Here it is, the full ReNew article where Aaron Hodgson shares his advice for a successful PV purchase. The rest of ReNew’s solar installation special is in ReNew 114
A few years ago Aaron and his wife decided to invest in enough solar panels to cover all of their power usage. They took around six months to do some intensive research into photovoltaic systems, including the brands and the industry itself. Having met with different installers, attended open house days and talked to solar panel owners they finally made a purchase and have been very happy with the results.
After experiencing large electricity price rises, Aaron’s parents decided to install their own solar power system and so asked Aaron for his advice when shopping for their system. The first thing he noticed was a huge increase in solar companies compared to a few years ago, and unfortunately found that many did not bother to return his phone calls. This lack of a response helped Aaron eliminate the bad companies from the good ones.
“After shopping around for solar panels this second time I feel that I have learnt some valuable lessons from this rapidly growing industry. Unfortunately there seem to be some rogue operators popping up, after the cheap cash that some customers seem to be throwing around for possibly inferior products. However, it is not all bad news. With some research you can still find ethical operators out there who will still treat you well and offer good quality products for a reasonable price,” he says.
Based on his experiences, with input from friends and family who have also shopped for solar, Aaron has put together a list of tips for prospective solar households. He has also created a list of questions for solar companies or installers; a copy is available here.
Good luck!
Home efficiency first
Before installing solar electricity the most important thing is to make your house as energy efficient as possible. When you know your minimum household usage then you can go shopping for a solar system. The system can then be smaller, cheaper and cover more of your household power usage. This is a far better strategy then paying a fortune for solar panels to cover power usage of old bad habits and unnecessary power guzzling appliances.
Customer service
If a solar panel company does not answer your questions or does not bother to ring you back then strike them off your list as this is likely to be their ongoing attitude towards you. Also, beware of fast-talking, high pressure sales people with a lot of hype and very little information.
No pressure
Never be pressured into signing a contract on the spot. Shop around and get as many quotes as possible, and ask for contact details of previous customers so you can ask them about their experience. Most people are very happy to talk to you.
Brand names
Always ask for the brand names of the main components such as the solar panels and inverter, and research the brand name history on the internet. Ask people about the solar systems and the installer at online forums such as www.ata.org.au/forums or forums.energymatters.com.au. Go to sustainable open house days or just knock on the door of a house that has installed a PV system in your area. Most people are more than happy to let you know about their positive or negative experience with a solar installer.
Also, seek out companies and brand names that have been around a while. A manufacturer with an office in Australia is an asset due to the long 25 year warranties available. Be cautious of cheap unknown brands with little or no history.
The right price
Remember the saying ‘if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is’. The quality of components, installation and after-sales service can all be sacrificed when buying cheap products. This includes solar panel systems. PV systems can be grossly overpriced as well. It is best to get as many quotes as possible to work out the average market price.
Wait until complete
Never pay the full price until the installation is complete and you are happy with what was agreed upon—including metering. If there is still work to be done you could end up on the bottom of the company’s to do list.
Investigate RECs
Check for yourself how much money you will get for your RECs if you choose to sell them. A few installers have been known not to pass on the current price. Visit Green Energy Trading’s website www.greenenergytrading.com.au or consult the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator via www.orer.gov.au for pricing and a calculator.
Complaints…hopefully not
To check that a PV solar panel and inverter brand name has accreditation in Australia, or to make a complaint about an installation, contact the Clean Energy Council on (03)9929 4100, email accreditation@cleanenergycouncil.org.au, or visit www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au
Price increases
Be wary of quoted prices repeatedly increasing as you get closer to signing a contract. Don’t be scared to question why or threaten to walk away if you are unhappy.
Firm date
Make sure the solar installer gives a date for installation in writing.
Fair trading
Familiarise yourself with your state’s Office of Fair Trading/Consumer Affairs Home Building Contract for work under $25,000. This contract will explain the rights and obligations of the home owner and the installer, such as whether the deposit is within the legal limit. In New South Wales the limit should be 10 per cent for work costing $20,000 or less or five per cent for work costing more than $20,000.
Insurance
Ensure the PV system is insured; in most cases this coverage comes under building insurance. When adding the system to your insurance remember to insure the full cost of the system, meaning the price before discounts, rebates and REC sales. In some cases standard insurance may not cover lightning strikes or power surges that damage your PV system. Additional extras insurance might be needed to cover fusion and damage to electrical appliances in this scenario. Check with your insurer for more details.
Full site analysis
Ensure the installers inspect your property first as there might be issues with shade from trees and buildings, extra wiring and installation costs, space constraints or roof angles. Some installers might look at your roof via Google Maps and tell you that’s good enough. This is poor customer service, lazy and may cause problems when issues are discovered on the day of installation. Bringing the installers to your house will give you a feeling as to whether or not they are running a reliable business.
The right inverter
Some solar companies might suggest installing very large inverters for small solar panel systems, saying that is a better option because you can decide to increase the size of your PV system later, without having to buy a larger inverter. This is true, however, research suggests that if you decide not to increase the size of your PV system you may lose a considerable amount of power production because your solar panels and inverter are not compatible. Make sure the solar panels and inverter are size matched if you do not wish to upgrade at a later date. Inverters with flat efficiency curves do not have this problem.
Quality test
Looking for quality solar panels can be a difficult area to research. One recommendation is to check out the panel’s negative power tolerance rating. This determines the manufacturer flaw factor, for example, if a 180 watt panel has a negative tolerance rating of 20% then the true wattage may be 144 watts instead of the 180 that is claimed. Some suggest that any negative tolerance rating over 5% is unacceptable.
Fix your roof
Before installing a system inspect your roof for leaks, cracked, damaged and shifted tiles, re-capping or rusty tin. If necessary do some roof repairs before installation as repairs later on will be very difficult and expensive if you have to remove the panels. If possible ask your installer to put at least a 30cm gap between the rows of panels for easy roof and panel maintenance, as well as cleaning access.
Roof space
Be careful if there isn’t enough roof space to put all your solar panels on one side of the roof. Some installers will suggest putting some panels north and the rest either east or west and connecting both lots to the one inverter. Research suggests that this should not be done unless you have two inverters (one for each group of panels) or an inverter with two independent outputs. Otherwise a considerable amount of energy can be lost.
Correct placement of parts
Try to keep the solar panels, inverter and power box all within reasonable proximity to each other; if the panels are a long distance from the inverter and power box some loss of production can occur.
Ensure the inverter is placed in a cool, shaded and well ventilated location to prevent overheating and inefficient operation.
Rebates change
Be aware that state and federal solar panel incentives, feed-in tariffs, RECs and any other rebates can chop and change, sometimes with little notice, so it is important to find out what offers you are entitled to and how long these offers are likely to last. Consult government departments for this advice, as advice from a solar company could be inaccurate.
Do your homework
PV systems can cost a lot of money so be careful about who takes your hard earned dollars. A little research might save you a lot of headaches in the future.
This entry was posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 2:42 pm