Solar Quote - Fair or Rip off?

nightqueen on 23/09/2022 - 21:12
Last edited 24/09/2022 - 07:28 by 1 other user

Hi ozbargain,

I got a quote from RACV solar based in Victoria and I want to know if this is a trap, reasonable or a royal rip off

Trina vertex S 415w (25 year warranty) + enphase iq7a (10 year warranty)

  1. 6.64kw - 16 panels and 16 micros. After STCs installed price $11.8k

  2. 4.98kw - 12 panels and 12 micros. After STCs installed price is $9.2k

  3. 4.15kw - 10 panels and 10 micros. After STCs installed price is $7.8k

Sunpower maxeon 6 440w (40 year warranty) + enphase iq7a (25 year warranty)

  1. 6.8kw -16 panels and 16 micros. After STCs installed price is $16k

  2. 5.1kw - 12 panels and 12 micros. After STCs installed price is $12.5k

  3. 4.25kw - 10 panels and 10 micros. After STCs installed price is $10.6k

This quote would be for an East facing and west facing roof with partial shading on the east roof from a neighbours tree. I already have 4kw Trina's on a 4kw inverter on a north facing roof. My usage is 35kwhr a day as hot water, cooking and air cons are all running on electric. Household of 4.

Poll Options

  • 1
    Trina
  • 9
    Sunpower Maxeon
Home & Garden Solar Energy System

Comments

  • parsimonious one on 23/09/2022 - 21:59
    +3

    That all seems very expensive.

    We got solar about 12 months ago (Trina panels, fronius inverter) and the ball park pricing was around $1000/ kw (and that seemed high to me)

    Maybe prices have jumped but unless I’ve misunderstood what you’ve posted it all seems pricey

    PS we got ours via origin which worked out cheaper than approaching local installers directly

    • RockyRaccoon on 23/09/2022 - 22:15

      was that with micro inverters, that adds a few Ks?

      • parsimonious one on 23/09/2022 - 22:19
        +1

        No, not with microinverters. That may well explain the sig price difference

      • nightqueen on 23/09/2022 - 22:25

        Does micro inverters add a significant premium?

        • lgacb08 on 23/09/2022 - 22:31

          micro add at least 20% premium to the price, the gain probably a quarter of that figure.

          • nightqueen on 23/09/2022 - 23:36

            @lgacb08: So there is far greater ROI by getting a string system?

            • mskeggs on 24/09/2022 - 11:44

              @nightqueen: Depends. With your partial shading you could generate nothing while on shade, while micro will generate from the panels in sun.

    • nightqueen on 23/09/2022 - 23:42

      Unfortunately I'm regional and unable to get a quote off origin.

      • Edgecrusher on 25/09/2022 - 11:08

        Origin will probably still quite, they quoted me in Griffith despite their ad saying metro only.

        On a bigger system they weren’t too competitive, however on a smaller they might be with the $900 cash back (if it’s still going), plus they do offer interest free payments, but we didn’t need it, there offer was at the cheap end of equipment.

        • nightqueen on 25/09/2022 - 12:20

          Did you go with origin?

          • Edgecrusher on 25/09/2022 - 13:31

            @nightqueen: No I went with a local, far cheaper (responder earlier, but imagine it’s not easy to keep track in the tread).
            Origin was low end gear, given the $900 off was flat rate if you were looking at a smaller system it would make more difference than on the 10kw I was quoting.

            Origin were far cheaper than the prices you quoted though. ~11k for 10.5kw

  • askbargain on 23/09/2022 - 22:28

    What did you expect from RACV?

    • nightqueen on 23/09/2022 - 22:30

      I didn't have any expectations

      • DoctorCalculon on 24/09/2022 - 19:19

        My RACV quotes (Sunpower Maxeon 6 panels) were outrageously expensive just for standalone solar systems. I didn't even bother asking them for a Tesla Powerwall quote.

        Theirs customer reviews were average at best. They are simply relying on the RACV brand name to inflate their prices, compared to other solar installers with better ratings on SolarQuotes.

