Installing a solar system in your home is an involved process. However, for the average Aussie household it needn’t be overly complicated. And for the majority of us it’s not.
There are some necessary steps to getting started with solar. Take the right initial steps, and your solar journey is likely to be very positive.
This article is for those who have been considering solar but are yet to make the first move. It is also for those dead keen on solar but are still feeling cautious about embracing a new technology.
And of course, this article is also for the solar convert, the enthusiast, and anyone ready to take the first steps and gear up with some solar knowledge.
With the appropriate first steps, you are far more likely to achieve the lasting benefits of solar via a trouble free transaction and installation.
If you do your research and get the right system for your home, your solar system will serve you as planned. It will meet your current needs, yet have the flexibility to adapt with you, as lifestyle on the home-front fluctuates and grows.
Many people assume that the first step is to contact solar providers and get information and quotes. A fair assumption, but there’s a critical step before that.
The critical first step in the solar process is acquiring a basic knowledge of solar and the solar industry.
With this knowledge in your utility belt, you will be sufficiently armed to talk solar with the professionals.
Firstly, you will be able to provide the solar pros with accurate information about your home, family, and electricity needs. With this information they can advise you on appropriate systems and peripherals. A “peripheral” is simply any device that connects to your solar system, enhancing it, or adding another feature.
Secondly, you will be far better placed to assess the value of their advice. You will also be able to ask important questions, raise critical concerns, and pick up on clever ‘sales talk’ that doesn’t serve your interests.
Thirdly, you will be able to embrace the solar journey with confidence and control – an obvious benefit in any consumer transaction.
The following headings highlight the most important information you need to get started.
With a sound grasp of this information you will be ready to talk confidently with a solar professional and/or carry out more refined or detailed research about various aspects of converting to a solar energy system.
The information below is by no means complete. We could write books about solar batteries, or types of solar panels alone. The information in this article is foundational. It’s first step information.
While a great deal more could be written under each of the headings below, it would be counterproductive to overwhelm solar newcomers with volumes of information.
How to use this article.
Take your time, take notes, and check out the links that have been provided. There’s plenty of information here, and all of it will contribute to building your basic solar knowledge. Ultimately, understanding this article will help you save time and money, and help you avoid common solar mistakes.
Let’s go solar.
This is where the show begins. Before you do anything else, you need to understand how much electricity you use. This is directly related to your lifestyle.
It’s these things in particular that will determine your solar requirements. This is where you will begin.
Your electricity bill is an unwelcome arrival every month or quarter. It’s this bill, however, that will provide you with the key information you need to assess your usage.
Electricity bills, such as this example here, contains information about how much electricity you consume. Your electricity usage is measured in kilowatt hours.
Your bill will have a chart that shows how much electricity your household consumed in the preceding month.
The chart, depending on your provider, will allow you to compare the usage over the preceding 4 months. There will also be a comparison to your usage at the same time the previous year.
Some electricity providers will also show where your consumption sits relative to others in your neighbourhood. The average Aussie home consumes 16 to 20 kW hours of electricity per day.
Depending on where you live, you will notice peaks and troughs corresponding with winter and summer, when ambient temperatures are at their extremes.
It’s this information that a solar consultant will use to start working out your solar needs . It will help to have as many previous bills on hand as possible, say a couple of years’ worth.
If you don’t have these documents, the information can be obtained from your electricity provider.
For those of you looking to get an intricate understanding of your electricity usage, or those with no electricity usage history, you can use a smart meter, or get the platinum option of an electricity audit.
These two options have costs involved. In the case of an audit, the price could be significant. However, despite this being unnecessary for your solar system purchase, there can be significant advantages. Check out this iSelect brochure for a little insight.
Understanding WHEN you use the most electricity is very important. It’s important that you consider this relative to the seasons.
Do you use your washing machine and drier in the evenings? Is your pool filter scheduled to engage in the evenings? Do you run electric heating devices in the evenings through winter? You need to assess this, as when the sun has set your solar panels are essentially dormant.
Your solar panels will be generating power when the sun is shining. Taking advantage of this energy when generated is more valuable than feeding it back to your electricity provider. We’ll talk more about feed-in tariffs later.
