Need Help with Picking Solar System

Ljase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 12:21
Last edited 05/07/2024 - 17:04

Long time lurker, first time poster here. Please be kind. :)

I have been looking at quotes for solar systems for the house and have gotten a couple of system recommendations from various installers. This is where I'm stuck as I have no idea which system/brand is better, and pricing is vastly different. I am calling on the OzB brains trust for guidance.

Our house consumes a fair bit of electricity so the installers have recommended maxxing the kW. We have received the following quotes so far:

Quote 1: 10.7kW ($11.8k after STC)

Panels: Aiko Solar Neostar 2P 465W x 23
Inverter: SAJ R6-10KS3

Quote 2: 10.7kW ($14.6k after STC)

Panels: Aiko Solar Neostar 2P 465W x 23
Inverter: SolarEdge SE10000H
Plus Optimizers

Quote 3: 11.4kW ($8k after STC)

Panels: Jinko Tiger Neo 60HL4-V 475W x 24
Inverter: Growatt MIN 10000TL-X
Plus Optimizers

Additional consideration - We are not going for a battery right now but would like the option to add one on if needed in the future. Have been informed that all 3 inverters above can support a battery in the future.

House details:
* Backyard is west facing
* All proposals are for the panels to go on the second floor roof and some on the deck roof at an angle facing north
* Single phase

Not sure what other info is required so please feel free to ask questions and I'll add more info.

Would love to hear your experiences with these systems/brands so comment away, and don't forget to vote in the poll too!

Poll Options Sat, 13/07/2024 - 00:00

  • 1
    Quote 1
  • 2
    Quote 2
  • 32
    Quote 3
  • 10
    None of the above
Home & Garden Solar Energy System

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 05/07/2024 - 12:24

    What's the break even timeline for each system?

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 14:06

      Discounted payback period:
      Quote 1 - 2-3 years
      Quote 2 - 3-4 years
      Quote 3 - 2.5-3 years

      • Muzeeb on 05/07/2024 - 14:16

        Bloody hell. You do consume a lot of power.

        • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 14:21

          Central heating/cooling are reverse cycle which probably consumes a big chunk, and it's been bloody cold in Melbourne recently. Also have EV which doesn't help with electricity consumption, but saving trees hopefully. :')

          • Muzeeb on 05/07/2024 - 14:25
            -1

            @jase7777: We spend $1800pa on electricity and everything is electric (no gas, tank water, 50k litre pool, reverse ducted). We have a very energy efficient house though for natural cooling in summer and in winter we burn free unlimited redgum and greybox. EV's are useless where I live so I guess it all makes sense.

      • SBOB on 05/07/2024 - 14:40

        they your sums or the installers?

        • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 15:07

          Installers' sums based on usage data we've given them

          • SBOB on 05/07/2024 - 15:34
            +5

            @jase7777: then double it at least when making your cost/benfit sums
            110% you wont be hitting those ROI numbers in real life

            • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 16:55

              @SBOB: Got it, thanks!

            • deeevan on 05/07/2024 - 17:59

              @SBOB: Yup. If it was sunny enough to generate max power, you wouldn't be running the heating. And I'm assuming you don't turn it off when the sun sets.

              Will you be able to stay at home and charge the EV during the day? Prepare dinner in the late afternoon?

            • JohnWick1980 on 05/07/2024 - 18:11

              @SBOB: Agree, double the higher end number they have given i.e 3 becomes 6.

      • netjock on 05/07/2024 - 15:17
        +1

        These numbers are wrong.

        How could quote 3 being cheapest and highest kW panels have longer payback.

        They are all using different assumptions on consumption, power prices and discount rates.

        Most of that modeling is rubbish.

        Your inverter is 10kW capped capacity (means full sun the Jinkos might do 11.4kW but the inverter will only do 10kW)

        • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 16:56

          Ahh… I recall them saying that even though inverter is 10kW, they're allowed to go 10% above that. Not sure how that works…

        • JohnSy on 06/07/2024 - 23:35

          This. "How could quote 3 being cheapest and highest kW panels have longer payback."

      • lgacb08 on 05/07/2024 - 20:55

        No chance it will be 3 year, with low price of electricity in Vic right now and 3c fit its more likely to be 5 year.

