So you’ve made the choice to go solar and start producing your own renewable energy – congratulations! If you’ve never had solar PV systems installed in your home before, the process of collecting quotes from different suppliers can get overwhelming.
We’ve collated a handy list of tips to help you prepare for your home assessment, making the quotation process a whole lot easier and stress-free. This also leaves more time during the consultation for you to ask questions and have in-depth discussions with suppliers.
What to Prepare:
- How much sunlight reaches your roof?
Assessing the level of sunlight that hits your roof each day is key to understanding just how efficient your solar investment is likely to be. If your roof is covered by shade for most of the day, it might not be favourable enough to maximise your investment and justify the cost of solar panels.
If you do have a suitable amount of sunlight reaching your roof, look at how well its in shape, structurally. Solar PV system installations can come with warranties for over a decade, so you’ll want to ensure your roof tiles won’t need changing any time soon!
Considering the health of your roof ensures you won’t incur additional costs over the years to disconnect and re-install your panels during a roof renovation.
- Collate past bills
Now that most electricity bills are delivered electronically, it shouldn’t be too hard to collect your past bills to get an idea of your average cost per quarter.
Your previous quarter’s electricity bill is an essential for your home assessment as it shows the amount of kWh consumed. It also shows the cost of electricity in your area, and generally includes a consumption pattern that will be helpful in identifying your usage patterns.
All of this information helps your solar installer to provide an accurate quote, and show you the realistic savings you can achieve by installing a PV system.
- Take a picture of your meter
Most solar PV systems need a bi-directional meter box to measure the energy fed back to the grid. If you’re able to, take a picture of your meter box and share this with suppliers preparing quotes for your home so they can identify if your meter box needs an upgrade or not.
- Consider your electricity usage
If you can identify your typical pattern of energy consumption throughout the day, this will help your supplier to match the amount of energy that needs to be generated by your new system.
This will also help your supplier to identify if self-consumption is a realistic model for your home; self-consumption is the ideal scenario as it will see you avoid accessing energy from the grid during peak times.
- Clear your calendar!
It’s best that both owners are home for the assessment – this gives you both the opportunity to ask any questions whilst the installer is there on site, avoiding back and forth and any confusion.
The home assessment should only run for 1-1.5 hours, so you won’t need to take too long out of your work day and if it is more suitable you can ask for an evening or weekend appointment.
- Find out how you connect to the grid
Every home’s details vary from one another, so it’s helpful if you’re able to advise your solar installer just how your home connects to the main power grid. Some questions to consider:
a. Do you pay connection fees?
b. How long does it take for the utility to be connected?
c. Once your new system is connected, how will your electricity retailer credit you for additional energy generated?
- Do your research
The most important part of preparing for your solar home assessment is to ensure you’ve properly researched the suppliers you are seeking quotes from. Make sure your suppliers have proof of their credentials and certifications on their website, and that they are up-to-date.
NGSS has pieced together our team of the best solar designers, electricians and operations managers in Australia. With safety, innovation, and the latest technology at the forefront of our business, we deliver the most trustworthy service and take care of every tiny detail of your installation project, giving you peace of mind.
To schedule your home assessment, or speak to one of our team members with any questions you may have, get in touch with us using the button below.