Your solar consultant may advise you on some behavioural changes on the home front that will help you achieve the maximum benefit from sun-born electricity. That could be, for example, running high electricity demand appliances during the day only.
Stay tuned for a more detailed article about ways in which you can extract every dollar of electricity savings from your solar system.
They may also advise you about the benefits of a solar battery, where you can store the excess power generated rather than feeding it back to the grid. We’ll discuss batteries later in the article.
It’s important to consider your usage going forward. There might be two of you in a three bedroom household now.
But will you have 3 children in the next in the next 5 years? Will you be adding two more air conditioners? Extending to include another bedroom, a games room?
Perhaps you intend to add a pool and elaborate entertainment area to your yard. Perhaps you want to install underfloor heating. In these circumstances, your electricity demands will increase.
Of course, the converse may be true. The kids may have flown the nest. You’re thinking of filling in the pool, selling the deep freezer and clothes dryer. In this case, you’re assuming less electricity demand going forward.
Over the life of a solar system, your household will likely experience many changes in day to day living. Your electricity demands will change accordingly. Your solar consultant needs to know your plans for the future to advise you appropriately.
It’s almost always more cost effective to purchase an effective solar system upfront that can cater to changing needs, rather than to upgrade later.
Check out the electricity bill in this link. There’s a chart providing an estimate of electricity usage based on the number of people living in the household.
If you’re planning growing a family, or welcoming extended family to reside with you, this chart will provide you with an indication of your electricity needs.
Your House, its design, location, and orientation are important factors that fit under this first heading of lifestyle and electricity usage. However, we’ll jump to the core components of a solar system first. This will introduce you to some key solar terms that will allow for a better understanding of how your house impacts the type of solar system that’s best for you.
There are three components to a basic solar system. There are the solar panels, the inverter and the rack system that connect the panels to your roof.
It’s this component of which you are no doubt most familiar. It’s the solar panels that sit on the roof collecting sun rays and converting them to electricity.
Generally speaking, the more solar panels you have, the more solar power you can generate. You are limited in the number you can have by your budget, roof size and regulations.
A standard 6.6kW system is a very popular size for family homes in Australia. It is also a maximum size in many locations due to DNSP regulations. Distribution network service providers (DNSP) build, maintain and operate all the electrical distribution networks.
A 6.6kW system requires around 24 panels, depending on the brand and quality. And quality can make a heck of a difference.
Solar panels convert anywhere from 15 to 21 percent of the sun they receive into electricity. It’s this conversion rate that is important. The higher the conversion rate, the more electricity you get per panel.
As you might expect, the higher the conversion rate the higher the price of the solar panel. The advantage of going for higher quality panels is that you require less space and fewer panels to generate the amount of electricity you need.
You will hear terms such as polycrystalline ad monocrystalline. This terminology relates to solar cell construction. Solar cells are the core active component of a solar panel.
Traditionally, monocrystalline panels are better, but ultimately, it’s not so important. What is important is the conversion rate, and the panel’s operational longevity. You want panels with high conversion that will function well for 25 years or more.
Be aware that there are huge differences in panel quality. There are cheap and nasty brands that should be avoided like the plague. There are models that may well be overkill for your circumstances.
When your solar consultant gives you a panel recommendation, the best thing to do to get as much information about the panels as possible. Not just the brand and their respective reviews, look at the technical specifications. Why those panels, what benefits do they provide over others, do I need/want those benefits?
Rule of thumb: get the best panels you can afford and avoid the suspiciously cheap. The bad panels are really bad. With solar panels, price point is a reasonable reflection of quality.
You may hear that panels made in a certain country are better than others. For example, German panels are better than Chinese panels.
This is completely false. Looking at the country of manufacture is, generally speaking, a bad move. Above all, concentrate on the data and return on investment calculations.
Be sure to ask your consultant about the panel’s ability to cope with heat. This may sound crazy, but sun loving solar panels are no fans of heat.
Once temperatures go above 25 degrees, your panels can begin to drop in efficiency. And that’s an air temperature of 25 degrees. While it might be 25 degrees outside, your panels, facing directly to the sun, are significantly hotter than this.
