Hey team, a follow-up thread for the solar power nation deal that was posted on ozbargain. Will be a good place to compare notes for those of us taking the plunge and others deciding if it’s a good deal or not.
Personally, I‘ve paid my deposit and ordered a system $3,299 in total. 6.6kw Huawei Inverter w/ Risen 315w panels.
Original deal here https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/483479
Yeah copy and paste sucked haha
I just hate to see people waste money when they don't even understand how they are wasting money.
Repaying for a system in 3 to 5 years' time, or having your system burn down, or short out can have a major impact on people's life…
That facebook is crap solar, it's not a review site but installers talking about bad companies that are destroying their field of work.
the problem with you guys giving a review and this looks good do you know what you're looking for, do you know how they will act for warranty.
Their salesman was a snake, coming back with they are T1 panels so they are high quality… Tier rating has nothing to do with the Quality of the panels
Solar is hard to work out if it's been installed correctly or if it working as it should be.
( saying that the pics above from the limited view looked good by the sub)
Noted. But say, for example, the ‘T1’ Risen panels and Haewei inverter quoted by SPN is going to be the same quo’s Lott as those products supplied by a local business… so I don’t see the issue there. They’re not selling factory seconds.
True the panels and entry level and the inventer mid range, from what i have seen most faults are due to poor installs, or rush labour work.
I have no problem with people buying entry level, but when the saleman trys to use there t1 so they are good… alarm bells should be going off.
@Bellpop: @Bellpop its your money, house at the end of the day…. if you belive the reward is worth the risk so be it.
My post are more for the people who do little to know backgroud checks on the installers, drop 3K then when it has a fault or bad installed the company can not be found.
The solar industry has heaps of cowboys and bullshit sales people.
May i ask have they been to your house for the quotes, and provided you with pictures of where the panels will be installed on the roof, where the inverter will be installed?
@liveish: Hi mate, no they haven’t. That said, I got a local solar business (decent reviews online about being good value, etc) to come out and give me a quote and look around and it was a very unremarkable experience. The loca guy was pushy like a used car salesman.
FWIW I got a quote on the same system that SPN offered me for $3299 and the local guy quoted me $6,500.
Exact same brands and model numbers for parts. All of which have an Australian presence/office for warranty purposes.
I told the local guy about solar power nation and he told me to avoid them because they sell ‘fake equipment’ which I interpreted as him being so desperate to maintain inflated prices that he would lie about something so stupid instead of giving me a reasonable price.
@Bellpop: Mind sharing the name of the crap local guy?
Considering we're in a similar area I'm curious whether I crossed paths with them when doing my research.
@SBOB: I’m in Newy. You’re here too? You’re welcome to come over to my joint to check out SPN’s job once it’s done 👌
@SBOB: Too worried you’ll see a 10/10 install first hand, done for half the price of the competitors?
Then you won’t be able to spread negative propaganda, right? Haha
@Bellpop: have we not established yet that I know a little bit about electrical and solar equipment and installs?, but sure.. thats my worry
your $, not mine. I've posted actual technical knowledge, up to you whether its utilised in anyones decision making process, but if people didnt share info on these forums they'd be kind of empty.
anyway, share the 'crap guy' details if you want. Curious to see what local guy was double the price for 'exact same equipment' as i don't remember any local people selling SAJ inverters (or at least none of the 'well reviewed' installers)
the only other install photos posted in this thread so far are fine but definitely not enough info to judge quality of install
Without photos of tile grinding if tiles, cable gland through roof, inner roof conduit/cabling etc you cant judge the quality of the install from the a few 'tops of the panels' photos (at least the clamping zones seem to be adhered to in that install)
@SBOB: Mate I was saying it in jest.
The quote as noted in my OP is for 315 Risen panels and the hauwei inverter. both fairly mainstream manufacturers and models.
@Bellpop: Yeah local does not mean good, as I said shit load of cowboys hahah
it’s just always wise to have them out and pull up nearmaps to check for shading problems, work out where the inverter and panels are gonna go (inverter should not be in the sun)
Do you have any shading problems or major items sticking up on your roof?