        • nightqueen on 25/09/2022 - 09:40

          Okay there is a big RACV premium add on cost

  • lgacb08 on 23/09/2022 - 22:29
    +2

    I wouldn't waste that much on such tiny system. With existing system, your marginal gain will not be as big as someone starting from fresh with government rebate and will take forever to recoup the cost, for example, additional 6kw system might net you an extra 8000kwh a year, you'd be lucky to use half of that (which is extremely optimistic as you might already reach your 100% utilisation in some part of the year with existing system and anything extra is going to be exported) and rest be exported at measly 5c/kwh so annual savings is around $1200 max, that's like 13 years which is way to long, and who knows during that period what your existing 4kw system gonna do. Best get some more quote and look at around 8 years or so of ROI. The above quote use cream of the crop system to justify their premium but it's just not worth it.

    Also with shading, string system is now almost as good as micro, there was a guy doing experiment on string system and he literally put chimney and some hard shading object in front of the string and the difference is only within 5%, not worth wasting 20% more for that little gain. If you only has shading issue with east panel, there's no point going micro on both sides, optimisers on the affected panels is a more sensible choice.

    • nightqueen on 23/09/2022 - 22:34

      I recently changed my 3.6kw hot water tank, I took it off the off peak timer and placed it on the 12pm to 2pm, so a lot of my solar panel energy from the 4kw system is going into the hot water tank at 3.6kw.

    • star-ggg on 24/09/2022 - 10:20

      Is it sufficient to put the east and west facing panels on different strings? Would the shading on the east string still affect the west one?

      • nightqueen on 24/09/2022 - 10:42

        I would have to get a new bigger inverter and then put more panels on east and west. I got this quote because I didn't want to get rid of my old 4kw inverter.

  • Wiadro on 23/09/2022 - 23:32

    i have a quote for 10kw for 6k in Sydney after the STC

    • nightqueen on 23/09/2022 - 23:37

      What brand of panels and inverters is that?

  • baronorder on 23/09/2022 - 23:50

    Seems kind of expensive, just had a quote for an 11kw system using 415w Risen panels (25yr), a Sungrow inverter and a 23KWh Solax battery (10yr) and that came out to about $23k (after STC and local battery rebates)

  • AngoraFish on 24/09/2022 - 00:59
    +1

    4kw is adequate for a 4 person household. The only real reason to increase your capacity is feed in tariff, which has been decreasing for years and is only going further backwards.

    Odds on you already have a ton of unused capacity in your existing system between noon and 2pm. A new system ain't changing that. I mean, seriously, how much cooking and air-conditioning are you doing in the middle of the day, in Melbourne, anyhow?

    Sure, east and west facing will push your recovery a bit further into the mornings and evenings, but adding a couple extra hours either end of the day is hardly going to justify a major system upgrade.

    I can't see in what universe you're going to get any kind of recovery in less than 10 years, probably a lot more. @lgacb08 is right, there is no way your numbers stack up.

    If it were me, I'd be dragging out my existing system as long as humanly possible.

    • nightqueen on 24/09/2022 - 07:50

      Thanks for the advice, I'll just flog my exisiting 4kw system as long as I can

  • supersabroso on 24/09/2022 - 02:23

    Looks like a royal rip off to me. That's not worth it, you're better off ripping out your old solar system and getting a brand new 10kW system for $10k. New inverters like Goodwe have 3 strings so your North and West facing panels won't even be affected by the shade from your East facing panels.

    For the prices you are looking at, you won't be able to get a return on them for 10-20 years. My vote is that you don't add to it and just leave it alone until something breaks, then upgrade the entire system, no micro inverters.

    • nightqueen on 24/09/2022 - 07:50

      Thanks if in doubt, do nothing and just pay the mortgage Haha

  • Overclocked91 on 24/09/2022 - 06:44
    +2

    That's expensive. 6.6Kw Solis system for 6K. Better off going for a Fronius or Goodwe

    • Hackney on 24/09/2022 - 07:01
      +1

      Fronius are excellent inverters.We have just had a quote on a home we have just purchased.26 panels(Hyundai)10-11kw system, around the $11-12,000 mark.our current home has a ‘Maxtech’ inverter.(Swiss) it has been faultless.