There are equations for understanding how much capacity is lost per degree in temperature. However, it’s not necessary to know this. What is necessary is that you ask the solar consultant about it so you can gauge the effectiveness of what you’re being quoted and can compare with other models.
Be careful completely relying on brand. Bigger manufactures have the resources to pour into PR and generate a lot of content online about their brand’s panels being of the highest quality. There are many smaller brands that produce very high-quality panels. All their budget goes towards performance and engineering, not marketing and PR. Bottom line: when comparing panels, it’s important to be comparing spec sheets of panels opposed to comparing panels by brand.
If the solar panels are the sun catchers and sun converters; then the inverter is the brains of the operation. It converts the DC electricity the panels have created into AC electricity you can use to run your household appliances. Most of which are equipped with monitoring software, so you can see how they perform across the day.
There are two types of electrical current, AC (alternating current), and DC (direct current). This link offers a pretty straight forward explanation of the difference between the two.
You don’t really need to know the AC / DC science. All you need to know is that your solar panels create DC electrical current and your inverter changes it to AC electrical current, which you need to run your electrical appliances.
There are two types of inverters. There’s the string inverter and the micro-inverter. There is a third inverter which is kind of like a combination of the two.
A string inverter is a very common option and generally speaking, very cost effective only in perfect conditions. It sits hidden away in a cool, sun-free location. It’s roughly the size of an instant hot water system.
A micro-inverter sits on the back of each solar panel. It has distinct advantages over a string inverter but you will pay more for it up front. Micro-inverters are generally considered PLO or panel level optimisation. We’ll explain the key difference:
With a string inverter, maximum power generation is governed by the weakest link, i.e. the weakest panel. For example, if one panel is being shaded or is completely covered for some reason, the rest of your panels will only perform to the capacity of the weakest panel. If one panel is operating at only 50% capacity, then every panel will operate at 50% capacity.
With a micro-inverter and panel level optimisation (PLO), this problem is avoided. Each panel works independently from each other, allowing for far more reliable and consistent power generation when conditions aren’t perfect.
If you can reliably say conditions will be perfect 90% of the time (which is usually hard to say), then a string inverter will be your best option for the most cost-effective result. If conditions are not always perfect, then a micro-inverter system will likely be your best bet.
There are other options for panel level optimisation but this is a question you can ask the consultant, or research later.
The inverter is not only the brain of your solar system, it’s the heroic workhorse slaving 24/7. We would always advise that you seek out better quality inverters proven to stand the test of time.
Inverters are identified by their conversion capacity in kW. If going down the path of a 6.6kW system, or 6kW system, your consultant is likely to advise a 5kW inverter. Due to factors like temperature, overcast and shading, panels rarely produce as much power as their rated output.
Your solar panels need to be securely connected to your roof. The solar panels are secured on a rack system. It’s not a one size fits all situation as homes and circumstances differ. There are a number of leading brands and designs as well as brands to be avoided.
You may have seen panels sitting flat on a roof. You may also have seen panels that are tilted with one edge far higher than the other.
Tilting solar panels is about maximising the efficiency of the solar panel’s sun-catching potential. There are reasons for this that we will address later. It’s part of the mounting system, and tilting will add an outlay cost to your new system.
The core features of the mounting system are efficiency, safety, durability, structural integrity, and aesthetics.
6.6 kW systems are also very common in Aussie family homes. This system, for argument’s sake, would have up to 24 solar panels and a 5kW string inverter. Of course, you can have smaller or larger systems.
A 6.6kW system with standard mounting, 24 solar panels and a standard string inverter will cost around $5,000 to $10,000 dollars.
You can get cheaper of course, but as mentioned earlier, cheap solar components are a false economy and will hurt you, probably sooner than expected.
Upgrading with micro inverters or other panel optimisation technology will add to the upfront costs and but depending on your circumstance could reduce the time in which the system will take to pay for itself.
A standard system will take from 3 to 7 years to pay for itself. This is an indicative number only. This projection will vary significantly depending on your unique circumstances.
It’s your house structure that’s the next big variable in a solar system deliberation. The location, roof construction materials and slope (angle), roof size, house size and surrounding structures, all play a significant role in selecting a system.
