Hi ,
I live in Melbourne and looking for an expert opinion on a reliable solar panel and inverter system .
Recently someone quoted me for 10kW Canadian 410 panels with Growatt 8kW inverter for $4835 out-of-pocket cost ( single story , tiled roof house )
Is it a reasonable quote or should I go for a different panel or invertor? Please guide.
Out-of-pocket costs after rebate. Installer has not mentioned about any loan .
No switch board upgrade is scoped.
Whats your opinion about the panels and the inverter he has quoted? are they any good?
Have had a Growatt for the last year and haven't had any issues with it.
People would swear by fronius, but given growatt has a 10 year warranty i was more than happy to take a punt and so far it's been infallible.
I don't know if that is a deal, but if you could scrape it for $2k I'd be pretty confident in it being a bargain
Solar Edge or enphase are my top picks!
Nah, premium installers love them because of the fatty margin, string systems is very efficient and much cheaper, even when there's shading.
Guess they should be going with the Growatt units hey? They sound so 'premium', too bad they can't even fix the screen on them.
If you have a hatress for Growatt there're plenty other alternatives. Even system with cream of the crop Fronius will be a lot cheaper than your loved ones.
@lgacb08: LOL little rich for you saying I have hatress of Growatt after your earlier comments.
My point was Growatt is disposable junk, they can't even fix a 'bad' screen, just toss it away and get a new one.
Nah, SolarEdge has a flawed architecture of fixed string voltages which requires careful design to avoid underperformance. Also their support is woeful and will offer ridiculous solutions such as adding extra panels to make the string longer, rather than fitting the higher voltage optimizers.
Fronius are one of the best. Growatt is good also.
The supplier has quoted me an extra 1000$ for Fronius . Is it worth spending an extra 1k ?
Probably not. Growatt will probably perform just as well. It's like comparing Toyota with Mazda. Both have good reliability, drive differently, and look different but achieve the same result well getting from A to B (apologies for the analogy).
My growatt inverter + jinko panels have been flawless, 8235 kWh (8.2 MWh) produced last year from a 6.6kw system (5kw inverter with 6.6kw panels).
33 MWh total production since installation September 2020.
How much did it generate it in FY21?
I would assume it is also around 8k-ish, same with FY22.
Bit confused when trying to work out 33Mwh since Sep20.
You're absolutely correct. I accidentally read my total "load consumption" which was 33 MWh… My generation was actually 24.4 MWh (which seems far more reasonable!) and it was in fact installed in February, not september..
2022 was 8.2 MWh
2021 was 8.6 MWh
2020 (from February) was: 7.13 MWh
I can attest to Fronius and Jinko panels, which have been working well (I think it was a Symo 10.0-3-M 10kW inverter along with 13.3kW of panels).
Fronius and Jinko here too. Been working flawlessly and the Fronius interface and data is great.
Aurora 6kW inverter & 24x250W Trina Honey panels installed 11th August 2012. Replacement inverter due to lightning strike installed 1st of December 2012. Inverter reading on 5th December 2022 was 86644kWh
Average of 8664kWh/year, 23.72kWh per day. Installer quoted 22.3kWh/day
Been very happy.
.
Good price imo. Question is if the installer is a reputable company that will still be around for your warranty period.
Hey, can you share the details of the quote or installer? Am in the market
I'm new to solar panels. Will be building and looking into panels with battery. Quotes are coming in at approx $28,000-$32,000. Is it really worth it??? I have no idea what my electricity bills will be in new house- house will be double the size of what I'm currently in and will have higher energy usage items. But even so if my electricty for the year is $5000 (guesstimate) I will really only see benefit after 7 years. May not even live in house after 7 if/when kids move out as it will be too big?? Am I missing the benefit/advantage of solar panels???
Battery is too expensive to make it worth while at this point in time. I would only consider a battery once prices are more reasonable to make it worth the money. Is your new house 3 phase or single phase? Tiled or colourbond metal roof? single or double storey?
