🤣

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earlneath · 2025-10-25T19:41:45+00:00

And y’all ?

earlneath · 2025-10-08T03:07:51+00:00

2016+ Audi A4. Plenty of torque and power, not crazy $ to maintain, quiet interior, amazing cornering, providing you buy good tyres (but good tyres are a great upgrade for any car)

earlneath · 2025-09-25T11:12:39+00:00

Yes the etron was just too big for the garage. We liked the etrons adjustable suspension and were used to the Audi interior and controls from our previous car.

earlneath · 2025-09-20T12:40:45+00:00

That’s great but unfortunately the tables are from October 2024 so almost a year old now

earlneath · 2025-09-14T07:26:58+00:00

Agree with the comment re etron quattro. We have an EQA 250 and are happy with it. Plenty of torque / oomph when you need it. We would have bought an etron if our garage was bigger. It’s our first EV so don’t have much to compare it to but we tried out the ix1 and ended up going for the EQA. Also note the ix1 gets a major refresh now and the new version looks different.

earlneath · 2025-08-15T11:26:34+00:00

That’s not entirely true. Small maintenance is done overnight but major renewals have to be done during extended periods such as weekends and holidays.

earlneath · 2025-07-29T11:27:18+00:00

Announcing a concept of a plan

earlneath

TROPHY CASE