The size of your roof is important. The bigger the roof, the more panels you can fit and the more electricity you can generate. Conversely, a small roof limits the number of panels that will fit.
Having a small roof yet a large electricity demand is likely to force you to buy more expensive solar panels that generate more electricity per square meter of panel.
Having a large unobstructed roof, and low electricity demands ensures you will need less panels, and reduced need for premium technology.
Solar panels have an optimum angle for peak sun collection. The optimum angle relates to the latitude of where you live. For example: Sydney sits at a latitude of 34°. So the optimum panel angle, or roof angle, is 31°. Hobart sits at a latitude of 43° where the optimum panel tilt angle is 37°.
In Australia, solar panels achieve optimum performance when facing the north. If you have a home in Hobart with a flat roof, or a slight angle facing the south, you will have far different solar requirements to a home in Sydney with a 31° north facing roof.
A question you might ask yourself is: Why would I need expensive premium panels when my home and roof are totally optimised for sun collection?
Solar consultants may recommend that your panels be mounted on a tilted frame if your roof angle and orientation are not optimised. This will add to the cost, so you should ask them about providing a detailed cost benefit analysis.
To gauge the slope of your roof, simply hold up a protractor to the section of roof most suitable for holding your panels. It will provide a reasonable estimate of the angle.
If you’re not sure of the orientation of your home have a look at where the sun sets each day and note the position of your roof surface relative to the setting sun. The sun sets in the west.
It’s wonderful to live in a forest surrounded by tall trees. However, it’s not so great for solar panels. Solar panels awash with shade perform poorly. There are homes for which solar is simply not an option because of shading.
This may also be the case for homes surrounded by other buildings that are perhaps taller than your home. Shadows cast from these building will determine where on your roof a solar system can be mounted, and indeed if a solar system can be of any value at all.
Shading can be a tricky thing to assess. The shadows from buildings and trees will vary throughout the year and seasons.
If you are in doubt as to where the shade falls on your roof and property at any point in the year, you can have a professional do a shade diagram for you.
Yes, there is a cost involved. But this information will be invaluable for a solar consultant who is looking to assess solar viability and optimise the performance of a solar system.
As a bit of a heads up…just be aware that removing a tree from your yard to make way for a solar system will likely find very strong opposition from your local council.
In fact, it’s likely illegal and may attract very heavy fines. Assume nothing. Always check first. A good solar operator will certainly inform you about these matters.
You should also be aware of any proposed construction adjacent your home. This is particularly important for those with a vacant lot next door.
Check for any proposed development. It could be possible that your $10k solar investment is rendered useless because the building proposed next door will shade your panels at critical stages of the day.
Shade from neighbouring properties including the structure and trees can be a difficult issue to resolve. Again, assume nothing. If need be, discuss with your solar provider, your neighbours, and your local council. You do have rights regarding how your neighbour’s shade impacts you, but they only go so far.
An array of solar panels on your roof will likely impact the aesthetics of your home. For many solar citizens, it’s not the slightest problem. Others may be concerned about how this will impact the look of their property cosmetically.
There are options such as integrated solar panels or black slim line panels that significantly improve the visual impact of the appearance of the panels. Like any other consumer product, be aware that if it looks fantastic, or even just better for that matter, it’s going to cost more money.
For those who have just built a designer home, own or have restored a period home, discreet solar panel options are particularly important, regardless of the expense.
Generally speaking, you don’t need council approval to install a solar system on your roof. However, those with historic homes, homes with heritage designation, or homes located in a heritage area with heritage street frontage should check with their council before proceeding.
As mentioned earlier, solar panels lose a small percentage of efficiency for every degree over 25°. If you live in a hot climate, you should choose panels that have a better capacity to deal with heat.
On the other side of the scale are clouds. If you live in an area that is frequently heavy with clouds, you may require a much larger system to compensate for the diminished sunlight.
Likewise, people who live in alpine regions should be aware that a heavy snow fall will impact your panels. If they are completely covered with snow they will not produce any electricity.
Most good installers will tilt panels appropriately to mitigate snow issues. However, it’s not always possible to snow-proof your panels. While the sun will melt the snow away, it may take a while for your panels to be operating at peak. The frigid temperature of alpine regions has no impact on electricity production.