It will be a double storey. With a cement roof tile and 3 phase electricity. Will have min 16kw reverse cycle ducted heating/cooling and hopefully a 3x7m pool.
Quotes are coming in at just over $30k - by the time I save that much on electricity I'll be long gone
Try Solar Quotes, very good resource for people new to solar.
Go a bigger system as budget will allow. With a pool pump, large refridgerated AC, induction cooking and eventually I suppose an Electric vehicle, those are huge draws on power. With electricity goin up then solar makes sense. Battery tech isn't there just yet for it to be feasible for the average consumer just yet. Get solar first and then consider a battery later down the track.
I am currently running 9.87kw system with 470W Jinko N type panels with a Fronius Primo inverter. Working well. However, only thing I don't like about the Fronius is the paid subscription for Solar.Web premium to monitor consumption and other data. Being a premium inverter with premium pricing I would have expected this to be included with the Solar.Web app (the free one is only 3 days worth of data….) but I missed that detail. Not expensive for Premium but still, I hate subscription models.
I would opt to get smart monitoring to your system as well. This is important to monitor output and consumption.
For a more budget friendly inverter go defintely go with Sungrow.
We were quoted (after Vic Rebate): Out of pocket: Single Storey, tiled roof:
- 9.87kw system (470W Jinko N type panels with Fronius 8.2kw inverter with smart monitoring) $8990
- 9.87kw system (470W Jinko N type panels with a Sungrow 8kw inverter) $7790
Thank you for your helpful information. Wowsers I clearly have to do my research!!! Also in Vic so this is very helpful information. Unfortunately so far I haven't had very helpful information from the companies I have contacted. They are like piranhas when you make an online enquiry with their constant hard sell but minimum valuable information given to customers
Use Solar Quotes, it is a very good resource. I got 3 quotes from them which seemed reasonable but end of the day decided on a different installer. Gave me a good ball park on what to expect.
@DannyC excellent place for very informative info as well!
what was the reason for going with a different installer?
@DannyC: thanks
btw which state are you in? any chance you can share reccommendations for installer?
regarding you 9kw system
do you find it covers enough usage to make a dent on bills? i checked mine and i use about 9kw a day on the lowest period
and 25kw on average and up to 35kw at peak (prob aircon season)
so by that calculation it would barely cut the bills by half
also how much are the fronius subscription costs?
@furythree: I'm in Victoria. U?
regarding you 9kw system
do you find it covers enough usage to make a dent on bills? i checked mine and i use about 9kw a day on the lowest period
and 25kw on average and up to 35kw at peak (prob aircon season)
Depends on the time of day that you use most of your electricity. Yes it'll have a decent cost saving for us esp since we are waiting on our Electric vehicle in next month or so. ROI will be about 6.5 years or so.
Most electricity we will use is the refrigerated cooling and heating and then EV. Don't have electric hot water heat pump (will look at switching from our gas solar unit maybe), a pool pump or induction stove. We use most electricity during the day as i am working from home so your situation could be different.
I would always go bigger for what you can afford and can fit on your roof, this will help during winter to maximise as much input as possible Orientation is pretty important. We have East and West panels as our North has too much shading. We get some decent kw during the day.
also how much are the fronius subscription costs?
About $80 for 3 years I think. For what you pay for a premium, I'm a bit disappointed with this, it isn't expensive but ye. I hate subscription models for something that you pay a premium for. More so principle than anything
If I had my time again with the Inverter I would probably look at Sungrow inverter as it has a decent warranty, decent quality, about $1.2k cheaper for our quote. And the app n stuff you don't need to pay subscription for consumption etc. Fronius has a free one but it has limited functionality. 3 day history etc
Hope that helps. Let me know if any other questions.