      • brad1-8tsi on 06/07/2024 - 15:17

        Is that your calcs or theirs? If their calcs then take with a truckload of salt

    • HeWhoKnows on 06/07/2024 - 08:05
      +2

      I look in the sky at night and can often see several planets of our solar system.
      But yes a bit hard to pick them out for most.

      Solar system has been around for a long time so breakeven hasnt been determined yet

  • AngoraFish on 05/07/2024 - 12:25
    +4

    I'm struggling to see why you wouldn't just go with the cheapest there, particularly given the second story installation and highest total wattage.

    West facing is perfect because that will mean that you'll pick up an extra notch of generation into the afternoon and early evening, when most households use most of their power. In fact, you're better off facing at least some of your panels in that direction rather than maxing total midday generation (north facing) when all the excess power you generate is just being sold into the grid for pennies, or nothing at all.

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 14:10

      Thought the same re going with the cheapest but I'm worried I'm missing something because it's 3-4k cheaper than the next quote! Not sure if the quality of the inverter vs the SAJ and SolarEdge is inferior?

      Good point re the panels facing west.

  • jv on 05/07/2024 - 12:26
    -3

    Need Help with Picking Solar System

    Have you tried Officeworks?

    • iforgotmysocks on 05/07/2024 - 12:53

      😲 I thought Officeworks only took care of business…

  • JIMB0 on 05/07/2024 - 12:28

    The solar edge inverter needs careful design to get the most out of the panels

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 14:11

      Meaning? Sorry, very new to all this.

      • JIMB0 on 06/07/2024 - 17:12
        +1

        If the string of panels is short and you have too many shaded panels it will drag down the sunny panels to match the shaded ones. This can happen if they put East and West panels in the same string.

        The system architecture is flawed and the company has poor customer service. A good installer who understands the limitations can make it work properly.

        https://mcelectrical.com.au/blog/solaredge-inverter-optimise…

        • knasty on 06/07/2024 - 21:13

          This is the opposite of my experience. The whole point of Solaredge is that each panel is individually optimized - what you want when some panels are shaded and others are not. I went for Solaredge for this very reason as I have a large tree in the north west of my block which shades some of the western panels during the middle of the day and some of the northern panels in the late afternoon. I've had nothing but a positive experience from Solaredge after 8 years, but that said if shading is not an issue I would go for a standard inverter with a 2 string (north/west) panel structure.

  • oscargamer on 05/07/2024 - 12:40

    When do you use your power? But the obvious answer is the largest system, that also happens to be the cheapest………..

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 14:13

      Usually morning and evenings

      • oscargamer on 05/07/2024 - 14:35

        Then you probably need a battery as you're generating elec when you're not home.

        • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 15:08

          Sorry didn't clarify. I'm home during the day too but peak usage is mornings and evenings

          • brad1-8tsi on 06/07/2024 - 15:27

            @jase7777: Can you do East & West facing? my place is flat roof and does some good peak outputs. My partners is East & West and it doesn't peak as well as mine but starts earlier and finishes later.

            Also, pay the extra and get an inverter that is battery ready to when the Federal subsidies start. I want/need a battery and will have to remove an 18 month old inverter to do so.

            • jase7777 on 06/07/2024 - 21:21

              @brad1-8tsi: Hmmm. Not sure. I'll have to ask them if we can/should do east/west facing.

              Yeah makes sense re battery ready inverter. I was thinking that too for the future. Battery ROI doesn't make sense atm!

  • SnowDragon on 05/07/2024 - 12:57
    +3

    Need Help with Picking Solar System

    The Milky Way seems to be a good choice this time of year

    • DGrayson82 on 05/07/2024 - 13:01
      +5

      Um…akshually the Milky Way is a galaxy

      • Muzeeb on 05/07/2024 - 13:26
        +3

        Yes. I think SnowDragon meant the Copernican system.

        • SnowDragon on 05/07/2024 - 14:10
          +1

          Yes, yes… that's exactly what I meant…

          • Muzeeb on 05/07/2024 - 14:32

            @SnowDragon: Please refer to me in future before making any more comments. Thanks.

            • SnowDragon on 05/07/2024 - 14:33
              +1

              @Muzeeb: Ok, me in the future.

              • Muzeeb on 05/07/2024 - 14:42

                @SnowDragon:

                me in future

                See, you got it wrong again. You're not following the rules.