Cleaning and maintenance is a little bit of a grey area. Yes, dirt will impact the performance of your solar panels. Relative to the cost of professional cleaning, which can be expensive, the loss of efficiency from dirt is negligible.
If you live in a high dust/dirt location, it’s probably more financially beneficial to just add another panel or two to compensate for the dirt.
There are exceptional cases. If you live on a dirt road frequented by road trains in an area of minimal rainfall, then regular cleaning might be necessary for you. But that’s a pretty exceptional circumstance.
A simple hose down following a dust storm or extended dry weather may offer a boost in panel efficiency. If they’re really jam packed with heavy soot or grime, a soap and water clean will be necessary. As this involves getting up on your roof, we can only recommend a professional cleaner.
For those with panels on a slight angle or completely flat (very rare), it’s a nigh on guarantee that a regular cleaning regime will be required.
Most of the time you will be able to spot overly dirty panels without too much trouble. Though, will the very occasional clean be enough to maintain your solar investment?
A host of solar professionals, be it the sales company, the panel manufacturer, the installer, or the clean energy council will recommend periodical inspections or maintenance.
Just be aware that inspection recommendations can be as frequent as annual to as infrequent as every 5 years. As professional inspections can start at a couple hundred bucks, you will need to factor this in to your costs.
It’s really up to you. However, leaving it more than 5 years might be allowing a small issue to become a big one. Remember, it is electricity after all and safety is a worthy consideration.
Check your warranties to make sure there is no ‘regular maintenance’ clause that ties you to pricey services from your chosen solar dealer. These are best avoided.
If you notice a change in the daily output of your panels (checking your inverters monitoring software) it could be worth checking whether they need a clean.
Solar panels are incredibly safe. But as just mentioned, it is electricity so things can go wrong, even though it is exceedingly rare.
More than anything, a dodgy installer would be the main reason safety might be compromised. Any solar installer you’re looking into needs to be qualified to work safely in the solar industry. However, going with a well-reviewed, experienced, and reputable installer pretty well negates this issue.
Micro-inverters do add a higher level of safety over string inverters. Here’s why:
DC electricity is more dangerous than AC electricity. While AC electricity is dangerous, as you are no doubt aware, DC is considerably more so.
If you have a string inverter, there will be cables carrying DC electricity from your roof to wherever the inverter is located. Because of this you are required by law to have a DC isolator switch on your panels.
Ironically, it’s these isolator switches, which have been added for safety, that have the potential to become a problem. Some isolator switch brands are not well constructed enough to handle the relentless Aussie weather extremes. Over time they could become faulty and a fire hazard.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get a string inverter. The simple solution is to ensure the DC isolator being installed is up to specifications by CEC accredited installers. We would also recommend additional inspections when running a string inverter.
Alternatively, the micro-inverter does away with the isolator switch all together, as there is no DC current being carried away from the solar panels. With micro-converters, DC is converted to AC at the panel.
As long as your installations are done by professionals, ultimately, a solar system is a very safe form of electricity generation.
Rebates and feed in tariffs are government driven incentives that were implemented to make solar more affordable for Aussies. People frequently confuse the two incentives so we’ll make it easy here.
A rebate is a percentage of money that comes off the initial price or outlay of your solar system. The amount is covered by the government.
You don’t have to worry about the rebate at all. When you are quoted the total price of your new solar system, the price you are quoted includes the value of the rebate.
What’s important to know is that the rebate will not be applied if you purchase from an uncertified supplier or installer. For many reasons we strongly advise that you never do this in any case.
It’s also important to know that over the next 15 years the value of the rebate will fall throughout Australia. No matter wether you are looking at solar panels in Tasmania, Victoria or anywhere else in the country, the rebate is dropping. This doesn’t necessarily mean you will pay more for your new system, but it definitely means the portion covered by the government will be less. Eventually, perhaps in the 2030s, there will be no rebate at all.
The bottom line is that to get the best advantage of the rebate, you should take the solar plunge sooner rather than later.