    • dust on 24/09/2022 - 13:41

      Yep I have a quote for similar to this.

  • Jugganautx on 24/09/2022 - 07:36

    I've just been through the ringer getting quotes from multiple reputable companies this week.

    Cheapest i got came with a 10 year workmanship warranty from a company thats been in business since 1997.

    $5228 for a 6.64kW system.
    16x 415w Jinko Tiger Panels 25 year product warranty with a Goodwe 5000-MS inverter.

    Im in SA for reference.

  • Edgecrusher on 24/09/2022 - 08:07

    Expensive,
    I’m in rural NSW and have an install next Friday.
    7.5k ex Gst
    9.5kw fronius inverter, REC panels

    Was a local company, to be fair they were moving out older stock.

    Received cheaper quote from “out of Towners” but didn’t trust I’d get the quality of service.

    • nightqueen on 24/09/2022 - 08:58

      Same im regional NSW as well. Close to Victorian border

    • parsimonious one on 24/09/2022 - 09:42

      That seems like a good deal

      REC panels are highly rated and obviously fronius makes a good inverter

    • nightqueen on 24/09/2022 - 10:41

      Which part of rural NSW are you in? That's a very good deal

  • kipps on 24/09/2022 - 09:53
    +1

    Very expensive pricing.

  • aerom on 24/09/2022 - 17:34

    I got my 13.2 KW system installed for $6400 back in 2018.

    Sydney FYI

    • Jugganautx on 24/09/2022 - 17:59
      +2

      Insane price…

    • nightqueen on 25/09/2022 - 09:43

      Epic prices

      • DoctorCalculon on 26/09/2022 - 20:59

        Since you did get a quote from RACV, be prepared to be hounded by a phone call every 3 or 4 days asking for your thoughts.

  • johnnygolden on 24/09/2022 - 19:33
    +1

    Installed 5kw system in VIC last year for $6.5k (not the cheapest quote - included a Fronius inverter and a Solar Analytics subscription). I went through Solarquotes which organises 3 quotes from reputable installers and would happily recommend their service.

  • Hackney on 26/09/2022 - 10:17

    Just interested to know, what are most people getting as a feed in tariff these days?I think ours is now around 6 or 7c.

    • parsimonious one on 26/09/2022 - 13:00
      +1

      I think mine is very similar.

      It’s about 23c/kWh for use, 7c or so for feed in

    • nightqueen on 26/09/2022 - 23:27
      +1

      Same 7c so low

  • OldSchoolHarry on 27/09/2022 - 02:05

    A friend got 9.6kw Trina panels with 8.2kw Fronius inverter installed back in 2021 for about $6000 in Brisbane. For context, Origin wanted $10k for the same system.

  • Ham Dragon on 27/09/2022 - 16:46

    Thoughts on this 6.6kW system:

    18 x 370w Trina Honey TSM-DD08M.08(II) Half Cut Half Cell Mono Panels
    1 x 5 kW Solax X1 Boost G3 X1-5.0-T-N(L) Single Phase Inverter with Wi-Fi feature
    Meter Box Upgrade

    $5099

    Not keen on the Solax inverter, so will ask for a revised quote with a Fronius. Price seems decent given it includes the required upgrade to the electricity box.

    Update: they want an additional $1200 for a Fronius 5kW inverter. Think I'll pass!

    • Hackney on 28/09/2022 - 05:56

      Fronius are one of the best(if not the best) out there.Made in Austria & top quality.Worth the expense.I have my quote done today,Hyundai panels @ Fronius inverter.Probably going to go with either a 8.2 or 10kw inverter & around 34 panels, give or take.I will post the breakdown hopefully in the next 24hrs.

  • Hackney on 28/09/2022 - 18:35

    Quote:Hyundai 390W PERC Shingled Solar module (25 year warranty) x 26. Fronius Symo 8.2-3 8.2KW Three phase inverter (10year warranty).Fronius Smart Meter US 480V CT.Level 2 monitoring. Cost $13,500.

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