You would have thought someone would have done this study BEFORE they were put everywhere, but I guess there were Vested Interests who didn't want such info out there.
LIZ HOBDAY: Electrician Dean Spicer is on his way to the Mastorovic's house to test their voltage.
DEAN SPICER, ELECTRICIAN: Some of the readings are quite outrageous. They can be far too high and most customers just are not aware of it, so nothing happens about it.
Andrew Dillon, spokesman for Energy Networks Australia said the rapid uptake of rooftop solar systems was a particular issue for the networks, because solar systems are supplying extra electricity to the grid, and boosting voltages.
LIZ HOBDAY: The ABC asked two companies to take a snapshot of electricity meters across most of Australia.
The first took readings from more than 12,000 sites and found in the middle of the day, the average was almost 246 volts. The lowest readings were taken at night, when solar panels aren't working. They were still almost 242 volts, at the upper end of the range.
Key points
Higher voltage on power supply to homes is a major concern, researchers say
Impact on home appliances and potential ‘burnout’ needs more research
Could be causing a significant amount of solar energy to be wasted
LIZ HOBDAY: Australian households should get electricity with voltage within a range between 216 and 253 volts. But often, what they're being sent is at the upper end and sometimes over the 253 volt limit, which can mean more electricity consumption.
DEAN SPICER: Once an appliance reaches saturation, that high voltage transfers as heat, which is just money down the drain, effectively.
RICHARD MCINDOE, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, EDGE ELECTRONS: And here is another issue that anyone with high voltage will relate to, your lightbulbs don't work.
LIZ HOBDAY: Richard McIndoe spent years running one of the country's major electricity retailers, Energy Australia.
RICHARD MCINDOE: This happens once every three or four months, I'm changing the lightbulbs in this light and this is what drove me to look at voltage.
RICHARD MCINDOE: I'm being force-fed more electricity than I need.
Based on the voltage that I'm seeing here at 254 volts, I'm roughly paying about $1,200 more for my electricity each year than I need to.
This is pervasive across the whole country. We have a major issue with regulating voltage across Australia and it's getting worse.
The government-run Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) of/c can't find the word "solar" in its headline, preferring to just call it a "voltage problem"....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-09/power-bills-up-appliances-burning-out-you-may-have/10481024