    • Derrick Crane on 05/07/2024 - 18:19
      +1

      All I know is that Richard of York gave battle in vain.

  • 2jzzzz on 05/07/2024 - 13:03
    +2

    Jinko or Trina panels with a Sungrow was the sweet spot for me

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 14:14

      Cool. Do you know if something like a Sungrow SH10RS would do the trick?

      • FlyingMiffy on 06/07/2024 - 21:46

        I have the Sungrow SH10RT which is a hybrid. 12 months later and im really happy with it. The app has improved over that time and ive only had to reboot manually once at about the 1 month mark when a software update fail to restart automatically. The chinese solar tech is generally much better value for money than the european ones. The Fronius for example is really loud and wont be great if you wanna place the inverter inside the garage, for the power output you are paying about 100% more too.

    • lgacb08 on 05/07/2024 - 20:57

      No, sungrow is crap. Very buggy software like typical Chinese products.

  • SBOB on 05/07/2024 - 14:37

    strange you have one quote with optimizers, one with solaredge, and then one without
    Do you have shading issues as quotes 2 and 3 would lean to yes, while quote 1 says no.

    A quality string inverter and well reviewed/widely used panel brands is hard to go by, preferably with ones that multiple installers in your area are distributing.
    Eg
    Inverters such as - Fronius, Sungrow, Growatt, SMA etc
    Panels such as - Trina, Jinko, Q-Cell, Sunpower etc

    based on that, Option 3 is the likely better choice if I only had those 3 to go from

    • zoob on 05/07/2024 - 14:50
      +1

      I've got 2 questions. Are these all from the same installer, and is shade an issue? It's a bit hard to make sense of without knowing that.

      • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 15:13

        Different installers. Shade may be an issue during some parts of the day according to them.

        • SBOB on 05/07/2024 - 15:36

          Different installers

          two installers in your area both quoted " Aiko Solar Neostar 2P"?

          I'll say option 3, UNLESS.. its from a company that advertises with ex Australian cricket stars.
          In which case I'd suggest you find better companies to source solar installs from

          • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 16:57

            @SBOB: Quote 1&2 from the same installer
            Quote 3 from a different installer

            Don't believe they use any ex Aussie cricket stars. lol

        • DoctorCalculon on 05/07/2024 - 20:32

          Shade may be an issue during some parts of the day according to them.

          Sounds very vague. Have they actually carried out a proper shading analysis?
          Are the shades caused by nearby trees, or building structures, etc.?

        • zoob on 05/07/2024 - 20:33
          +1

          I think you need to get quotes on identical set-ups from 3 different installers so you're comparing apples with apples. That way you can get a better sense of what is a reasonable price. Keep in mind that picking the cheapest installer may lead to regret down the track if the workmanship is poor.

          Then, you need to decide whether you want to go for a high end inverter, or take a chance with a cheaper one. We went with solaredge as we had shading issues and it was recommended by everyone that quoted. We've been happy with the system and the monitoring app is great.

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 15:12

      My bad, I think they all have optimizers. Quote 3 calls it out specifically but Quote 1&2 have the word optimizers embedded somewhere in the proposal.

      Thanks for your input on the options.

  • ShortyX on 05/07/2024 - 15:15

    Where are you located?

    Ours was a 13.3 kW with Sungrow SG10RS-ADA inverter, Jino JKM 475N-60HL4-V panels, S100 meter and hot water timer.

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 16:59

      Melbourne south east. How are you finding your set up?

      • ShortyX on 05/07/2024 - 19:12

        It will be installed next month. :)

        It would have been good to get a hybrid inverter to add a battery later, but decided against it until hybrid inverters and batteries come down in price, or just retrofit a battery to the current inverter.

  • netjock on 05/07/2024 - 15:25

    Plus Optimizers

    Are you sure you're getting optimizers or just the ones built into the inverter?

    Is it 3 quotes from 3 different installers?

    You actually can't compare quotes with different panels / inverters because you don't know what the underlying costs are.

    If all 3 vendors are quoting same panels and difference is inverters then price is inverters and labour (some also offer you slightly higher / lower STCs).

    Unless you are sure what you want and will to hold to it the industry is there to confuse you. Think you might want to read up on solar quotes.

    Panels. Jinkos, Trina etc are most popular budget choices. Do not go the ultra cheap end.

