All things Solar (merged threads)

[poppa smurf]

what sort of warranty?......25 years seems to be normal

see if you can grab the deterioration figures.......all panels will drop in production output as they grow older but the cheaper ones, and i'm not saying these are, but the cheaper ones will drop production capacity quicker than the "better" one's

[davenl5l]

well not long now agl have sent a work order to rortega gotta ring etsa in 3 days for a appointment cant wait

[bartaxr8]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

what sort of warranty?......25 years seems to be normal

see if you can grab the deterioration figures.......all panels will drop in production output as they grow older but the cheaper ones, and i'm not saying these are, but the cheaper ones will drop production capacity quicker than the "better" one's

Thanks for the advice mate. For the record the ad states: Leading brand products backed by 25 year warranty.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by bartaxr8

Thanks for the advice mate. For the record the ad states: Leading brand products backed by 25 year warranty.

well that's as good as you or I are going to get!.....

[MNM96]

Well finally today, having checked every morning, I have managed to get below the start point, producing power to the point that I am back to the level when the system was fitted.

Been not a single day where we have had a cloud free day. Some days it produced only 3 kw for the whole day.

Anyhow, Happy days for me and the last of my electricity bills!

[poppa smurf]

well done....especially for this time of year......happy days indeed

I've been down to 2 kilowatts per day with heavy cloud and rain......no export whatsoever....but I'm that far in front with my credit that it makes no nevermind

[GTB 351]

Hi all,
I'm looking at a 5kw system and have had 4 measure and quotes from 4 different companies. They range from 8.5 to 14 k. Suntrix has been the best quote, has anyone else gone with them and can you give me some feedback?
Cheers

[deesun]

Originally Posted by GTB 351

Hi all,
I'm looking at a 5kw system and have had 4 measure and quotes from 4 different companies. They range from 8.5 to 14 k. Suntrix has been the best quote, has anyone else gone with them and can you give me some feedback?
Cheers

Just like buying a car isn't it GTB351, they all have four wheels and four doors but one is 10k and the other is 100k. 5.5k is a big difference though. Is that 5kw inverter with 5kw of solar panels or is that a 5kw inverter with a smaller kw worth of panels? What brand of inverter and what type of warranty? I found my info here http://www.solarquotes.com.au/about-us.html and Papa Smurf has a bucketload more info and links. If you have already done some homework it might still be good to spend some time perusing the sites. Also try the Whirlpool site and search there for Suntrix and see what transpires. Happy sunny days to you, hope you start getting cheques real soon.

Found this http://www.solarquotes.com.au/instal...ix-review.html Sun Trix reviews give good reports 4*.

[GTB 351]

Cheers for that. Its a 5kw system with 5kw inverter. All had the same warranties. 20 x 250 kw panels, japanese parts assembled in china, chinese inverter. I will investigate further.

[deesun]

Originally Posted by GTB 351

Cheers for that. Its a 5kw system with 5kw inverter. All had the same warranties. 20 x 250 kw panels, japanese parts assembled in china, chinese inverter. I will investigate further.

Sounds like you have been doing some homework, well done. Apples with apples, see if you can get the brand of and model no of the panels and try searching comparison sites. So far the German inverters have the best reputations but the more inverters on the market the better the chinese ones will become but German was my preference as we are still in our infancy of mass produced inverters. Do you have any more space on your roof for more panels? The system will only produce 5kw for short time of the day. I put up 6.1kw of panels to push the inverter a bit more. This means it produces more power more often. I have 24 x 250s on a 5kw inverter. Sure I will waste a bit when its a sunny day but it will produce more during the other times. Extra panels werent all that extra but the companies who sell packages arent interested in breaking up their package to add extra panels. We were also looking to the futers as we have only just moved into the house and barring anything major happening we will be here another 20 years. Sunny days to you.