There’s a very good chance that you’ll not use all of the electricity that you generate during the day. This electricity is fed out into the grid for all consumers to use. In fact, you’re literally a mini power station. You will receive a payment for your unused electricity you feed back into the grid. It’s called a feed in tariff.
Feed in tariffs vary in value depending on your electricity retailer and location. For example, solar Tasmania tariffs may differ from a Vic or NSW tariff. Similarly, these variations also occur between energy retailers. A bench mark is set by a regulator that is independent of the retailers.
The retailers are not obliged to follow the guidance of the regulator, hence the amount you receive varies from state to state and retailer to retailer.
Currently in VIC the bench mark for 2020/21, it is 9.1 to 12.5 cents per kWh. Check the details with your electricity retailer, you might find some value in shopping around.
It should be noted however: You will get more value by using all of your solar generated electricity yourself, over selling the excess to your electricity retailer.
To ensure you can use the vast majority of the electricity you generate yourself, you will need a battery. Before we check out batteries, let’s have a look at warranties.
Warranties for solar systems can seem a little complicated, particularly if the first time you’re hearing about them is when you’re in consultation with sales people. There are actually 4 separate warranties with a standard solar system. If you have a battery or other solar peripherals, there may be even more warranties. Let’s look at the 4 critical warranties.
We’ll start with this one because if you’re ever going to make a claim, chances are it will be because of the inverter.
The inverter is the most technical and hardest working component of your system. Your inverter is busy 24 hours a day managing your electricity. It’s this workload that makes it the most likely component to fail.
The duration of an inverter warranty will vary from one manufacturer to another. 5 years is pretty standard. There are some models that will offer 10 years. Expect to pay more for longer warranties, and this will often take the form of an optional warranty upgrade.
The Solar panel product warranty is provided by the panel manufacturer. This warranty is similar to warranties you’re familiar with for every day appliances. It protects you from faulty workmanship and defects attributable to the manufacturer.
Some manufacturers offer as little as five years. Avoid these. An industry standard is 10 years and is the minimum you should accept.
Crafty solar salespeople will draw your focus to 25 year panel warranties. Be aware this is NOT a product warranty, it’s the panel performance warranty, which we will discuss now.
Over time your solar panels will become less efficient. Manufacturers warrant that their panels will degrade no more than 10% over 10 or 15 years. You will hear about the 25 year performance warranty from many sales people.
Make sure your sales consultant clearly indicates the difference between the performance warranty and the product warranty.
Manufacturers have been known to blame performance degradation on a fault in the panel. If the panel warranty has finished, they will decline your claim on the performance warranty.
Focus on the product warranty. It’s your best warranty security.
Installation warranties can have significant variation. They can start at 1 year or be as long as 10 years. The most common will be 1 to 2 years.
Check the installation warranty carefully and only select a long-standing reputable installer with a good history.
Problems can arise with attributing responsibility should something go wrong. For example, your inverter breaks down, it’s within warranty, and you make a claim. But the claim is not honoured by the manufacturer because they discover the inverter was installed incorrectly.
You then discover that the installation warranty has expired. This can make a claim a genuine headache. Make sure you raise such a situation with your solar consultant and request a definitive response.
Premium brands with solid warranties generally indicate good product quality. Manufacturers who stand by the products they sell with generous warranties are often a better bet than cheaper products with limited or confusing warranties.
When the sun goes down, or on heavily overcast days, you will have little choice but to draw expensive power from the electricity grid.
If you have a solar battery, however, it is possible that you can avoid drawing any power from the grid, or perhaps only a negligible amount.
With a solar battery, the electricity you get from the sun during the day can be stored. This means that even though it’s night time and your solar panels are sleeping, you are still using the power from the sun that your panels collected during the day.
Batteries can have an amazing impact on your electricity bill. For example, a household with a quarterly electricity bill of over $700 may pay as little $40 or less with a battery installed. And that’s without skimping on usage.
As you would imagine, there’s a pretty hefty price tag attached to a battery purchase. Smaller batteries start at about $5,000, with the more powerful units starting at $14,000 and quickly heading north. And that’s just the battery. There will be installation costs on top of this.
A battery purchase means that your system will take significantly longer to pay for itself. However, a battery offers you a high level of independence from the crazy and ever-increasing costs, as well as unpredictable world of grid power. For many, this independence is definitely worth the extra outlay.