@DannyC: ah damn im nsw. Was hoping for installer reccomendations as well as rebate info
I WFH alot as well, which is why i was thinking id get alot of use out of it
About $80 for 3 years I think. For what you pay for a premium, I'm a bit disappointed with this, it isn't expensive but ye. I hate subscription models for something that you pay a premium for. More so principle than anything
thats affordable. But im with you on this. $80 on a multi thousand dollar system is a slap in the face
If I had my time again with the Inverter I would probably look at Sungrow inverter as it has a decent warranty, decent quality, about $1.2k cheaper for our quote. And the app n stuff you don't need to pay subscription for consumption etc. Fronius has a free one but it has limited functionality. 3 day history etc
yeah im looking for a budget system. I only need something that lasts about 5 years before i either move or knowdown rebuild
would be wierd paying for a premium setup then moving/rebuilding before it fully repays itself.
Do you have to calculate the ROI yourself, or do the apps help with that
its possible to do it yourself, but constantly revising for changing rates + calculating solar usage vs grid usage etc is just that extra layer of headache we dont have time for.
thanks for your help!
ah damn im nsw. Was hoping for installer reccomendations as well as rebate info. I WFH alot as well, which is why i was thinking id get alot of use out of it
Try Solar Quotes to get a quote from 3 installers then see how they price it for the inverter and panel hardware. Also be aware if you require an Electrical box upgrade as it'll require some space. Then do a search on google of local solar installers and see what quotes they can offer then compare with Solar Quote installers.
yeah im looking for a budget system. I only need something that lasts about 5 years before i either move or knock down rebuild. would be weird paying for a premium setup then moving/rebuilding before it fully repays itself.
Yes, it probably doesn't make sense to stump up thousands of $ if you don't plan on seeing it beyond 5 years time. It'd be a shame to rip it all down before you return positive on your investment/ break even. For budget look at Growatt, but I would stump up a bit more for a mid tier Sungrow inverter which has a good warranty, a decent app, decent quality and support (most important part of your system is your inverter) with a panel like Jinko. I use Jinko N type 470W panels, meaning less panels on my roof compared to if i got smaller wattage panels.
Do you have to calculate the ROI yourself, or do the apps help with that
its possible to do it yourself, but constantly revising for changing rates + calculating solar usage vs grid usage etc is just that extra layer of headache we dont have time for.
You let the installer know your quarterly/monthly electricity usage roughly then they will assist in calculating this all for you. It is an estimation. As I said I would modify my usage, so I would run high powered items during the day or use timers to do so to utilise the most out of my solar. So my timing my AC/Heating usage, washing machine, dish washer, dryer, charging my EV will be mostly done during the day if I can.
If you use most of your power during the evenings or early mornings then this is something to consider. A battery is too expensive at the moment to make much financial sense for most people.
If any other questions let me know.
Fronius Symo all the way! If & when you install your system, make sure the inverter goes in the garage! The weather destroys them.To many installers out there are just to lazy to install in the garage because it is more work for them.An excellent place to start for more info: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/oversizing-solar-arrays
my garage is at opposite end of the property and would be too far to install the system there (unless theres a way to literally rewire fusebox etc to the back of the house)
is there another way to weatherproof the system? surely they can just chuck a weatherbox around the inverter?
If it is outside they can usually install a weather box protector for the inverter. Direct sunlight for any inverter will effect lifespan for sure. It'll be about $300-500 I believe.
ah this may be a cleaner solution. but $300 for a box tho…
@furythree my garage is also at opposite ends to the meter box.Absolutely no hassles for my installer.It just comes down to lazy installers who don’t want to be bothered cabling that Xtra distance up in the roof.
good to know!
Who is the provider? How do they rate? How long have they been around? How much if you switch around the investor with sungrow?
I have a Fronius Primo 8.2.1 with 29 / 10.73kw Canadian solar panels. Cost me $8000. Generates 60 kWh on a good day. But the inverter has noisy fans that I hate (ruins the otherwise bliss silence in my yard). If I had my time again I would avoid Fronius because of the fans. They serve to make the device last, but there’s obvious pros and cons and I’m sensitive to noise. It’s in an insulated garage and is noisy above 4 kw generation.
You will need to share more details…
what does out of pocket mean to you? doesn't mean much to use because we don't know what rebates your entitled to or if you're getting a loan etc.
any switch board upgrades?
any thing else?