[poppa smurf]

good info from deesun!.....well done....GTB_351 you've done well....go with the above advice

[GTB 351]

Thanks guys. One of the reasons I liked Suntrix is the mounting system - 100mm off the roof and powdercoated aluminium mounts and frames at no extra cost. They will even do the panel frames in powdercoat at a no cost option which will suit my dark roof. They were the first to measure and quote and supplied evidence of there panels efficiency in tests done. Others just told me theres was the best panels and all others were inferior and did'nt show me any evidence off this. I think I'm on a winner and will go with Suntrix.
Thanks for the link on testimonials etc deesun, it was very helpful. Hope to be up and running before the end of the financial year.
Thanks to all, it took me a long time to read thru this thread but well worth the effort.

[poppa smurf]

sounds good to me......good luck to you and of course keep us informed!

[deesun]

Originally Posted by GTB 351

Thanks guys. One of the reasons I liked Suntrix is the mounting system - 100mm off the roof and powdercoated aluminium mounts and frames at no extra cost. They will even do the panel frames in powdercoat at a no cost option which will suit my dark roof. They were the first to measure and quote and supplied evidence of there panels efficiency in tests done. Others just told me theres was the best panels and all others were inferior and did'nt show me any evidence off this. I think I'm on a winner and will go with Suntrix.
Thanks for the link on testimonials etc deesun, it was very helpful. Hope to be up and running before the end of the financial year.
Thanks to all, it took me a long time to read thru this thread but well worth the effort.

Well it all sounds good. keep us up to date.

[MNM96]

27.5 kw produced today.

[poppa smurf]

nice one, that meter would be on a one way trip in reverse......I produced 15, exported 8 and used 12......bit cold here last night!

[davenl5l]

Originally Posted by GTB 351

Thanks guys. One of the reasons I liked Suntrix is the mounting system - 100mm off the roof and powdercoated aluminium mounts and frames at no extra cost. They will even do the panel frames in powdercoat at a no cost option which will suit my dark roof. They were the first to measure and quote and supplied evidence of there panels efficiency in tests done. Others just told me theres was the best panels and all others were inferior and did'nt show me any evidence off this. I think I'm on a winner and will go with Suntrix.
Thanks for the link on testimonials etc deesun, it was very helpful. Hope to be up and running before the end of the financial year.
Thanks to all, it took me a long time to read thru this thread but well worth the effort.

get a garantee that it will be installed before june 30th or you will lose half the rebate $3,000+

[ute83]

[QUOTE=deesun I put up 6.1kw of panels to push the inverter a bit more. This means it produces more power more often. I have 24 x 250s on a 5kw inverter.[/QUOTE]


Where does the extra 100 watts come from deesun?

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by davenl5l

get a garantee that it will be installed before june 30th or you will lose half the rebate $3,000+

is the instalation Guarantee a must.....I needed a "proof of purchase" and my "PV-Seg" number to qualify me for any relevant tariffs/rebate's

a bit different then compared to now but I could not get any sort of instalation "guarantee".....merely an "approximate" date, to be confirmed as the install date got closer.....installers and sales were absolutely flat out

I had a salesman knock at the door on thursday.....he said he was from A.G.L. and produced the relevant documentation.....he had obviously seen my array and stated he would give me .52c per kilowatt

interesting to see that the providers are actively seeking out the small solar generators

however he could not match my purchase price of imported power nor the discount for early payment nor the discounted supply charge

but he certainly tried......times are changing or is this just competition becoming exceptionally tight

[GTB 351]

Hi, I have now paid the deposit and signed the contract and the ETSA agreement. Should be going up in about 3 weeks. ETSA dont let you expand your no of panels after you do the paperwork so I dont know why you would buy a 5kw inverter and 2kw system? If you add more panels later you will lose your feedin tariff.
The brother in law had a system fitted last year and his feedin was 44 cents, ETSA just increased it to 55c. Doubt I'll be so lucky but nice to know it could happen.

[deesun]

Originally Posted by ute83

Where does the extra 100 watts come from deesun?