Again it’s not so much about the panels and inverter more the labour and care taken on install, which most you can’t see. ( but it’s wise to have a good inverter if you can afford it as they will die before panels 9 out of 10
Times hahah)
12 years warranty is not bad, do those manufacturers pay anyone to do the change over, or will you need to fork out for a solar tech to check and swap out? ( those panels are not used up here so unsure)
@liveish: Hey,
From the quote:
20 x Risen Energy Co Ltd Risen 330W Mono Perc Half Cut Panels Solar Panels
25 year warranty.
@Bellpop: Lol that is a performance warranty which means crap all…
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/panels/risen-review.html
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/your-solar-panel-warrant…
@liveish: Oh that’s for the heads up.
I’ll need to hit them up about the length of product warranty. Thanks for showing me that.
Secondly, the reviews for Risen panels look really good. That’s a relief!
@liveish: Thanks for the read.
I have a question lifetime length aside, if polar panels have no moving parts and just sit there producing energy, why bother getting a more expensive brand such as Sunpower (example taken from your link) over the Risen panels if they're both say 225W?
Thanks for the discussion too
@Bellpop: 'just sitting there' panels still fail
seals fail, backings fail, bypass diodes fail, hotspots, micro cracks, internal corrosion or de-lamination etc etc
225w panels are old, so i assume you meant 325w for current panels
more expensive should mean more efficient panels over a longer lifetime, a higher quality of components reducing the likelihood of the above, and better manufacturer warranty meaning they'll pay to replace the panels regardless of whether your installer is still in business or not
@SBOB: Cool. Thanks for the detailed reply.
Efficiency of the panel in creating solar will be essentially on par though?
And yeah I meant 325 sorry
FWIW mine to be installed are Risen 330W which is assume is latest tech
essentially on par though?
give or take a 'little bit', though all those little bits can mean a decent difference over an entire system's generation life.
eg Risen 325w is 16.9% efficient, LG 325W is 19% efficient
Risen temp loss is 0.32%/deg C, LG is 0.27%/deg C
Risen's 'guarantee' is 80% output at 25 years, LG's is 86% at 25 years
so in summary a risen is starting off a couple of efficiency % points down, losing a bit more for every degree above 20c the panel is (higher temp means loss of efficiency) and has to degrade more before warranty would kick in if the panel degrades.
@Bellpop: There is a reason why LG, Sunpower and other offers a 25 years fault warranty and the cheaper ones give 10 or 12 years.
The better ones have less % of warranty claims
Now onto solar providers … any suggestions?? Man, it's a crowded field - no real idea of which way to go.
I live in inner Sydney near Ashfield, have a pool and use ducted AC.
Any suggestions?
Origin with 20 cent FiT appear ok i guess?
Haha you’re one step ahead of me. I’ll ask u what you discovered in the next week or two. From what I’ve read 20c is a pretty good FIT bit it depends on what the rates are from drawing from the grid. My go to solar friend is in Brisbane and power rates seem to be state and even region based.
Ah blergh! Yeah that Origin plan looks good. And month to month plans are good that you can just leave after a month to something else if it ain't working as it should.
I suggest putting a spreadsheet together and look at your usage throughout the day.
it's best to use the solar power then feed it back in so don't always go for the highest FIT.
At the moment, AGL has $200 credit and a free google home mini which you can sell.
also be wary of the way that some retailers calculate their discount. Some are inc of supply charge, others are on total.
Oh nice! Actually AGL have an even better deal for EV customers where you need to put in your type of car and rego number. Pretty sure they don't check it either …
But yes that is $480 bonus credit.
I signed up for that!
oh you have an EV, nice
A quick question re solar monitoring.
So the Saj inverter i got had a wifi module which uploads the data to a website and app since last Thursday. Works pretty well.
All good.
So today for example it says i generated 24.73kWh.
Am i right in saying that means that i would then take away how much i used today - example 18kWh - and the remainder (6.73) goes back and i get credit for that? Is it is simple as that?
As simple as that
not really
your basic monitoring doesnt show how much generation you consumed, so you could have used all 24.73kWh and imported 18kWh, therefore no 'remainder' being exported to the grid
basic inverter monitoring only gives you half the information, it doesnt know how much you consumed and how much you exported
it may say you used 18kWh but does it show you the usage over time?
does it give you the breakdown of how much power was generated over time? like per hour?
been noticing a solar panels on houses a lot more while driving around, have noticed one in particular that has a single dirty panel, what's the process for maintaining and cleaning a panel? just hose it down and use a broom to sweep away any dust that may have collected?
