Solar Panels

[Flying mermaid]

Doesn’t appear to be any TOD rates for ACT.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

So I have received a letter from the Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator, re "Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme Inspections Program : PV System Inspection. "

Apparently I have been randomly selected as part of the SRES Inspections Program and they send an inspector to your house and check your solar panels and the installation.

Now we live on the Sunshine Coast QLD and the inspection company is based in Melbourne !!!

Has anyone else had this happen / been contacted ??

 

[cove]

No but it may explain why at one of our PERTH installations we had a solar work crew arrive to deal with a crooked panel. They said they could see it from the road which I doubted seeing the building roof is 10.5 to 12.5 metres high.

 

[drron]

We have just got our last 2 electricity bills since our replacement of our solar panels.With our old system we were saving $1500 a year conservatively-never worked out exactly how much current usage would cost.
But the 2 bills were for 52 cents and a $282 credit.We were still paying $120-$180 a quarter depending on time of year and how long we were away.So new panels will pay for themselves in 4 years.

 

[Quickstatus]

My solar array is partially out of action. recent severe electrical storm and lightning about 2 weeks ago took out a solar string

Claim going in.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Hello Team,

I've been following this thread for quite some time but haven't gotten around to installing panels as yet (despite getting a number of quotes).

I have just received a new quote that's significantly cheaper than those previously quoted. I realise that prices are continually coming down however, I'm wondering whether this company/quote is good value or poor quality (built to a price).

I'll start reading back through all 29 pages; meanwhile I'm wondering if anyone has knowledge/experience with this company/panels/inverter?

Company: Sunboost
Panels: Astronergy 330 Watt PERC 120 Half-Cut Cells (Premium Tier 1)
Single phase Solis 5kw Inverter
Free Wi-Fi Monitoring Device

6.6kW $4,191 installed.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

JV

 

[Flying mermaid]

Hello Team,

I've been following this thread for quite some time but haven't gotten around to installing panels as yet (despite getting a number of quotes).

I have just received a new quote that's significantly cheaper than those previously quoted. I realise that prices are continually coming down however, I'm wondering whether this company/quote is good value or poor quality (built to a price).

I'll start reading back through all 29 pages; meanwhile I'm wondering if anyone has knowledge/experience with this company/panels/inverter?

Company: Sunboost
Panels: Astronergy 330 Watt PERC 120 Half-Cut Cells (Premium Tier 1)
Single phase Solis 5kw Inverter
Free Wi-Fi Monitoring Device

6.6kW $4,191 installed.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

JV

I haven’t heard of the panels but I found this

Astronergy Solar Panels -- But I Thought Astro Boy Was Nuclear Powered?

Astronergy solar panels are manufactured by Chint group in China and Thailand. They're budget, tier 1 panels, but should you consider them for your roof?

www.solarquotes.com.au

 

[RB]

Hello Team,

I

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

JV

There was this article on SolarQuotes re the panels Astronergy Solar Panels Review - Tier 1, Budget Solar Panels
Article on inverter Ningbo Ginlong | Solar Inverters Review

I think your reading of the previous 29 pages will illustrate there are many varying opinions. Certainly there is the opportunity to spend more than the quote you have. I went along with the idea of spending more in the hope of getting a longer term solution with less need to seek out warranty help-I guess time will tell if I jumped the right way

 

[Jacques Vert]

There was this article on SolarQuotes re the panels Astronergy Solar Panels Review - Tier 1, Budget Solar Panels
Article on inverter Ningbo Ginlong | Solar Inverters Review

I think your reading of the previous 29 pages will illustrate there are many varying opinions. Certainly there is the opportunity to spend more than the quote you have. I went along with the idea of spending more in the hope of getting a longer term solution with less need to seek out warranty help-I guess time will tell if I jumped the right way

Thanks for your comments. I was/am aware of there being many different brands of panels but don't really know much about any of them. I'm happy to pay extra to get better quality but at the same time, I don't want to pay more just to feel good and end up with something that's no better than the cheaper ones. More research needed. Wish me luck.

 

[cove]

I think our business is saving about $130,000 each year from going LED and solar at our warehouse/offices nationally as we work mostly sunlight hours. We had two inverters fail out of 10 and they were replaced under warranty.

