Hi all,
Got an offer from a local WA solar company. Apparently GCL (big solar manufacturer in China) is giving away its 7kw battery for free, if you buy their 6.5kw panels + Sungrow 5kw hybrid inverter. All comes to $6500 only! Apparently only very limited stock in Australia
Is this too good to be true? Something else I should watch out?
P/S Panel standard 10 years, inverter 5+5 warranty, battery 7 years warranty
Thanks!
Yea, they did my first solar panels at the other house 7 years ago. Inverter failed 2 years ago, an they replaced no question, hence why I return
I would be very tempted. It only needs to last 3 years and you will be close to paying it off.
I wonder how much to replace one though
14kw battery and $8400 +install. But you're right, its the cheapest on the market, Tesla has the largest battery factory in the world under construction, and they are pumping out 21700 cells already. Their $/kwh is unrivalled.
$8400 for everything installed or just battery add on?
re read
Chinese companies are known to be dumping solar items in Aust. Illegal but it still happens.
What do you mean by dumping?
Selling them below cost. The concern is that they take losses to send competitors bankrupt then jack up prices. Not something the consumer needs to worry about as an individual (although not desirable long term, obviously).
"In economics, "dumping" is a kind of predatory pricing, especially in the context of international trade. It occurs when manufacturers export a product to another country at a price either below the price charged in its home market or below its cost of production. The purpose of this act is sometimes to increase market share in a foreign market or to drive out competition." -
Uber & CWH came to mind then
I always get dumping and undercutting mixed up as they are the same or very similar principles just worded differently.
Any deals like this in VIC?
I been told by a few solar companies not to buy panels made in china as they are below standard. Of course they were sales men trying to get me to buy into their panels, so I am unsure whether to trust their opinions or not…
maybe I need to whirlpool Chinese solar panels to see what the people there have to say.
One of my quotes was for a 5.2Kwatt battery storage for $13,963.00 w/out battery it was $7,032.00 and it would seem that the company that makes the solar panel is Chinese? lol (the 4.16 panels were $5,903.00)
I also have a quote for German made solar panels w/out battery for 5,987.00 but it is for 4.24Kwatt panels, this company recommends I wait for the battery as they expect the price to go down a lot in the next few months to a year… but says to get an inverter that is battery ready for the future.
I am still doing my research and all those prices included the rebate for STC's (the gvt rebate) and if you let the companies do the rebate for you it is safer but will most likely cost you $1.00 per certificate (certificate rebate cost total could be approx $100-200 for them to do the rebate, where you can do it yourself online via the govt solar web site for free)
best of luck
It used to be true Chinese solar manufacturers are crap, but that's definitely no longer the case with the experience and technology they have now..
The thing is even the most reputable brand like SMA is made in China too …This whole "don't buy china" thing just a scaremonger sale tactic..
GCL is the largest solar panel manufacturer in china (arguably the word), and been around for 20+ years, so I reckon it's safe bet it's not a lemon for me at least.
Agreed that the China scare is meaningless now. They make the majority of solar panels and inverters.
There are some manufacturers in China cutting corners, but that is the same in any industry.
Batteries likely will fall further, but if you see an offer as good as this one, I would be asking what to wait for? You forego savings today in the hope of getting some in a few years.
I also am very skeptical of the line that says pay anything now for upgrades/batteries later.
5 years ago people were sold excess capacity inverters to allow addition of extra panels, but if you try and do that, the whole system needs to be re-inspected and upgraded to current standards, which is costlier than just installing an additional inverter to handle the extra panels.
My strong suggestion with solar panels is to buy a competitively priced system with reasonable quality parts (e.g. Chinese Trina panels, SMA inverter) from a reputable local installer and start saving on power bills. This will cost less than $1.50 per watt, likely closer to $1 a watt in major markets If you can get a red hot deal on a battery too, go for it.
@Droid11 Are you able to upload the quote? The battery they make is 7kWh but only 80% usable so 5.6
Yea like most battery, the output only 5.6,which is common. The rep told me 7kw, but the GCL didn't say it's 5.6kw. As for the quote, pm me. It's not an ongoing offer, just until the supplier gave out the free limited battery
Companies are in a strange place in W.A. right now. Many of them would take a small loss just to get some cash flow. I have experienced it a few times in the last six months. Deals below cost are around.
Having said that SOME Chinese panels are not worth getting, some certainly are good quality though. Do a search for those companies who have been fined for bad behavior and avoid.
https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/announcements/solar-company-a…
Good luck.
You're right. If it's a random company, I wouldn't have even thought about doing it. However since I bought from them before, and they've been good in honouring their warranty, I'm more relaxed then. They replaced my inverter when it failed on the 4th year mark with newer model at no charge.
However, this is more insider deal, not available nationwide. Only if you're from WA, pm me I could give you the contact details of the rep. But be quick, apparently not much left in WA
Looks too good. Tesla 12kWh batteries are landing at about $10k installed, and they have the cheapest price per W so far. Solar panels are trending at $1/w installed for cheap and cheerful, so this is effectively giving away the battery for nothing.
Considering most of the battery companies are struggling to meet demand, I don't know why anybody would be offering such heavy discounts. Is the installer reputable, and have they been around a while?