They reckon rain will clean them, but if you don't get a lot of rain, or you get a lot of poop, you can use some kinda soft broom and hose yep, probably some soap and a squeegee to get a finish that doesn't have salt/calcium residue. Obviously you don't want to scratch the glass or fall off the roof. If it's just a bit of dust it probably isn't worth it
A good preventative measure would be to ask the local crack heads to spot pooing on your roof?
Just got mine installed yesterday.
Ended up with the following configuration for $3850
- Panel: 20 x Risen RSM120-6-330M
- Inverter: Huawei SUN2000l-5KTL
- Meter: DTSU666-H
The installers/sub-contractors arrived around 09:00AM and the job was done around 05:30PM.
One installer started off inspecting the roof top, then removing the tiles locating each batten where to hook up with the tile hooks.
The other one worked on the meter box installing the smart meter first then installed the inverter, conduit etc.
The installers were really professional and spent quite some time answering questions that I had.
It is a two string setup with 7 panels facing north due to insufficient roof space with existing thermal solar hot water panels. The remaining 13 panels was installed facing west.
It was also advised to setup this way so that each string would not exceed the 495v LG chem battery limit if a battery is to be installed later.
Generally quite happy with the experience so far.
Wow looks very neat and tidy. Sounds like the workers were good too.
That’s the same setup as I’ve got ordered too.
To the left of the smart meter, is that the old school spinning disc meter?
yes.. still waiting for AGL to swap them out..
currently spinning in backwards.. （shhh)
Haha that’s awesome. Do u have the old ceramic fuses too?
Nice, make sure you check for broken tiles this weekend ( make sure you do safe) and get some photos of the room when your up there:)
The installers had replaced a few tiles for me when they saw a few existing broken ones.
did you already have spares? I only have 5 spares left and wondering if I need to get more or they will sort it out.
@impoze: I preped 5 spares as well.
At the end they didn't have to use any except for replacing the old cracked tiles.
Hi @paulw54jrn
Why did you have to install your own smart meter? I thought the retailer install it for free? Your comments below states you are awaiting retailer smart meter installation. I am new to this solar game so may be a dumb question.
Thanks
The smart meter is to monitor the home power used ect ect. (It’s not needed, but useful)
The smart meter from the power company is an upgrade to the old meter that all house have.
Thanks
Ok so after an amazing first impression and getting a few people onto solar power nation, I currently can’t even get a call back. I’m in Newcastle so maybe they’re prioritising Sydney customers, but it’s a bit off putting after many emails and promises of returned calls.
Deposit paid and meter box upgraded ready for solar install.
Anyone having more luck?
Ok follow up. Pester power worked. Got a reply from ken saying equipment is being shipped to local installer now and install will take place before end of next week. Will keep u all posted.
Have my install set for Monday, will update how it goes
Question, do they need to turn off my power during install or just at the end when connecting?
Good question. Not sure.
You must be pumped. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.
when I had mine done (not by SPN) the power was only off in the afternoon when they were connecting the unit up. They got all the pre-work done and then cut over was like an hour or so of downtime. I think they may have switched off for a bit, back on for a bit, and back off for a bit. It wasn't overly long though, i have two little kids at home and it wouldve been a nightmare keeping them fed and entertained waiting around for the install all day if i didnt have power.
that's what I was thinking as well, they would do all of the pre-work and then turn off for connection part.
Thanks
The power was only off for a couple of minutes during my installation
Got my install date for Tuesday 22nd. Next tuesday. I’ll take lots of photos and let everyone knows how it goes. Get this debate settled once and for all.
I’ve been told the panels and being connected up to the power box will all be done in the one day I have off work, which is good because I can only get the one day off work.
Will report back 👌
Had the panels installed today,
had to replace quite a number of tiles which they said were already chipped, I only had 5 spares but they are coming back tomorrow to replace the broken ones after they get some from Boral which I wasn't expecting.
cables are run through 1/2" conduit pipen through the roof and down to garage interior, ready for electrician to install the inverter and wire it all up.
Can also see two DC isolators at the end of each line.
They started at 2pm and finished just before 6pm.