If you’re interested in a battery yet don’t have the funds currently, make sure you tell your solar consultant so they can recommend a solar system that is battery ready.
Contrary to popular belief, a battery BY ITSELF does not protect you from a blackout. However, you can be protected from blackouts, but you will need to add certain technologies in addition to a battery, adding more costs to your new solar system.
You may have heard the term “off the grid.” This refers to living without any connection to the electricity grid at all. That is, complete electricity independence.
While there are a number of Australians using solar to live off the grid, it’s a tiny number. Living off the grid is sometimes necessary for very isolated homes. For the most part, however, it’s a lifestyle choice. An off the grid solar system is generally more involved and very personalised.
Off grid solar is an advanced solar use or application. We’ll address it in another article in future.
Before we get into the mechanics of solar companies, installers, sales companies and manufacturers, there’s another stop on your research path before you hit the professionals.
Talk to neighbours, friends and extended family who have already taken the solar plunge. Quiz them about their experiences and new solar knowledge.
Asking people you trust about their experiences of the purchase process, and the day to day impact of solar will help you formulate your ideas and questions.
You don’t usually buy your solar equipment and systems directly from the manufacturer. That would be like buying a BMW car by hopping a flight to Germany and knocking on the factory door. There are some exceptions to this, but for most of us, we will be starting our negotiations with a solar sales company.
Solar sales companies have several different forms and business structures. Each have advantages and possible disadvantages for customers.
Sales companies can be big nationwide franchises, national businesses with a head office and numerous retail outlets, small local businesses, and sole traders. There’s also online retail and aggregators. Let’s look at aggregators first.
Aggregators are the relatively new kid on the block. You will already be familiar with aggregators yet may not have heard the term before.
Accommodation and air travel businesses for example, are now rife with aggregators. So much so that that many of us rarely book directly with the carrier we’ll fly with or the hotel we’ve selected for accommodation.
Aggregators you may know are booking.com, Webjet, Uber, and the world’s biggest, of course, Amazon.
Putting it simply, aggregators collect business brands and advertise them under the aggregator’s logo and brand…for a cut of sales.
Consumers can jump online and search conveniently collated and categorised goods and services brands. Perhaps we might speak to a consultant who will help us identify a solar installer that fits our needs. The benefit is that the aggregator can help make comparisons for us. It’s an easy way to shop and make appropriate connections.
The down side of aggregators is that they are now coming to dominate the industry. There is an argument that they could (and are) skewing the level playing field of a competitive market place.
In the solar industry an aggregator will typically acquire your information by providing you with multiple quotes from multiple companies. They then sell your information to the companies of their choice.
There is a potential threat in this. Compliance required to be listed or represented by a popular aggregator might compromise smaller companies. Companies that are pouring more money into purchasing your information from an aggregator will inherently be more likely to be providing your quote. Based on this, selection is favoured towards monetary investment and compliance to the aggregator, not the quality and performance provided.
While convenient one stop shopping and advice might help us on our initial solar quest, the potential dominance of this particular business model may have a negative consequence for a larger portion of solar players; therefore hurting consumer choice, options and new ideas in the industry.
Most of us know what a franchise is. The most famous, of course, is McDonalds. Franchises are independently owned and operated yet remain under the guise and branding of a much larger company.
When you choose a solar franchise you will be dealing with the work ethic and professionalism of an independent operator or franchisee. However, you will likely be dealing with the brands, prices and brand selection as designated by the franchise. The rules and procedures of the franchisee are mostly dictated by the franchise itself.
The typical drawbacks of a franchise is that you may be limited by choice, location, price flexibility and anything ‘out of the box’.
However, often franchise owners are incredibly dedicated, hardworking people who understand that customer focus will be the crux of their business success.
Should you purchase from a franchise and the franchisee went out of business, it is likely you have back up and warranty claims recourse through the franchise. This is a feature you may forgo when going with a solar sole trader.
Think of typical businesses or companies you’d see in any other industry; they operate independently and gain profit by selling their product or services. A lot of the times solar retail companies are the evolution of local installers or solar sole traders. They can be small and local or nationwide with multiple outlets.