 

[drron]

A month ago we scrapped our 14 year old panels after 2 panels gave up.It would have costed ~ $1000 to fix or $5500 to replace.We went with replace as the old system still left us with $150-200 per quarter to pay.When the old system failed-just before we went away on a long trip-our quarterly bill was $550.
The new system in the first 31 days has generated as much as the old system did in 9 months.My feeling is we will no longer have to pay a power bill.So the new system will pay it's self off in just 10 quarters.

So just received our 4th quarterly bill since changing our solar panels.The old panels would have left us with a bill of $6-800 dolars for the year.New panels $1900 credit.Nearly 50% of the cost of the new panels recouped in 12 months.

 

[kamchatsky]

As a data point I have just installed the following system at end of March

- 30 * 330W Trina Solar Honey Half Cell panels (i.e. 9.9kW system)
- 10KW 3-phase Solis inverter
Including all installation and after rebates, $5400.00, at NSW.

I am with AGL so I am getting 21c FIT, but could only swapped to the smart meter early May so it is still early days on how much I will be saving, especially it is now winter time.

 

[kamchatsky]

Hello Team,

I've been following this thread for quite some time but haven't gotten around to installing panels as yet (despite getting a number of quotes).

I have just received a new quote that's significantly cheaper than those previously quoted. I realise that prices are continually coming down however, I'm wondering whether this company/quote is good value or poor quality (built to a price).

I'll start reading back through all 29 pages; meanwhile I'm wondering if anyone has knowledge/experience with this company/panels/inverter?

Company: Sunboost
Panels: Astronergy 330 Watt PERC 120 Half-Cut Cells (Premium Tier 1)
Single phase Solis 5kw Inverter
Free Wi-Fi Monitoring Device

6.6kW $4,191 installed.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

JV

You probably have read the link below:

Solar 101: A Guide To Buying Solar Power Systems

Our Solar 101 beginners guide is the ideal starting point for anyone considering buying a solar power system who needs advice and information

www.solarquotes.com.au

It does have a list of recommended panels + inverter. I have Trina panels + Solis inverter myself, recently installed.

For pricing I have no comment, but based on my previous quotes on 6.6kW systems it ranges from $2600 - $7000 (!) after rebates.

One thing though, everyone say that their panels are Tier 1, and some company would add clause to swap to equivalent panel if required on the day of installation. So watch out for clauses like that.

 

[jb747]

My solar array is partially out of action. recent severe electrical storm and lightning about 2 weeks ago took out a solar string

I managed to double the cost of my installation, because I chose micro inverters. So, 30 of them at about $lots each. Recently two failed. No idea why, but it happened at the same time, so you’d have to be suspicious of an outside event. I contacted the company that installed them, and their response was that they are under warranty for 10 years, and that they would contact Enphase and get new ones. Which they duly did.

What is interesting is that the new inverters are making about 5% more power than the old ones (which were themselves only a couple of years old).

 

[Jacques Vert]

@cove, @drron & @jb747, may I ask what brand of panels you went with?

 

[cove]

@Jacques Vert we have various ones as we have installations across Australia. We did get Chinese ones as they are the market leaders by a mile. Deal with a reputable group and get a warranty.

 

[jb747]

I went with Winaico panels. Taiwanese. The controllers and micro inverters are from Enphase (US).

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

We have 18 panels (Longi - chinese ) and a Sungrow Inverter. Installed March 2019. Since that time to now we have had a $2000 credit on our electricity account, over our usage, which has high AC use in the long summer months here on the SUNshine Coast. So we are happy with the outcome.

 

[Buzzard]

We will be looking at Solar when we move to our new place.
A company that seems to have a very good reputation in ADL uses LG gear.

LG Solar

Generate Energy Pty Ltd is a South Australian based company

www.gnr8nrg.com.au

 

[moa999]

It's a tough one because $ cost does impact payback.

From some searches I've done, many recommend spending more on the inverter - Fronius highly regarded, or Enphase micro inverters if you have shade issues.

If you have limited roof space you might need the more expensive high efficiency brands to maximise production.

If you've got plenty of roof space then the cheaper Tier 1 panels are possibly a better return.