Frequently Asked Questions

There are several stages necessary to a successful installation.

1.The assessment

Our Energy Consultants will advise you to find the right solution to achieve your energy goals. We look at your energy bills, your roof (both structurally and in terms of orientation, pitch, and size) and your energy consumption.

2. The design

We come back to you with a quote. It includes everything you’d want to know on the financial side, a proposed layout for your approval, and output forecasts.

3. The paperwork

The STCs and PTCs of it all. Your solar PV system will interact with the grid, feeding energy into it, so you need permission to connect it to the grid – with your local electrical distributor. In NSW, it’s either Endeavour, Ausgrid or Essential. Don’t worry, we sort that out for you. We’ll provide you with paperwork for completion and signing, and make the application on your behalf.

This also applies to the creation and assignment of your Small Technology Certificates – the government incentives provided to encourage people to install solar – and for good reason. It takes the pressure off the grid in summer.

4. The smart meter

We help you arrange your new smart meter for minimum wait time between installation and on so you can start saving with solar sooner.

5. The installation

We arrive with all materials and equipment required for installation. Your system is installed by in-house CEC Accredited Electricians, for your peace of mind. We generally allocate at least a day to each residential installation (2kW to 10kW) so everything is done correctly.

6. The commissioning

Your system is turned on and tested to make sure everything is in working order, then it is connected to the grid.

7. Ongoing support & service

Now you can start saving money with your solar PV system. We provide a 10-year installation warranty on top of the manufacturer warranties from your solar components. After installation, you are provided with the user manual, electrical compliance certificates and warranties to help you with system maintenance. Additionally, the panels we recommend have strong product warranties. Our top solar panel brands offer a massive 25-year Product & Performance warranty. That is over 2 decades of peace of mind and support from the panel manufacturer. When recommending solar panels, we look at factors such as Reliability, Durability, Efficiency, Warranties and Customer Support from the manufacturers. Further details on warranties are provided on our solar panel & inverter pages, and data sheets.

STCs

For an updated version of the STCs info, refer to NSW Govt Solar Incentives. The Small-scale Technology Certificates apply to installations up to 100kW. It means that when you install a solar system, a number of Renewable Energy Certificates are created. The number of STCs depends on the size of the system. The larger your system, the greater the rebate. One STC is created for every megawatt-hour of production capacity of the system. This is further multiplied by the number of years the system is likely to generate energy.

Generally, one certificate is equal to one megawatt hour of eligible renewable electricity either generated or displaced by the system. On average, as of March 2019, an STC is worth around $35.

As part of our no-hassle solar service, we send an application to your energy distributor to get connection to grid permission for you, and help you with the smart meter installation process. The STCs are included as part of your quote.

Feed-in Tariffs

If your system produces more electricity than you use, the excess is exported to the electricity grid. This is reliant on having a grid connected system, and a smart meter. Once you are connected to the grid, and have a smart meter, you are able to receive FiTs. Feed in tariffs are no longer mandatory in NSW. Many retailers offer one anyway. It currently hovers between 8c-25c/kWh. While feed-in tariffs are not as attractive as they used to be, this is offset by the decreasing cost of solar and the rising cost of grid electricity. For example, feed-in tariffs would be around 65c/kWh. However, a good 5kW system would cost $20k to $30k. Now they are $5.5k to $9k.

Retailer	Min Feed-in Tariff	Max Feed-in Tariff
Origin Energy	8.0c	20.0c
Click Energy	0.0c	20.0c
AGL	11.1c	20.0c
Mojo Power	10.0c	20.0c
Energy Locals	9.0c	16.0c
Enova Energy	9.0c	16.0c
Amaysim	0.0c	15.0c
DC Power Co	15.0c	15.0c
Energy Australia	12.5c	12.5c
Diamond Energy	0.0c	12.0c
Commander	11.6c	11.6c
Dodo	11.6c	11.6c
Sumo	11.1c	11.1c
Lumo Energy	11.1c	11.1c
Powerdirect	11.1c	11.1c
Red Energy	11.1c	11.1c
Pooled Energy	10.5c	10.5c

Micro-inverters & DC-optimisers make solar panels operate in parallel, as opposed to in series – like traditional string inverters – so you can get the maximum output from every individual panel instead of the lowest output of all panels in a string. This is called ‘panel level optimisation’: PLO. It is particularly helpful if you have partial shading, but there are many other reasons why it is worth investing in.

Panel Level Optimisation (PLO) or MPLE solves the issue of panel output differences from shading. It makes systems 5% to 10% more effective.

PLO makes system upgrades easier. It allows for output mismatch between panels – up to 25%. This accommodates for manufacturing defects, and manufacturers tolerances and also means different panels can be used.

PLO makes it possible for more houses to have solar. Panels can be mounted at varying tilts and orientations in the same string without matching issues by implementing an independent Maximum Power Point Tracker for every panel rather than per string. This is great if you a small or awkwardly shaped roof.

