“Didn't receive the promised 3 quotes even after follow up. Only received 1 serious face to face quote, 1 online "fill in the blanks" quote, and 1 we'll get in touch quote. I'm not convinced Solar Quotes are all that much on the ball regarding following up promises.”
“The service is very helpful, even though in this case SolarQuotes didn't receive any direct commission.
I provided some feedback to them and a couple of thoughts directly.
As a general comment to the reader, I would advocate cutting out the middleman and dealing direct with an electrician/electrical company that is qualified to install panels and or batteries.
In my case, after dealing with 2 Panel/Battery installer groups locally, one who was going to use the same Electrician that I finally chose in any event, I cut out the middleman and dealt direct.
In dealing direct with Moncrieff Electrical, the key guy came out, really knew what he was doing, I had the quote within 24 hours and paid the deposit straight up.
One of the other 2 groups I'd been using basically took months to provide a quote, which ended up for a new Tesla Powerwall 3 installation being more than $3000 than the quote I have run with. No middleman.
Also, the company that took months to quote, didn't like detailed questions, but also didn't provide any key details for their quote breakdown.
Whilst SolarQuotes didn't help directly with my final selection and didn't have Moncrieff on their list, my discussions with them were helpful.
If you deal direct as I suggest above, you could well save $1000s, get the job done quicker will no nonsense in between.”
“Solarquotes makes getting quotes for solar installations easy. All I had to do was to submit a request for quote was contacted by three quality installers within a day or two.”
“I think the service that you provide is an excellent concept and th three suppliers have reverted with quotes. I am however awaiting some feedback to broader questions from yourselves as per email sent to Finn on 1/12/24 and as follows.Appreciate if you can revert asap.
Finn,
Thankyou for your enthusiasm for Solar and the desire to bring us laggards up to speed. I have been watching your videos and slowly educating myself. And I love the way you have structured your company to provide a platform for those of us starting the journey and the solar install / supplier companies.
I have received the three quotes, although am awaiting a refreshed quote from one supplier after I forwarded some mor information. I would like to ask you some questions, as my planned install is not a straightforward one, although I guess they rarely are.
Some background information.
1. The site address is 65 Hambleton St, Middle Park, Vic. We are not currently living at the subject property as we are commencing a renovation and wish to include solar. The house currently has single phase power supply, a meter panel on the LHS of the house near the front, the main switchboard is inside the house and there is a sub-board in the workshop at the rear of the property. it is planned to upgrade to 3 phase power supply and upgrade the switchboards as part of the renovation. I would like the solar system to be concurrently installed as part of the renovations.
2. The house has two separate areas suitable to install panels: the house itself with a section of flat roof 7.2m W x 5.7m L and a carport roof at the rear of the property 6.2m W x 5.7m L separated by perhaps 10m of garden. The carport includes two strips of clear sheeting to facilitate daylight into the carport; panels could be partially installed over these if elevated.
3. I am planning to purchase an EV next year and propose that this be charged in the carport to the rear of the property. I would also like this to be able to power the home after solar hours and in future back to the grid; so need an inverter capable of this functionality. have not as yet I started to look at EV’s.
4. The house has gas hot water and gas hydronic heating, planned to be retained for a couple of years and then be replaced by a heat pump.
5. We are currently living in alternate accommodation, in an all-electric house (heat pump, induction cooktop, reverse cycle A/C) for the last 5 months. Our estimated annual expenditure on electricity is $1,600, in this all electric house.
Planned installation:
1. I am keen to maximise the installed panels, as per your video advice. This looks like 12 to 16 panels on the house roof (some installers show some reluctance to install too close to roof edge or in adjacent portrait / landscape orientations) and 10 over the carport, 22 to 26 panels in all.
2. Whether this is all in initially or in two stages, initial and at EV purchase is a consideration – your thoughts?
3. I understand that two separate sets of panels set apart adds complexity and likely mean either micro-inverters or 2 inverters to convey AC rather than conveying DC between – your thoughts on the best solution – micro-inverters or 2 inverters?
4. There is quite some spread on the savings assumptions in financials: Usage %, daily electricity charge, Import rate, FIT rate. What are your suggestions on these? As this will be a new supply arrangement, I can somewhat optimise to suit.
