I am currently getting quotes from various installers for a completely off grid system (yes, it has to be off grid as we are rural and no grid option). We are located in Australia.
These are the three quotes summarised, fully installed:
1: $47,000
Qcells Q Peak Panels 14.2kW
BYD B-Box Pro Battery Storage 27.6kWh
Victron Quattro Inverter/Charger 8KW
3: $35,950
Seraphim Solar Panels - 13.2kW
BYD B-Box Lithium Battery Bank 20.48kWh
SMA Sunny Island Inverter
Now, I have done a bit of research in to the products and they all seem to be quite decent. I guess my question would be, which is the best option? We want a system that will last as we aren’t planning on moving from here so quality is important.
Yes, they all look quite decent. Nice variety actually. I assume they are from 3 different companies? There’s quite a difference in the storage capacity. How did they work out how much you needed?
Hi Jess, having a lot of experience designing off-grid systems I like the solar and battery size of the first option but I would specify the Selectronic SP PRO Inverter as it is the market leader, very reliable and loads of advanced features. The Victron Quattro is also a good option though.
As for panels the REC or Qcells are both good options, Seraphim is ok but considered lower end.
Just wondering if the companies provided you with a load table to determine your estimated average daily energy consumption (kWh)?
Which state are you in, are you considering a backup generator as well?
Yes they are from 3 different companies, they went off our daily kW usage of 17-30kW/day going by power bills. Some also went off of our appliances. We currently have ducted aircon though which we wont being having at the house we need the solar for (it hasn’t been built yet so we are trying to go off current usage). But we would like a system that is big enough not to have to worry and that can accommodate our growing family down the track.
Thank you for your reply. That’s good to know, I was thinking the top 2 options were the best and leaning towards either of them. I wasn’t sure whether to go with the bigger system with good products or the smaller system with best products. That’s the part I’m struggling to decide with.
Ok, I will steer away from the Seraphim panels thank you.
Yes, one of them did provide a table, the others went on current daily energy usage (kWh) from our power bills.
I am QLD, yes we will be getting either a 9 or 11kVa back up generator also.
The load table is a much better way to size an offgrid system than overall kWh usage. So, you should look very favourably on the business that did that.