My system went in on Wednesday and the team were great, which was what I had expected after all the research and quotes. The team at MPV had a difficult installation with airconditioning ducting taking up both ceiling and underfloor space (we have separate systems for the old part of the house and the renovation). In addition to that most of our roof space is split by two rooms. 
 

They hard wired the consumption meter to the modem (no wifi here) which is in a very difficult spot in the house. 
 

Everything is working well even with some very overcast weather in Sydney. I love the SolarEdge App

 

http://www.mpvsolar.com.au/
 

Thanks for the info!

 

I am looking at getting a few quotes from some of the local companies on the Sunshine Coast so don't expect I can use MPV.

 

Hope your system does what you want.

 

Cheers

 

Prog

Great readup!  I recently moved and the power bill over the last 2 months scared me, just pipping over $250.  Neighbour just recently installed 25 panel 6.6kw system and this has given me some though about doing the same to.  Its a new ballgame now since i last had solar in my old place - 3.5kw 14 panel system.  I'm in melb so if anyone has any recommended installers, pls pm me .     

1 hour ago, MrBurns84 said:

Great readup!  I recently moved and the power bill over the last 2 months scared me, just pipping over $250.  Neighbour just recently installed 25 panel 6.6kw system and this has given me some though about doing the same to.  Its a new ballgame now since i last had solar in my old place - 3.5kw 14 panel system.  I'm in melb so if anyone has any recommended installers, pls pm me .     

@MrBurns84

 

I used this site to obtain some preliminary information and to enable me to familiarize myself with some of the latest trends / opinions.

 

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/

 

Firstly, the content created by the owner, Finn, is first class. No bullshit, all honest and open opinions and very up to date.

 

Once you have learned more about solar you can dive in the deep end and obtain 3 obligation free quotes from local operators. If you have thought about using some company and don't know about their reputation, they may well be listed on www.solarquotes.com

 

You may recall a while ago there were some rather dodgy operators offering very cheap prices on solar. Some of them are still going, some went bust and re-opened under another name but very few of them will be hosted on Finn's site despite their continual pleas to be included. He does not want anyone having a bad experience using his site and makes regular recommendations to avoid the cheapest end of town. I reas a number of reviews from the likes of these guys and was gobsmacked at how often they had shafted their customers.

 

Euro Solar

True Value Solar

Arise Solar

Sunboost

 

Plus any company that advertises heavily on TV. I'm not suggesting that using any of these companies will lead to grief but from the heaps of negative reviews hosted on the site, it seems that many people have.

 

My suggestions:

 

Use the site before you ring anybody and explore thoroughly.

Use a smaller family owned local company that only uses their own employees. (Most of the problems arise when outside contractors turn up and do a poor job. There is little accountability after that.

If you are seriously limited by your budget, then look for a company that sells products with at least a 10 product warranty (apart from a 25 year performance warranty - they are not the same)

Once you have agreed on a price, don't accept substitute products, (due to delivery issues etc, as these guys will be offloading lesser quality products = more profit for them)

 

Although I am loathe to use Chinese products after our fallout with the CCP, they still produce good solar materials. Use the site to determine which ones to go with.

 

I am looking at:

 

LG panels with a 15 year product warranty

Either Fronius / Sungrow or Solaredge inverter

 

I expect to pay about $7K to $8.5K for an 8kw system that should give me some credits for most of the year. My current bill is between $450 to $ 600 a quarter so I should be able to save about $1800 to $2K a year which gives me a 4 year amortization period.

 

Batteries are way to dear at the moment and if you factor in a $12K-$16K battery, your amortization period will be about 20+ years. With only 10 year warranties on these things, it doesn't make sense. Get a system that can accept a battery later when prices have come down (a lot).

 

I obtained 3 excellent quotes from 3 excellent operators and after reading reviews about them on the site I would have no qualms about using any of them.

 

There are other sites that offer similar quoting opportunities but this guy is miles ahead of the pack. Use him and be amazed at how seamless it can become.

 

Keep us updated.

 

Cheers

 

Prog

 

 

 

 

 

@PKay I'm glad to hear it worked out! That's awesome dude. 

 

@progladyte you have one particularly good installer for LG in your region that's worth checking out. I wouldn't worry too much about Solarquotes - not that Finn's data isn't good, though if you're on the LG/Fronius bandwagon you're doing fine already. SolarEdge also good though you have to need it to justify it. 

 

Wouldn't suggest batteries are as you suggest for price (the world thankfully isn't Tesla) there are other things to do first. There's cheaper and arguably better stuff out there depending what you need (disclaimer: I'm involved in one of the companies in this space, and have worked for and with a bunch of them) and there's other merits for batteries than simple payback. Unless you had a three phase system then there's no cost-effective perspective to get a Powerwall unless you specifically want one. 

