Being the engine and most important part of the system, panels now a days come in variety of different types and sizes. These vary from monocrystalline to polycrystalline, from 275watts to 450 watt panels. With so many different types on the market and every supplier claiming that there panels are the best it can be quite a stressful experience. So lets break it down into the 3 most important factors when choosing panels and they are;

1. Reliability
2. Serviceability
3. Price

Make sure to only purchase brands that have proven themselves on the Australian market. Over the last 10 years we have tried almost every panel on the market and believe me price doesn’t always mean quality. Having said that, one should never NEVER EVER EVER NEVER install a solar panel which has not been established in Australia for less than 5 years. Stick to brands that have proven themselves. Brands such as QCELLs, Trina, CanadianSolar, Risen and Seraphim, Jinko and the like. Call us if you want our opinion on a panel your thinking of installing.

 Poly or mono? Truth be told, there isn’t a great deal difference between the two. Regardless of what you may read on other sites and forums but our experience over the last decade tells us that a quality panel manufacturer is the real difference. For eg, a poly qcell panel beats a mono tier 2 panel everyday of the week.

Panels that we have recommended above meet the criteria also mentioned above being that they have proven themselves to be reliable, good value for money and in the very unlikely event that something goes wrong with the panel, the manufacturer handles the warranty process smoothly without stress and extended delays. Unlike other companies who need to send the panel back to the factory for testing to prove the panel is actually faulty (because its never their fault)

We will best be able to advise you on what panel to go with when we chat.

Just like panels , reliability, price and serviceability are once again important when it comes to picking an inverter. Like everything electronic, all inverter brands go faulty, its just a matter of which ones don’t go faulty as often and which companies provide a stress free warranty process. In this department our hats off to the very lovely and cost efficient sungrow inverters. For the price they are sold at they really are a robust and reliable inverter which has back to base monitoring on their isolar cloud monitoring system. Great warranties and fantastic support I cant recommend these guys enough. Although slightly more expensive the next range from the sungrow would be Huawei and Fronius, also reliable inverters with good warranties and support.
There are wifi features on these inverters that are really cool. Our installers always take the time to ensure that your system monitoring is setup properly and that you know how to read the graphs. This is vital to ensuring your system is working the way it should be and that there are no faults.

Trying to find the best solar panel installers?

Just because they are accredited solar installers doesn’t necessarily mean they are good installers. Let’s have a look at some of the aspects that will determine the difference between a seasoned installer from a wannabe.

Firstly, appearance. If a tradesman can’t take care of his clothes, vehicle and the way he greets you, well chances are he is a wam bam thank you ma’am installer and wont really care about your installation. He would be more concerned with the speed of installation, his team would probably all be wearing different shirts and most probably can’t communicate very well. You want a team installing your system with at least 2 of 3 members in the team having an electrical background.

I can’t talk enough about experience, there are just some things they don’t teach you at TAFE. If the licensed installer supervising and undertaking your installation has less then 4 years experience installing you really are running a risk of having sub standard work being undertaken on your house. You really need to make sure the installer has substantial amount of experience in installing pv panels because your system needs to last minimum ten years otherwise whats the point of the investment in the first place.

Some small pointers that any one can look out for:

• Before the installer starts, make sure that you are clear of exactly what is being installed and where it is being installed. Nothing worse than coming outside after work has been done to find out you didn’t receive what you were expecting. Try to see this in writing before the installer starts. A good installer should explain this to you anyway.

• Make sure the installer is using cables and conduits supplied by reputable electrical wholesalers such as TLE electrical and John R Turks. The wiring and trunking of solar pv systems are often installed out doors and need to withstand UV exposure for the life of an installation.

• If you have a tin roof make sure the installer blows off or hoses down any off cuts of aluminum which if left may cause your roof to rust.

• If you have old tiles or flat tiles always make sure that after the install is complete the installer runs a hose over the roof to check for any water leaks.

• Try to make sure that brackets installed don’t put heavy pressure on the tiles underneath it. This may cause tiles to break after a period of time and you may end up with a flooded ceiling.

• Make sure your inverter is installed well away from any gas point, electric arks and gas fittings don’t mix too well.

• If your inverter is on a northerly wall or an a wall that receives significant amount of direct sunlight make sure it is covered by a canopy that will allow air to circulate around the inverter but also keeping it out of direct sunlight. There are examples of this in our gallery.

• Make sure the installer takes his time installing your system. An average solar 6.6kw system usually takes 4-6 hours to install if done properly. Anything faster and you are compromising workmanship.

There are many more points we could list here. If you have had a solar installation installed and would like an independent opinion of the standard of work undertaken please feel free to drop us an email  to admin@asmsolar.com.au.

There are lots of slippery sales tactics used by shoddy operators, some of which include:

• Chinese products with European names, not saying that many Chinese brands are not top quality I’m just saying if your going to sell me an apple, well gimmi a bloody apple!

• Big promises. Salespeople will tell you all day how much your system will produce and how much you will save. Talk is cheap, ask them for a performance estimate from an accredited designer and tell him to put his name and license number on the design.

• If you’re unsure about the sturdiness of a car port or structure. Please don’t take the sales person’s word for it. Ask to speak directly to an installer, send through as many photographs from underneath and around the structure as possible and make sure he says its ok. The sales person wont be the one signing off on the job.

• What good is an inverter with wifi if the installer wont set it up for you. Make sure this is written on your contract. Should read words along the lines of “ wifi setup included”.

• Teir 1, many a product have been teir 1 and have been complete disasters. Only go with products that have proven themselves on the market.

We will update this segment shortly, a lot of exciting stuff happening in the world of batteries and solar.

Contact us to enquire about the German made SENEC battery systems