PLO makes it easier for problems to be detected by providing panel-level performance monitoring and electrical fault finding, meaning any issues can be easily narrowed down and fixed.

When doing your research, you have come across the phrase ‘one phase’ and ‘three phase’.

What does it mean?

One or three phase power refers to the power supply coming into your property. Most houses have single-phase power. This means you have one live wire coming in from the grid. If your property draws a lot of power, you may have three-phase power installed. This means you have 3 live wires coming in from the grid. Three-phase homes can pull more power, avoiding power fluctuation, which can cause shakey connections, power surges, and spikes.

If you have a large air conditioner, or a sauna, or a spa, maybe a pool heater, you probably have three-phase power, but there’s an easy way to know for sure.

How can you tell what phase power you have?

First, find your switchboard. This is usually on the side of your house near the front or in a linen closet. There will be multiple circuit breakers. Look for the one named ‘Main Switch’ as this is how you identify what phase power is available. If there is a single circuit breaker, you have single phase power. If there are three circuit breakers joined together by one switch, you have three phase power.

Single Phase

Three Phase

For a single-phase connection, a single-phase solar inverter should be installed (or micro inverters). The most typical set-up for three-phase houses are a three-phase inverter that distributes the power evenly across all three phases.

This is what all the terms on your electricity bill mean.

Peak demand charge or demand tariff or capacity charge – the cost to always have electricity supply available for the maximum requirements of your business or your house.

Peak – Higher charges per kWh. Charged when electricity network has high usage.

Off-peak – Lower charges per kWh. Charged when the electricity network has low usage.

Shoulder – Like the name suggests, this cost per kWh is between the head – peak – and the toes – off-peak – but is closer to the head.

Controlled load – cost you pay for electricity to specific large high-energy appliances.

Supply charge or service to property charge – daily service charge to supply electricity to your business.

Network charge – poles and wires maintenance cost.

Market charges– wholesale energy spot market operation costs.

Meter charge – cost of reading your meter. Systems with smart meters don’t have meter charges if you have remote communications enabled.

Monitoring comes with your chosen inverter. The most advanced solar inverter companies, like Enphase, Fronius, and SolarEdge, have the most sophisticated default systems. Most of them are internet connected. ‘Wifi’ comes standard, as they say. Enphase is the only inverter company that has all consumption monitoring (solar & grid) out of the box – for others you need to install something extra to get it.

What can solar monitoring systems do?

You get a real-time dashboard and historical data. This helps you and your installer identify inefficiencies and compare expected energy production with actual output. Your daily and weekly snapshots can help you better understand your home energy usage, and make the most of your solar power.

How does it work?

It’s connected to your electrical switchboard so it can take a read of your solar panels and inverter as well as your overall power usage. It tracks your solar production, and your energy production. It can tell between your (solar) self-consumption and your consumption of energy from the grid. Most are web-based and accessible online – so you can check on your solar system from your laptop, phone, or desktop – anywhere you are in the world.

Getting an extra edge

If you want something extra, Solar Analytics and Reposit are well regarded. Solar Analytics can tell you not only how much solar energy your system is producing right now (and has produced historically), but also how those numbers square up against what their algorithm could reasonably expect of your system.

Closing the shades, curtains, and blinds in the morning cools your home during the summer. Highly reflective blinds can reduce heat gain by up to 45 percent.

Clear air filters make your AC perform more efficiently. Keeping your AC’s air filters clear can lower its electricity consumption by 5 to 15%. The more stars the better. When replacing your appliances, check the Energy Rating Label.

Opt for laptops over desktop computers. If you’ve still got a desktop, opt for a laptop when it’s time to replace it. Laptops use up to 80% less electricity. You can always get a monitor for a bigger screen, and they last longer too. Laptop computers typically peak at a maximum energy draw of only 60 watts, whereas most desktops peak around 175 watts.

Choose jumpers, jackets, boots, blankets and cardigans over space heaters. Although gas space heaters keep you nice and toasty in cooler weather, they aren’t the most efficient way to heat you up. Many space heaters use 1,500 watts of energy to run.

Switch out any incandescent bulbs for LEDs, compact fluorescent lights, and halogen bulbs.

Do a caulk check and seal all your windows. This stops the breeze from seeping in through the cracks.

Use fans instead of air-conditioners.

Unplug unused chargers. Turn off appliances at the wall.

Regularly clean your pool’s skimmer box and filters to ease pressure on the pool pump.

Install low-flow showerheads.

Insulate your home. 90% to 90% of heat is lost through the sealing.

Cover pots and pans to reduce cooking time.

Only do full-loads of laundry.

Close interior doors so you’re only heating or cooling the spaces you need.

If you encounter a connectivity issue with your microinverters system, you can fix this issue by following the step-by-step process as shown in the Troubleshoot Enphase Envoy Page. If you still are not able to resolve the issue, our Service team will be more than happy to assist you. Please send in your request via the form in the Contact Us Page. Please ensure to select "After-Sales Support" when filling up the form.