 

I've just put in my second (phase) system - up to 17.6kW PV, all LG, Fronius inverters, CET management (on water and car, HVAC to come) and tank. Pulled a 125kWh generation day not too long ago, not unhappy with it either. 

On 29/12/2020 at 3:41 PM, progladyte said:

@MrBurns84

 

I used this site to obtain some preliminary information and to enable me to familiarize myself with some of the latest trends / opinions.

 

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/

 

Firstly, the content created by the owner, Finn, is first class. No bullshit, all honest and open opinions and very up to date.

 

Once you have learned more about solar you can dive in the deep end and obtain 3 obligation free quotes from local operators. If you have thought about using some company and don't know about their reputation, they may well be listed on www.solarquotes.com

 

You may recall a while ago there were some rather dodgy operators offering very cheap prices on solar. Some of them are still going, some went bust and re-opened under another name but very few of them will be hosted on Finn's site despite their continual pleas to be included. He does not want anyone having a bad experience using his site and makes regular recommendations to avoid the cheapest end of town. I reas a number of reviews from the likes of these guys and was gobsmacked at how often they had shafted their customers.

 

Euro Solar

True Value Solar

Arise Solar

Sunboost

 

Plus any company that advertises heavily on TV. I'm not suggesting that using any of these companies will lead to grief but from the heaps of negative reviews hosted on the site, it seems that many people have.

 

My suggestions:

 

Use the site before you ring anybody and explore thoroughly.

Use a smaller family owned local company that only uses their own employees. (Most of the problems arise when outside contractors turn up and do a poor job. There is little accountability after that.

If you are seriously limited by your budget, then look for a company that sells products with at least a 10 product warranty (apart from a 25 year performance warranty - they are not the same)

Once you have agreed on a price, don't accept substitute products, (due to delivery issues etc, as these guys will be offloading lesser quality products = more profit for them)

 

Although I am loathe to use Chinese products after our fallout with the CCP, they still produce good solar materials. Use the site to determine which ones to go with.

 

I am looking at:

 

LG panels with a 15 year product warranty

Either Fronius / Sungrow or Solaredge inverter

 

I expect to pay about $7K to $8.5K for an 8kw system that should give me some credits for most of the year. My current bill is between $450 to $ 600 a quarter so I should be able to save about $1800 to $2K a year which gives me a 4 year amortization period.

 

Batteries are way to dear at the moment and if you factor in a $12K-$16K battery, your amortization period will be about 20+ years. With only 10 year warranties on these things, it doesn't make sense. Get a system that can accept a battery later when prices have come down (a lot).

 

I obtained 3 excellent quotes from 3 excellent operators and after reading reviews about them on the site I would have no qualms about using any of them.

 

There are other sites that offer similar quoting opportunities but this guy is miles ahead of the pack. Use him and be amazed at how seamless it can become.

 

Keep us updated.

 

Cheers

 

Prog

 

 

 

 

 

@progladyte Many thanks Sir!  this has been a wealth of info for me to start off.   I have been watching Mr Peacocks youtube vids on solar, and that has been very informative. 

 

Yes, there's too many shysters around.  Recently an electrician who was doing a light globe swap over to led's did as part of the vic govt green energy program, visited my place.  He tried to sell me a solar system and bagged the next door neighbor's install.  He couldnt change over all the globes as there were some of the outdoor lamp cover was a bit too tight for his screwdriver... so i asked just use your impact drill to loosen it.  He said that he 'forgot' his toolset.. lol.  Dont think i'd be getting him for a quote..

 

Will post my experience when i do pull the plug on it.

3 hours ago, rmpfyf said:

I've just put in my second (phase) system - up to 17.6kW PV, all LG, Fronius inverters, CET management (on water and car, HVAC to come) and tank. Pulled a 125kWh generation day not too long ago, not unhappy with it either. 

OMG! ☺️  thats insane

37 minutes ago, MrBurns84 said:

OMG! ☺️  thats insane

 

Was out all day and setting up a few things; usually would self-consume a good bit more. Still... decent day  

 

15 hours ago, rmpfyf said:

 

Was out all day and setting up a few things; usually would self-consume a good bit more. Still... decent day  

 

That is a serious amount of generation for a home. 

3 hours ago, PKay said:

That is a serious amount of generation for a home. 

 

Its a slow consumption day. There's usually a good bit more, panel orientations are set relative to thermal demand.

 

I'm wired for a third phase and have the space for another 10kW....

Edited December 31, 20205 yr by rmpfyf

Going to get 13.5 KWH solar system (by Sunboost) this week.

It will be with hybrid inverters; meaning when zombies will loot around, no grid - I will have electricity without grid!!!

Will update later :-)

 

What are the alternatives to Tesla Powerwall 13 kWh ?

 

Similar capacity and cheaper battery options ?