    Inverters. I prefer Growatt due to value for money. If you are get the hybrid (Growatt MIN 10000TL-XH) and it has battery connectors ready to go so you can just buy the battery and plug it in.

    On inverters, if you are mounting it where it gets lots of afternoon sun then you might want to go for something with active cooling as budget inverters probably won't last long.

    • jase7777 on 05/07/2024 - 17:03

      Thanks mate. That's helpful.

  • 00 on 06/07/2024 - 01:27

    Know who will actually hands on install your system and they’re competent - not only with electrical compliance but workmanship too.

    Get a written design from them before they touch anything. Understand and agree to the layout, placement of equipment and where cables will run and what holes they may need to drill and where. Clarify with them to check they’ll leave a tidy worksite.

    • jase7777 on 06/07/2024 - 11:58

      Good tip, thanks!

  • Chewy2221 on 06/07/2024 - 09:02

    We got a small solar system in 2010 (1.5 kw with 2 kw inverter). The inverter does get quite hot when in use, but so far it still works. I would have concerns if the inverter rating is smaller than the (combined) rating of the panels. Panels can produce significantly more power than their rated capacity. We have on occasion generated 2.2kw . Our 2 kw inverter handled this ok. Good luck, lots to consider

    • zoob on 06/07/2024 - 09:28
      +2

      It's actually quite common to have about 30% more kW in terms of panels. Panels are cheap and that allows you to get more out of the system if it's overcast, outside of peak times etc. If there's excess solar from the panels that will just be spilled

    • SBOB on 06/07/2024 - 10:43
      +1

      133% over provisioning of panel vs inverter is common and the allowed limit (for rec rebates)

      Id be more concerned if an installer didn't over provision panels to maximise solar generation capacity across a larger time of day/year.

  • 82norm on 06/07/2024 - 10:25

    YouTube Solarquotes, Finn Peacock, has a tonne of reputable info.
    Get a decent inverter, ask if the panels are mono crystalline or poly crystalline.
    Go min 10kw. Whilst not going EV now, research if the brand of inverter has an EV compatible charger. Whilst this is not 100% critical to have the same ecosystem, it could make things easier/simplier from a plug and play perspective. But again, not crucial thing.

    Btw. Prefer Fronius inverters.

  • The Hunted on 06/07/2024 - 10:26

    I highly recommend you get a battery when you get it installed.
    You will never have a problem when there is a power outage, you will save money through using the power you generate through the day and you can even charge it off peek when electricity is cheap and use it when it is expensive.

    • 2esc on 06/07/2024 - 11:29

      Just double check it will work off grid. As about 5 years ago during a blackout my neighbour across the road had no power even though he had a battery. It was a safety issue they dont want your battery power going back into the grid in this case if repairs are being conducted.

      The only way around this is to have a solar energy system with battery storage and an inverter that allows you to isolate power from the grid.

  • Grunntt on 06/07/2024 - 11:34

    Before you sign up for any of these it's worth your while to spend some time becoming more informed about solar - Start Here

    • jase7777 on 06/07/2024 - 11:58

      Thanks for this. Really helpful info.

  • xsacha on 06/07/2024 - 20:42

    Definitely a Jinko. I went with Jinko, it paid itself off quickly and it has performed extremely well. One of the most efficient on pvoutput.

    If it's the cheapest on your list, it's the best option I'd say.

    Inverter might be the only trouble.

  • FlyingMiffy on 06/07/2024 - 21:29
    +1

    I went to SolarQuotes first but didnt go with either of the 3 quotes. Its a good place for research and to get an idea of whats out there but you will find that different companies partner with different manufacturers so if you start to do research and develop preferences, you might be limited in what you get back from that website. I was fairly set on Jinko neo panels and a toss up between Sungrow and Growatt. I paid about 12K for 10.12kw with a hybrid inverter that was battery ready. You might also find that some companies are better installers than others. I had some wanting to charge for a second subboard, another that refused to place the inverter on the south walls and another that wanted to put it in the garage. Price is only one consideration. Get them out to do a onsite quote, that will reduce surprises on the install day.

  • Mrgreenz on 06/07/2024 - 23:10

    Do you have any usage info? How many KWh per day are you using in summer/winter?

    How much is used between 7am and 5pm? If you have smart metering.

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