Actually 6.2 as the panels were 260kw. From first signing contract to getting panels he was able to get newer panels at same price so 6.24. Mostly I call it 6.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by GTB 351

Hi, I have now paid the deposit and signed the contract and the ETSA agreement. Should be going up in about 3 weeks. ETSA dont let you expand your no of panels after you do the paperwork so I dont know why you would buy a 5kw inverter and 2kw system? If you add more panels later you will lose your feedin tariff.
The brother in law had a system fitted last year and his feedin was 44 cents, ETSA just increased it to 55c. Doubt I'll be so lucky but nice to know it could happen.

I can see your point about expanding the system and losing the feed in tariff ........that is IF you are receiving a feed in tariff in the first place that is

in a state that still offers feed in tariffs then my way of thinking is to go as large as you possibly can to

(1) cover the cost of power now and into the future

(2) take advantage of the array's financial production

some states do not have or have very little feed in tariff and some folks cant afford big systems, far better to do it in "stages" in these cases.......

buy as many panels as one can afford now but allow for expansion at a later date by purchasing a larger inverter now as part of a "special"

then expand the arrays power at a later date to negate or at least offset the power prices

when I place a post I have to deal with EVERY eventuality in EVERY state so my posts are often "wide encompassing" but not necessarily state specific,

I know the workings of S.A. but not much about other states goings on's and i also tend to leave out a fair bit of information for the sake of arguments but I'm more than willing to share what I know

I continually say "do your homework"......it's a big decision and one that should not be taken from a forum such as this and certainly should not be entered into lightly

[EgoFG]

Good advice PS

I would modify one line though

If you overspec your inverter you may loose some efficiency.
Given that prices will continue to decline over time, I chose the correct Inverter for my array, with the assumption that I would buy another inverter when I extend.
The extension would also have a different facing, so different output patterns, so a separate Inverter would give even more advantage.

[davenl5l]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

is the instalation Guarantee a must.....I needed a "proof of purchase" and my "PV-Seg" number to qualify me for any relevant tariffs/rebate's

a bit different then compared to now but I could not get any sort of instalation "guarantee".....merely an "approximate" date, to be confirmed as the install date got closer.....installers and sales were absolutely flat out

I had a salesman knock at the door on thursday.....he said he was from A.G.L. and produced the relevant documentation.....he had obviously seen my array and stated he would give me .52c per kilowatt

interesting to see that the providers are actively seeking out the small solar generators

however he could not match my purchase price of imported power nor the discount for early payment nor the discounted supply charge

but he certainly tried......times are changing or is this just competition becoming exceptionally tight

yep new rule is that it must be installed by june 30th to get the full rebate

[poppa smurf]

yes.....would be interesting to find out the efficiency drop by the overspec of an inverter.....maybe a project for another day.......get it down to a percentage value!

food for thought!

you are right about the price drop.....our system can now be purchased for under $10,000......cost us over $13,000

[poppa smurf]

I've just fired off a couple of emails to a couple of solar companies and one to the guvment about the rebate scheme to get the details.....will advise

[flappist]

For those who are worried about the rebate on 30/6 a few points to consider.

1) 1/7 I predict a sudden unexplained price drop to compensate.
2) This is just like digital TV and even UHF, carpetbagging is not a lost art.
3) Panels are just evolving technology. How long ago was it that a 40" medium def plasma was $8000, a Bluray player was $1995 and a basic quad core laptop was $3000?

[poppa smurf]

ah well time will tell!

[davenl5l]

Originally Posted by flappist

For those who are worried about the rebate on 30/6 a few points to consider.

1) 1/7 I predict a sudden unexplained price drop to compensate.
2) This is just like digital TV and even UHF, carpetbagging is not a lost art.
3) Panels are just evolving technology. How long ago was it that a 40" medium def plasma was $8000, a Bluray player was $1995 and a basic quad core laptop was $3000?

i agree but in my situation i had to act now could not take the chance as i couldn't find another $3000

[XD 351 Ute]

Got my Ergon paperwork in the mail late last week, just gotta fill it out and send it back, and then it's install time.

Ed