The accredited installer is allowed to leave the site and come back again. But the accredited installer has to be there at the beginning, has to supervise the work, has to personally commission the system and has to sign off on it on-site after commissioning.
Thanks for sharing 👌
is it normal for them to send people that can't install the inverter themselves?
Just got a call and email from Solar Power Nation saying they can move my install date forward to this Friday if I like. What a great move on their behalf. They have assured me the whole job will be completed this Friday. I’ll share photos and readings from the solar throughout the install and afterwards.
Personally, they have been very professional, knowledgeable and efficient. Nice work so far 👌
got my system up and running yesterday with CEC sparky, who also checked the install.
very professional and friendly installer who was more than happy to talk me through the various details of the system.
connected the Huawei inverter to my router and the app is ok, provides enough information.
generated about 18kwh yesterday since connecting which was a full sunny day.
Interesting to see how it goes today as it's a lot more cloudy.
One thing I did spot was that they delivered the Huawei 4.6KTL inverter instead of the 5KTL (4.6kwh to 5kwh) which I've informed them about and they should be swapping out so make sure to check the parts that arrive.
I did check the panels and they are the black 315w risen panels as specified.
The installers also found a few chipped tiles and broke a few, they replaced 4 on the day and came back the next day with about 15 more tiles so not only did they replace the broken ones on the roof but left me with about 10 spares. I wasn't expecting this.
That’s cool. Good feedback.
My quote has risen 330 and the 5kw huewei inverter. I hope they get it right.
Are u going to bother with the PV output website our whatever it is? Or does the huewei fusion app give us the same data?
I'd be interested in setting up PV output to see how it compares to other systems in my area,
not sure how the other guy went with getting the API set up though as there's nothing I see in the app.
@bellpop - make sure the panels are right before they go on the roof!
Definitely. And the model number of the inverter. Not long now.
Hi Guys,
Got quotes from them today.
$3800 with SMA/Risen and $3850 with SMA/Candian.
Tossing up between 315w Canadian or 330w Risen with SMA 5kW. Candian Solar panels are $50 more expensive.
Not sure which way to go, Risen does look good on paper but Canadian have been around for a long time and higher up in the ranking.
Any info guys that can help?
Thanks in advance
how big is the system?
5kW inverter and 6.6kW panels
ah ok, so $300 more to go for the SMA inverter compared to the Huawei Sun2000.
This is a good thread thanks for everyone's info. I'm in Brisbane looking at getting sungrow or solax inverter with jinko mono. Best quotes so far have been in the low 3k with a couple of companies. But have had quotes of 4500 and even 7 K for the same system (sungrow/jinko). I wonder if it is a case with cheaper being riskier or the more expensive companies just making more profit margins per install? 7 K is simply ridiculous though. I will get a quote from solar power nation and see how I go. Anyone installed a jinko/sungrow system? Any feedback
Installers here. SPN sent Risen 315w instead of 330w but apparently there’s an extra panel so it works out slightly better?!
Anyway here we go…
I also have 315w panels when originally quoted for 330w, following this up.
The installers also had 21 panels but put 20 on the roof as that's what they measured up.
They will take photos of the serial numbers.
Yeah I was pretty passed off with SPN dude on phone.
Installer who is a contractor and not part of SPN said it doesn’t really matter as long as u reach the same output.
How much did they lower the install price ?
Means more roof space required.
Shouldn't be a big deal, but d$ck move by an installer changing hardware without customer approval
A cheap installer bait and switching customers… SHOCKED
Install still happening. I’ve had a call from SPN to resolve the issue with the panels, I’ll report back re how that goes.
Alright so install finished. Looks neat and tidy. I’ll post photos soon.
Ok got a few things to iron out. Will let SPN reply before I explore everything
Lol what
House burnt down.
Jokes. I’ll do a big write up soon.
So photos why we wait ?
OK here’s the writeup.
After sitting on the fence re solar for a long time a solar bargain listed on Ozbargain made it affordable to me. Like any good Ozbargainer I did my research. Amongst the answers were plenty of people telling me ‘avoid them at all costs’, ‘you get what you pay for’, ‘install job will be dodgy’, ‘they haven’t been in business long’, ‘they don’t know what they are talking about’, ‘they will take your deposit and run’, install times take months’, etc.
