Hi can we p[ease get advice on solar quotes as to what is the best value / most reliable system.
We are in the Hunter Valley NSW and a 2-3 person household; our ave kW usage is modest 8- 13kWh. We are looking to increase our existing solar from 1.5KW installed 5 years ago by adding around 3KW. and need a new inverter for the extra panels
Quote 1 is for Longi Solar panels (10x 350W mono perc half cell with Fronius 3 kW inverter.and monitoring for $5,600 (excluding STC rebate)
Quote 2 is for the same Longi panes with Goodwe 3KW inverter and monitoring for $6,500 (again excluding STCs of $2,035). Is the additional cost of $950 worth it for the better quality Inverter?
We also have a quote for Sunport (330W MWT) panels and Solis 4G 3.5kW inverter. I can’t even find Sunport panels listed in any published reviews - are they any good and is Solis a good inverter brand?
Have you got this around the wrong way? Fronius is a much better inverter IMO, and I would personally pay the extra for the extra for peace of mind that it will last 25 years. I think that’s your best option, like you say, haven’t heard of the panels in the last quote either.
We have two additional quotes that further add to our confusion another installer give us 2 quotes for a slightly smaller 2.7 / 2.5 KW system (vs the 3.5KW others were quoting).
Quote 4 was 8 Jinko (Cheeta) 315W panels and Enphase !Q7 micro-inverters and metering for $4466 (with STC of $1312 included)
Quote 5 was 8 LG Neon 2340W panels and Enphase iQ7 micro-inverters and metering for $5,602 (with STC of $1312 included)
Is it worth the additional $1,200 to go with LG panels vs Jinko - or should we go with our other quotes for Longi Perc half cut panels (35W) with a slightly larger capaicty and better STC rebate???
There is no shading of the roof area where these will be installed so a String inverter should work just as well but the company providing our 4& 5 quotes only uses Enphase micros. Enphase seem to be good quality. (Our other quotes were based on Fronius or Good We string inverters).
Is there any benefit in the monitoriing output (eg is any one of these 3 monitoring systems easy to read?).
I would stick with the original. Enphase is great, and with LG panels you can’t get any better. But I personally don’t reckon it’s as good bang for buck. The panel level monitoring is an advantage for sure, but you could get monitoring at the system level with the Fronius inverter if you wanted to add it, which I think would suffice.
Get 8x LG 350s being 2.8kw or even 9 LGs and the Fronius 3kw inverter and you have a forget and make money system. All the Chinese panel manufacturers will still go through a survival curve and who knows who will survive. Go for the better gear and get the real long term support which guarantees real long term earnings and with a brand panel you add value to the house. Give the 3 installers the job to give you that quote - LG and fronius - if one wants to argue tell him - thanks but no thanks and see who shapes up best. if no shade - a string inverter eg Fronius is perfect. Leave Goodwe alone - has not been in Australia long enough to really “appreciate” the Chinese quality. …and yes for transparency - I am the LG solar GM - still got warranty stock in my warehouse compatible to every model we sold in Australia since 2010 - they simply do not go out in big numbers - with 1.4 million panels sold locally since then.