Hi,
I have had a solar quote for 20 x 325W Q Cell Q Peak Duo-G5 panels with a Fronius inverter and smart meter for $7140. Is this a reasonable price?
I am also wondering if the Fronius smart meter is necessary/worth it. We already have a smart meter and it takes $500 off the price if we don’t require the Fronius smart meter.
Thank you.
Hi Sarah,
Yes that’s a good price for some of the best quality panels and inverter.
I think you might be confusing your existing ‘smart meter’ used by your electricity retailer to measure and bill your consumption with an ‘energy meter’ which is used to measure your solar and household consumption.
The Fronius ‘energy meter’ (also called a smart meter) is used in conjunction with the solar inverter. It’s a clever device which let’s the system monitor the solar energy used by your household appliances as well as how much excess solar energy is exported and purchased from the grid. This information is really handy to see how your system is performing and would be important if you are considering getting a battery in the future.
Below is a chart from my home over a day which shows how much energy I’m generating (green) and buying (red). Yes this was a very cloudy crappy day. This is the type of more detailed information you can see if you get the extra energy meter. I recommend it.
There are additional add-on energy meters such as Solar Analytics which are also a really good option as they work on 3G and are often more reliable.
Great, thank you for your help 