5. I have heard that Grid network companies can ‘switch off’ solar inverters in times of excess solar generation and excess voltage leading to an unstable grid, binary containment(?) – fair enough. I have also heard that retail suppliers maybe able to do similar, enabling them to either turn off Solar and force import &/or in the future charge for -ve FIT. I understand that there is discussion around throttling containment. Your understanding of current situation and where this is heading would be appreciated.
6. Any other considerations / thoughts?
Thanks in advance. I really appreciate what you are doing for the community to help in the understanding of and facilitate the uptake of solar.
Regards,
Andrew Kaleski
mobile: +61 410 479 169
E-Mail: andrew.kaleski@gmail.com”
Hi Andrew,
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing the details of your planned solar installation. We're pleased to hear that you've been finding our resources helpful. I have replied to your email you sent us on 1st December in which you asked those questions. Should you require any further assistance please feel free to reach out to me at margherita@solarquotes.com.au
Margherita
“It was a good way to get a response after the two previous companies I had chased down.
But my house has "issues".
There is no obvious place for a battery and inverter at the front of the Heritage Overlay Victoria terrace, despite an excellent long East West tin roof for plenty of panels.
The first Solar Quotes response (Quote 3) came from a company offering to do the $20,000 to $30,000 job for $6,500 and it sounded ... er ... "too good to be true". I didn't need to read the fine print because the battery problem stopped it in its tracks.
The other issue with the Quote 1 and Quote 4 (Solar Quotes 2) was agreement that the new rules meant my $8,000 9-panel 3.1Kw 2011 system was non-compliant and would have to go to land-fill or possible be recycled. Quote No 2 managed to run parallel systems. The blow-back against this from abotu one million responders means it is worth waiting until the privatized power companies learn how to send electrons to battery storage.
Solar Quotes Number 3 never turned up despite sending marketing emails.”
“I was highly satisfied with the prompt response from SolarQuotes, which included pertinent details about three local suppliers. It was a pleasant surprise to receive contact from all the companies before mid-morning Tuesday, given that I had only sent an email on Saturday evening. The comprehensive background information on each supplier, along with numerous detailed reviews, facilitated my decision-making. Additional technical details and the comparison list provided a clear overview for evaluating my options. Each supplier offered detailed quotations, and one even visited the site as I had originally requested. I also appreciate your follow-up emails. I wish to make it clear that I am not being compensated for this review, though I would welcome any contributions towards the installation costs.”
“As is usual, Finn Peacock is a must go to to get informed about all things solar. my enquiry was about installing a battery to store energy from 24 solar panels , instead of receiving a measly 0.05 c feed in tariff. The installers recommended were prompt in their response to my enquiry and made me reaize that my set up is fine as a 70 year old , Im in credit, havent had a bill since 2015, and said why outlay 12 K at this point. Thanks again Finn Peacock
regards David Woods”
“I have wanted to install a solar system for years but never had the courage to, given all the shonky businesses around.
Using this service I got my 3 quotes and I feel confident that all will go well.
Thanks a lot Solar Quotes !”
“Thanks Solar Quotes for the info and for proposing quotes from some of the companies on your books. All companies that contacted us were very professional and (unsurprisingly) came in with similar products, presentations and prices. Each had a specific focus to try and differentiate their product. We are now a lot more solar savvy.”
“Great source of info on solar and when you ask for quotes you get installers that are worth talking to. Found a local who I feel I can trust thanks solarquotes. It’s still a complex purchase, especially if you’re changing from a basic meter to a smart meter. Understanding the consequences for how you will be billed is now more complex and impactful than the actual choice of solar equipment and makes most payback projections a joke. How about some coverage of that?”
“Site has great information on solar, and good follow up from Solar Quotes. Contacted and recevied quotes from two out of three compaines they organised.”
“I was contacted within 24 hours by 3 companies, all were very knowledgeable and spent a fair amount of time reviewing our usage history, current solar system and future requirements. Although they all had slightly different ideas of what was required to get us to a point we’d like to be at, we finally made the choice which company and system to go with. The install happens this week, less than 3 weeks after contacting Solar quotes..”
“Solar Quotes helped us to feel safe about choosing to install Solar on our home. We were able to know the company we chose to install with were reputable rather than being unsure and therefore unsafe. We were really happy with Solar Quotes easy process and follow up. Definitely worth the enquiry.”
