Home Solar

With the Mrs working from home 1/2 the week I am finally going to get some solar panels for the roof and lucky enough to be a higher elevation than my northern neighbour with no trees or shading.

Looking at a 6.6kw system and narrowed it down to either Infinite Energy based on reviews here or Termico who Dad has used twice. The prices below are before I've started getting them to sharpen the pencil:

Termico
6.66kw Goodwe - Risen 370Wx18 $3090
6.66kw Fronius - Risen 370Wx18         $4000
Infinite Energy
6.66kw Fronius - Canadian Solar 370Wx18 $5300
 
The question is.... is the Fronius worth the extra $1k and are the Canadian Solar panels worth an extra $1.3k over the Risen panel so hoping a few on here have had experience with the above products.
 
Cheers
 
JF
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 I got the 6.6kw fronius and

Wed, 2021-06-30 16:28

 I got the 6.6kw fronius and Canadian panels thru matts solar and battery for $4200 he done a top job and was easy to talk to  think he maybe doing it for 4000 now google him.

sea-kem's picture

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 All I know of Fronius is

Wed, 2021-06-30 16:34

 All I know of Fronius is that they do high end welding machines mate, very good quality from what I hear in the industry.

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sunshine's picture

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Definitely Fronius

Wed, 2021-06-30 16:57

And make sure they install the panels so that the fixing rails do NOT act as leaf collectors .....the rails need to run up and down the roof profile not horizontal to it.   Made that mistake on my first set, when I replaced with a 6.6  got far far better advice and way better installation indeed Western Power were highly complimentary of the job he did.  

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All good info lads, cheers

Wed, 2021-06-30 16:59

All good info lads, cheers

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System size.

Wed, 2021-06-30 19:11

 All depends on how big your grow room is going to be Frosty!.

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still trying's picture

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 I have heard that the

Wed, 2021-06-30 17:18

 I have heard that the fronius are worth the extra. They make very good products. 

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Swompa's picture

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 Go for fronius. It has a

Wed, 2021-06-30 20:17

 Go for fronius. It has a manufacturer backed warranty so if the installer goes under then you are covered in case of a failure.

sstevee's picture

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Recently been through this.

Wed, 2021-06-30 21:32

Recently been through this. Got quotes from all mentioned here including matts solar and battery. Ended up going with green wiring. Best quote and have been around for a while. Infinite couldn't touch them. 
Very happy with the install and service from office and installers. Would definitely recommend getting them to quote. I went Canadian and Fronius. 6.6kw panels and 5kw inverter significantly less than $5300!!!!

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Solar Edge

Thu, 2021-07-01 13:28

I have an Infinite Energy system that is a couple of years old, with Canadian Solar panels and a Solar Edge inverter (battery ready). IE were initially the highest quote, but did have some negotiation room :-)

The Solar Edge system uses 'optimised' Canadian panels that get the maximum possible output from each panel ie: if one panel goes down, performs poorly or is in shade, it won't pull the whole string of panels down to that output level.

I am very happy with the job and service from IE, but I have also heard very good reports about Matts Solar, who also recommends Solar Edge/Canadian systems, here is a link to him in case you want to barter for prices with IE :-)

https://www.facebook.com/mattsolarandbattery.com.au

 

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Thanks mate. I was leaning

Thu, 2021-07-01 14:37

Thanks mate. I was leaning towards Matt's solar after Stricko's post and having a read through his FB page and reviews. Very much sounds like he has an old skool tradie's ethos and workmanship

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 Can you guys advise what you

Thu, 2021-07-01 15:55

 Can you guys advise what you think the cost-benefit analysis has been to you? All we run during the day as a rule is 2 fridges, a pool pump and the gazillion things on standby. We have a good roof facing north but it's 2 story and hard to scaffold. I imagine that would increase the installation costs.

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VaSSagO's picture

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Our IT guy at my work had a

Thu, 2021-07-01 16:17

Our IT guy at my work had a solar system installed by a large reputable company with a Fronius located in the garage. Came home one day from work with smoke bellowing out the garage. Luckily he managed to smash a little window in the garage door and hose it down before it got too far out of hand (if he had arrived another 15 minutes later would of most likely lost his house completely). The Fronius was the cause. In excess of $100k in smoke damage to house and contents, plus fire damage to uninsured car in garage next to unit, had to live elsewhere for 3 months from memory whilst all cleaned up. Big fight with installer to cover uninsured losses.

Cause of fire was improper installation, the Fronius has no safe-guard from panels being hooked up incorrectly (polarity) which I believe most others do and with many companies using contractors this is a quite common.

Just food for thought.

 

FYI - I have a 6.6kw system with a chinese inverter (was $2.6k from memory) based on advice from a couple of companies, about 2 years old and no issues.

 

 

 

 

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Cheers guys. Got Green Wiring

Fri, 2021-07-02 12:24

Cheers guys. Got Green Wiring coming out for a site visit this week for a very competitive quote so cheers Steve.

