A couple of days ago I responded to an add promising 3 Solar panel installation quote. I only had one firm call me back and after asking very minimal questions called me back again and sent me a quote, with the following info.
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Company name: Eurosolar
System size: 5KW
Inverter: Solax single phase (despite asking and being advised whether my home has single or 3 phase power. (It has 3 phase to power the 5.5KvA heat pump)
Panels: 18 255-275watt polycrystalline
Price: $4,900 less STC rebates
Does anyone know of installations by Eurosolar?
I assume all materials to be used are sourced from PRC.
They have include an import/export meter cost, but I don't know how that works when I have 3 phase in but only 1 phase out.
My rooves face east, west and south, so I assume they would only use the west facing roof.
I think it was a very generic quote as the lady who called me calculated the cost on the spot, from my address, an estimate of the average electricity usage and the phase question.
Any thoughts greatly appreciated. TIA
As with any major spend - you really need to do your due diligence.
Buying solar panels is (unfortunately) more complicated than many panel sellers alert you to. Some groups are good, a few are very good, and perhaps one or two are excellent. The overwhelming proportion appear to be refugees from the rort that was the free-roof batts period.
Be warned.
I suspect I know what web site you clicked to get the three quotes - contact the guy who runs that web site and let him know your outcome.
Tricks/traps:
1)
You don't get what you do not pay for.
Any quote you are given that does not specify the exact model number and name of the panels (manufacturer, country of origin etc etc) should act as a red flag.
Similarly, almost more important is exactly what capacity inverter is being supplied and what brand/model is it? Can it be used if you later decide to add battery storage?
The inverter is the part that seems (these last 7-8 years) to cause the most issues when something does not work properly.
2)
Installing 5KW of solar panels will virtually NEVER create 5KW of electricity.
In my mind this is almost as bad as Microsoft being allowed to sell an operating system that is known to be faulty and insecure - but the authorities simply wave them through.
With solar panels there are all the solar-equivalents of the ATO getting in on the act. In solar energy terms it is talked about as the system losses or efficiencies. but before we get to these issues there is the 'perfect conditions' issue.
The 'theoretical' power output of a panel is quoted for the panel being installed in the absolute perfect position and at the perfect angle with the temperature at the exact level of X degrees Celsius.
Unfortunately, once the temperature rises/falls from this level than the amount of solar power produced drops. Some panels are much better than others at handling the temperature changes. not a big impact? Unfortunately it can be. You probably know that the quoted temperature given is taken in the shade - not in full sun on a near black panel. On a sunny day, with low winds the 'news' temperature can be as much as 30 degrees different to the temperature on your solar panel.
Then there are losses due to the quality of the wiring used to run from the panels to the inverter as well as the length of that wiring.
Next (can be the biggest single loss) is with the conversion from DC to AC via the inverter. This can be around 10% of what arrives at the inverter. A good quality inverter loses less. BTW inverters are generally expected to be replaced after 8-10 years while the panels seemingly (although not marketed as such) may literally last forever at a lower capacity. Panels from the 1970s still produce power today!
From the moment the panel (high 90% of all panel brands) is exposed to the sun - it starts to degrade. In the first few days/weeks it is very marked and so most panels are sold with a capacity rating of what it should be AFTER the first month or two. Good manufacturers provide a warranty that it will be 80% of marked capacity after 20 years. whether the company will still be around then is a good question but compare this to companies that only provide a 10 year warranty.
There is a site real world place not web site where a number of manufacturers have provided panels for real-world comparison:
DKASC, Alice Springs | DKA Solar Center
It is a joint initiative of the Australian Government and oversight and management by the Northern Territory Government, the DKA Solar Centre is an impressive experiment in Alice Springs.
Click on a few different brands (installed in 2016 for example) and see the differences or not as the case may be.
When we got our panels I ensured we had the cabling that cost (the installer) less than $3 more but increased our output by around 1%. May not seem much of an improvement but for $3 more cost...
PM me if you want more specific info - I have no connection with any solar business of any kind.
