Being on ground zero installing solar panels in Perth, we come across many different customers with questions that just don’t seem to be getting answered. We visited a customer who had just built a new home in Bullsbrook and when we mentioned a solar panel system he was most against it. All he had heard on the news or from friends was that you will be pulling the system off the roof in 5 years because its broken. Coincidently the next customer we went to that day was raving about his solar system. It has been on his house for 11 years and has never had a problem with the panels or the inverter. We believe that solar power is making the most of the best resource we have, the sun. Who wouldn’t want to generate there own power from the sun?
It is our passion to provide the people of Perth a long lasting solar system that is going to generate some great savings to help them become more financially free. There seems to be a bit of confusion around the following topics so tune in as we help you navigate through the solar process.
- Government rebates and feed in tariffs
- Why 6.6kW solar system only has a 5kW inverter
- The misleading warranties and how they are served if the company goes bust.
- The difference between the Smart Meter that is installed or reprogrammed by Western Power and the Smart Meter that companies try to sell you to monitor your usage.
- Finance?
- What is the difference between Government Rebate and Feed In Tariff?
To keep it simple the federal government created a scheme that helps people of Perth purchase a solar panel system for a more affordable price. Ever heard of STC’s? (small scale trade certificates). The size of your solar panel system in kW’s depends on how many STC’s you are eligible for. Most solar companies today give you the discounted prize and trade the STC’s on your behalf. The scheme only has 12 years left and reduces every year. Making now the most afforable time to go solar.
Now you have purchased a solar system at a discounted price thanks to the government, your electricity provider is now going to give you approximately 7c per kWh for the solar power you don’t use. This scheme is only applicable for system of 5kW inverter or less. Anything above that then you don’t get a cent! The old 47c feed in tariff will be disappearing next year and you will find all the people who have small solar systems on there roof will be upgrading to a bigger system!
2. SMART METER
In order for your energy provider to calculate how much power you use and put back into the grid, they must install a smart meter at your premises. This is done when getting the approval to connect a solar system. It is illegal to install a solar system without approval as a conventional meter will spin backwards.
Most inverters come with Wifi monitoring complimentary but this only shows you how much solar you are producing. There are other products that are advertised as ‘Smart Meters’ that work in conjunction with your inverter app to see when you are using power from the grid or from your solar system.
3. How big is a 6.6kW solar panel system
Due to low sunlight periods due to clouds and shading, solar inverters have been overloaded with panels up to 133%. For a 5kW inverter most companies install 6.6kW worth of panels so on a cloudy day there are extra panels to help you generate your 5kW from your inverter.
4. Warranties
We see a lot of companies advertising solar panels in Perth with 25 year warranties. Don’t be fooled! There are some brands like Sunpower and LG that do provide a 25 year product warranty which is superior to the rest of the market. There are two parts to any solar panel warranty. The manufacturers warranty and the performance warranty. Every panel we have seen on the market has a 25 year performance warranty that says after 25 years the panel will produce a certain % of the rated power output of the panel. But the manufacturers warranty is for faulty products and most cheaper panels are 10 years with some leading towards 12-15 years. Your warranty for your inverter and panels starts from the day they were installed. We have heard of some slimey salesmen telling people it is from the date of manufacture not the date put into service.
Check out the Fronius Inverter Warranty
5. FINANCE!
Be careful with finance. No one does anything for free these days. If you can’t afford a solar system upfront then it is still beneficial to get a low interest loan to pay for it. In most cases it works out that you use the savings created from your new bill to pay for the systems repayments.
6. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH
Do your research people, read the reviews. If your investing $5k on solar you want to make sure you get a good return on investment!
