Quote advice Eltham, Victoria

Hi, thanks for the opportunity to review, Firstly, a few quick points to consider before assessing these quotes:

We live in Eltham, Melbourne. With some small patches of shade at different times of day over the year, modeling shows this would have around a minus 3-5% affect on the system overall for where we’re looking at placing all the panels (West side of a tiled, gable roof), so 2 out of 3 Sellers have advised not to go for the micro-inverters due to the cost to savings ratio.

Currently: only 2 people at property. V low usage, averaging 4-5kw hours per day for both of us - we are aware a 1.5 KW system would be sufficient for this level of usage.

Future: Looking to add small living area in 2021 to rent to 2 extra people on same property. Also add solar water heating once our gas system kicks it. Both of us like the idea of future proofing, so we’re looking at both 3 and 4kw system arrangements.

3kw system quotes

9x 330W Trina Honey M + x9 Enphase iQ7 microinverters = Upfront cost $2969.00.
Total system cost $8113.38 (Seller A)

9x Longi 370W (LR4-60HPH-370M) + SMA 3kw (SB3000TL-21) = Upfront cost $591.25
Total system cost $5,915.25 (Seller B)

9x Sunpower 414W (SPR-P3-415-COM-1500) + SMA 3kw (SB3000TL-21) = Upfront cost $1,214.14
Total system cost $6,718.14 (Seller B)

12x Suntech 330W (STP330S-21/Wfhm) + SMA 3kw (SB3000TL-21) = Upfront cost $1,005.33
Total system cost $6,617.33 (Seller B)

10x Seaphim 330W + Solis 2.5kw = $2238 upfront cost
Don’t have total system cost from quote (Seller C)

4kw system quotes

11x Longi 370W (LR4-60HPH-370M) + SMA 4kw (SB4.0-1AV-41) = Upfront cost $1,610.38.
Total system cost $7,294.38 (Seller B)

14x Seaphim 330W + Solax 3.6kw = $2756 upfront cost
Don’t have total system cost from quote (Seller C)

I’ve also asked for Seller B to give me a quote of switching the 4kw SMA inverter to a 4kw Fronius but haven’t got this at time of writing. I think it adds an extra $100 or so.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

If you want to future proof then I would go with a minimum 5kW solar array. Electric hot water alone can use 4-6kWh per day depending on how large the tank is (heat pumps are more efficient though 3-4 kWh). In winter, a 5kW array with partial shading will probably average 10-12kWh per day and your consumption with extra people could easily exceed this.

Then there is the added benefits of extra credits from feed-in during summer.

Thanks Jason - much appreciated. I will check the heat pumps out.

Any thoughts on the combination of Longi & SMA suggested by Seller B? Does that combo and price seem reasonable?

Would it be economical to keep with a 4kw inverter and just add some more panels down the track to get closer to the 5kw total power mark?

Cheers

Seller B is a very low price! Almost too low? Who are they?

Longi and SMA are both good options. However, I would still upsize now as the cost to go from 4 to 5kW is very small. Once the installers are setup and on the roof it doesn’t take long to add another 3 panels. It can be difficult to add more panels in the future if they don’t plan for this in the layout and the string voltages are all wrong.

Sweet, thanks Jason!

Seller B is Leeson Solar. they have been the most diligent with follow up (they’re also local and I have had two people i know recommend them, plus around 10 years history in industry).

I have a few new quotes from them:

4kw

11x Longi 370W (LR4-60HPH-370M) + Fronius 4kw ( Primo 4.0-1) = Upfront cost $1,610.38.

Total system cost $7,294.38

14x Longi 370W (LR4-60HPH-370M) + Fronius 4kw ( Primo 4.0-1) = Upfront cost $2,175.54

Total system cost $8,363.54

5kw

14x Longi 370W (LR4-60HPH-370M) + Fronius 5kw ( Primo 5.0-1) = Upfront cost $2,439.13

Total system cost $8,627.13

Sounds great. All are great options but if you can afford the larger system i’d still recommend it.

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Thanks for all your help with my quote advice CER - we ended up going with a bigger system than listed here. Also expecting our first child, so good timing!

Thanks again :grinning:

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