Here you can expect the hard-sell and persuasive sales tactics in most cases. It’s here that you should be on guard to make sure you don’t walk out with enough solar to power a stadium.
We’re exaggerating and mostly poking fun at ourselves. Every business, no matter what category, obviously wants to sell to you.
Many solar retailers are highly reputable and provide excellent service. However, there’s always large variations to independent solar companies, so do your research.
We recommend investigating the outward persona of the company. What they talk about on their online presence (website and social media) is typically what you can expect their ethos to be about. Most can be put into one of two categories:
If they talk about low prices or if they have dollar figures are all over their digital assets, then they’re in the price game. Lower prices with sacrifices on quality and service. If you can buy higher quality product from these companies, with all the manufacturing warranties and guarantees, while also sourcing and self-managing a different professional installer willing to do the job, than that’s worth jumping on to. They would usually stock multiple brands and multiple models, and offer plenty of options.
If they talk about performance, services or specialty benefits, then they’re in the value game. Higher prices with focus on quality and service. If you can manage a good price with any of these companies, either through negations or additional hoops you can jump through, then that’s a winning option. They typically have a stricter variety of products and brands, only offering options based on stricter performance and quality metrics.
Stay away from those who have higher prices with sacrifices on quality and service.
Some more established companies will have installers in-house or just use subcontractors. No matter the case, ensure you understand the warranties, the service (check for CEC accreditations) and product for which you’ve paid. Just like any major purchase.
There are some fantastic smaller players in the solar game. However, this is also where the dodgy operators can get away with their costly tricks.
Firstly, they must be licensed solar installers to be able to claim the rebate and legally install your system. This certification is some assurance but it’s not a guarantee of quality workmanship or fair pricing.
Often these operators purchase solar equipment wholesale or have deals with importers. They may even source equipment via retail just as you might.
Price is often the most convincing factor with the smaller players. While they might not have the purchasing power of larger solar companies, they have a fraction of the operating costs and can use this feature to undercut larger sales companies.
If you’re considering to choose such an installer, be sure to research their history. Check reviews and their length of time in the industry.
One of the risks with smaller solar installers is that they may move on from your location or go out of business. This can be a problem when you require aftersales backup or wish to make warranty claims. Unfortunately, something that happens far too frequently in the solar industry. When buying something that has the lifespan of over 25+ years, ensure you’ve got some long-term security on support.
Another risk is their speciality in service. There is a lot of different work involved in installing solar. Being an expert in electrical cabling doesn’t necessarily include an expertise in panel mounting on the roof, or inverter configuration and setup (which changes manufacturer to manufacturer).
Further to this, the installation of technology such as solar batteries requires in-depth knowledge and accomplished skills. It can be difficult to assess if they’re the right person for the job. Don’t just base your decision on price alone; gauging experience, expertise and knowledge is absolutely crucial.
There’s no need to discount any solar business type from your deliberations. The critical tip is to do your homework.
This is a 25+ year investment costing a minimum of $5,000 to an upwards of $20K or more.
It’s true that the best time to start a long-term investment is yesterday, but it genuinely pays to get it right the first time with solar. Fixing something done wrongly, or adding to something second-rate, will cost you more than any initial savings.
Solar is a fantastic way to save money and reduce your impact on the environment. With government rebates, solar is cheaper than it has ever been, and more and more Australian homes and businesses are taking advantage of installing solar.
In the not too distant future, solar power will be the norm. We’re fast heading there now. Solar is a wise lifestyle change for everybody concerned about electricity prices and uncertain energy policy in Australia.
As you have gauged in this article, the solar process is reasonably involved. But we hope that you can also see that it’s just a process, and pretty straight forward if you do your research first.
When you take the appropriate first steps, the solar journey can be very rewarding in a multitude of ways.
You can choose to simply purchase a basic solar system, install, then set and forget. Or, like many Aussies, you can become solar savvy, enjoying a level of electricity independence that is only possible through solar.
There’s plenty to learn about solar, and there will always be a new solar technology or process to engage with. We’re confident, however, that having read this buyer’s guide you’re now well and truly set for talking solar with the pros.