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Happy Hooker's picture

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Have the Fronius Symo inverter and LG Neon 2 Panels installed

Fri, 2021-07-02 14:00

 Frosty

Got these installed in Feb 2018 . I have 3 phase so inverter suits. More expensive than your quotes however i wanted those panels and am happy with panel/inerter and the install .

 

Dave Willow - Similair to you , have 2 fridges ,2 deep freezers and pool pump was running 8 hrs a day plus and all other stuff in house on standby etc. 

My bill went from around $400 plus in summer give or take pending if aircons cranking in summer and now will come in around $200 in summer and we tend use aircons more . 

We do set washing machines and dishwashers etc to run during the day ( load them up and set timer to start in morning). 

Cheers

HH

 

    

 

  

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 Thanks HH. My bills are a

Fri, 2021-07-02 14:10

 Thanks HH. My bills are a lot more than that so I'll have to look into the numbers.

Cheers

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tot's picture

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If you are still pricing

Fri, 2021-07-02 14:52

Try Kev at solaire connect out of Joondalup. I have been involved with them for a few years.
Family run business, very knowledgeable and honest.  

I do their air con work and they have done solar for my family members. 
I will go batteries with them in a few years. 

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Reverse cycle a/c supply and install - Ducted and wall splits

sea-kem's picture

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 How far off do you reckon

Fri, 2021-07-02 16:19

 How far off do you reckon for battery storage tech  Kyle? That is probably the ideal set up in future.

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Kev’s reply

Fri, 2021-07-02 18:13

“Depends on rebates but they are dropping in price. I think in 2-4 years you will see batteries being super competitive”

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Reverse cycle a/c supply and install - Ducted and wall splits

uncle's picture

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Old mate next door

Sat, 2021-07-03 10:28

needed a new inverter on his fronius after a couple of years.

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All signed up but interested

Mon, 2021-07-05 15:12

All signed up but interested to see if anyone has split their panels so that some are on the western roof as I am thinking about splitting 1/3 there due to higher feed in tarrifs (10c v 3c) and because myself and the three kids won't be home during the day and the Mrs is in the office 2x per week.

We are a family of 5 with no pool pump to run and am planning on setting up the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer to run at around 1pm and during summer to have the air con on low during the day from 1pm to crank up when we all get home.

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sunshine's picture

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Definitely run AC on low during the day

Tue, 2021-07-06 08:04

We have found in doing so the heat never gets a chance to build up in the house and hence there is no need whatever to crank it up when you all get home.   must be better for the AC as well running in this manner.

 

Mark_M's picture

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split

Tue, 2021-07-06 12:37

Yes, I split mine into two strings (supported by the SE inverter) four panels facing NE catch the first morning rays (producing 0.3kW @ 7:30 this morning), for our brekky power use.

The other 17 panels face NW and kick in a bit later as the sun rises higher.

Happy Hooker's picture

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Mine are orientated

Tue, 2021-07-06 06:34

NNE 10 panels  , WNW 10 panels .  Due to way my roof is .  Gets 5kw produced for most of the day ( if sunny of course!) Appliances set to run 10am onwards ( dishwasher/wash machine) . Aircon set for 2pm start . Pool pump in my case 9am-5pm. Just finishing complete 80k litre concrete pool reno now and new pump going in ( variable speed / inverter) when plastering done that's more energy efficient replacing 20 year old pump so should see more improvement. 

If you really want to see what chews juice in house get a meter that you can plug into the power point and then appliance into it.About $60 I think. It shows how much electricity the appliance uses over 24 hours and $ cost. Eg 25 year old beer fridge in garage was costing close to $1 a day ...bought a new Samsung inverter fridge from Seconds store to replace it had a small  dent in side . Costs under $40 c a day to run . 
 

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 I put in a new variable

Tue, 2021-07-06 15:52

 I put in a new variable speed pool pump in January. Not sure yet on the cost savings but it is so quiet compared to the old one. 

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 I'm now in the market and

Tue, 2022-02-15 13:30

 I'm now in the market and looking at a 6.6kw system. Has anyone had a system recently installed, i'm expecting prices hto have risen, just trying to get a feel for by how much... plus any comments re the companies/panels/inverters above would be of value.

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To put in into perspective,

Fri, 2022-02-18 16:48

To put in into perspective, in October last year the average module (panel) cost was around 19c/Wp.

Last month that had increased to 26c/Wp.

Freight and logistics also increased from $2500 per container to just under $20k per container.

Inverters are about 15-20% higher than last year.

In summary, its about the worst possible time to buy PV, but we are starting to see pricing drop. Expectations are that normal pricing will resume around late this year.

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To put in into perspective,

Fri, 2022-02-18 16:49

Also note higher than normal labour rates.

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 Thanks for the detailed

Fri, 2022-02-18 23:14

 Thanks for the detailed context. Makes sense,