I understand some of the the doomsdayers were genuinely trying to help, while others were so negative that it felt like they had to have other motivations outside of just trying to help me. Some of the feedback made sense, things like ‘choose products that have offices in Australia, so if you need support, and SPN goes out of business, you can still make a claim’, as far as I’m concerned, that was great advice. So I did.
The initial deal was for a Raj inverter, Et panels and install for $2,399. I decided to get an upgraded quote with a Huawei 5kw inverter and Risen 330w Panels for $3,399. To me the double benefit of brand awareness and noted quality and a local warranty presence were worth the extra.
Before jumping all in, I did what the doomsdayers said and got local quotes for the same equipment, installed with local companies. The two local installers gave me quotes of $5,999 and $6,790. Both sales people were like used car salesman. Both tried to upsell me to unnecessary systems. One tried to sell me a bigger and more expensive 10kw system, even though I have one phase (5kw) power at my house (he said, trust me I know a guy who works for Energy Australia and I’m pretty sure it will work…).
Motivated mostly by price, I decided to go with SPN. There was no pressure to upgrade, those items that I chose to upgrade to were chosen because I requested them. Once I paid my $50 deposit I was given a tentative install timeframe of 3-4 weeks. I then got an email to say it would be in two weeks. I then got a courtesy call to say there had been a cancellation and I could get it done within the week.
I took them up on this, organised the day off. The installers arrived at 9am and to my surprise were one of the local companies who had quoted me $5,999. They had been contracted by SPN to do the install. So not only was I getting the best price, but I was also getting the install don’t be people who know the local conditions and work to a high standard. It was a win/win for me and debunked a lot of what online doomsdayers were saying.
The install took about 5-6 hours. It’s very neat and tidy. They were very good to talk me through the decisions they made for placement of panels, inverter and conduit. They were extremely polite and courteous. They did note that companies like SPN make it tough for them because they sell the same products as local companies, but as a cheaper price. They also said they do like them because they provide them with install work.
I was told by many people online that the ROI for my cheaper system will be longer because my energy generation will not be as high as others. I, as a noob, thought this would surely be the case, but was happy with my system, even if it made less power, because I wouldn’t have invested more than I had into solar, and thus wouldn’t have gone ahead with a more expensive system from a local business.
Long story short, my first day of power generation netted me 39.2kw of power. From what I can see on PVOutputs, it’s the highest amount in my suburb and pretty much the highest amount you can expect to make with a 5KW system. This results was then repeated on the next day. Everything ‘just works’. The Huawei app is amazing. And, for what it’s worth I had some questions to ask the local installer, but he didn’t have the answers. So I called Hauwei, they have a free call 1800 number that is manned 24/7 by engineers. 40 second wait time on Saturday afternoon. All my questions answered from a person speaking perfect English.
So, was I nervous and feeling like I was taking a punt by going against all the online resistance to SPN, hell yes. After biting the bullet, am I glad I went with them? 100%. I’ve crunched the numbers and at this rat my ROI will be less than two years and we won’t have another power bill over that time.
I’m sure the usual suspects will try to discredit all this, but honestly, there has not been one single incident that would prevent me from recommending SPN. Great customer service and a great product.
Pics of installed inverter and panels attached, along with screenshot of power generated for one day via Huawei app.
https://ibb.co/HYpLhXc
https://ibb.co/c6PzZhh
https://ibb.co/VNpKP4g
https://ibb.co/xYjyJgq
But ironic that the installers were the ones who also quoted the job
I know right. SBOB’s head is gonna explode
It’s normal in small towns, if they are good they do a good job… but some cut corners like crazy ( using conduit all over the roof ect ect)
It’s a bit hard to follow what you’ve copy/pasted/written there.
Any company has tons of positive and negative reviews online. Anyone can go online and see dubious reviews. Whether they be 5 star ones written by a friend or 1 star reviews written by a rival company.
The point of this forum is to trade first hand information so we cut through the second hand hearsay and get real data on how these guys operate.
From my experience in dealing with them they have amended my contract a few times without issue. And from other customers here, the company has installed what looks to be a good installation.
If you have had a job from SPN that was rubbish then by all means let’s see it. But if you’re just parroting online reviews, you’re defeating the purpose of this great online community in making informed decision by healing eachother out.