Gippsland Solar, Melbourne VIC

Hi Guys,
Ive had a number of quote for installers around Melbourne for solar on my property. We wish to start with solar, and have the system future proof for battery in the 3-5 year mark.

Our property is two story, and requires additional equipment for installation. Also some DC optimisers on some panels.

4.9kW Solar PV System
14 x LONGi 350W Hi-MO X panels
1 x 5kW Huawei hybrid inverter (battery-ready)
12 year product warranty on the panels
10 year product warranty on the inverter
25 year performance warranty on the panels
System cost - $8,920 (inc scissor lift and optimisers)

LG Neo 2 335W upgrade for $2200

Supplier 2:
LG NeON® 2 Solar Panels
5.6 kW of Solar Power
16 x LG350N1C-V5
LG NeON® 2 350 Watt panels
SolarEdge Technologies Ltd.
5.0 kW Total Inverter Rating
1 x SE5000-AUS20NNB2

  • Optimisers as required and monitoring hardware

$14100 istalled

Good value?
Thanks

Hi Casey

They are both decent systems. I think the first one is better value, and probably worth upgrading to LG there (although Longi is ok too). Surprised that they are only quoting 4.9kW of panels though, it makes sense to oversize the inverter and get 6+ kW of panels. Perhaps ask for them to quote on that, or ask why they haven’t.

See

https://forum.cleanenergyreviews.info/t/ch-9-how-big-a-solar-system-should-i-get/162/1

Cheers
Marty

Hi Marty!
Thanks for your reply.
So the expensive LG quote is for 350W panels, and 16 of them. total is 5.6kW.

The first quote for the Longi panels, I had their engineer look over it and thinks that we can put 15 panels on, but can’t see how we can fit 16 well, without one being shaded a majority of the day. (We live in a townhouse, with some features on our roof which complicate space).

This increases the system to 5.2kW for an extra $300. The LG upgrade is actually for 335W panels, so the system will be 4.62kW, or 4.97kW if we run with 15 panels, and likely $2500 price increase, I haven’t got an idea of how much more 350W LG panels would be… But it could account for why the second quote was for so much more?

The second major question is: in June, the likely out put is only 9.4kWhr/day, so if we did ever install a 10kWhr battery, there may be 3-4 months where the system doesn’t fully charge it. Would this effect the size of system/battery you would choose to install?
Our thought was max our generation in the initial phase as installation is the expensive aspect.
Thanks for your time, the eBook was excellent, but almost left me with more questions as every installer has a different suggestion!!!

Ok that makes more sense.

I think quote 1 still seems better value, either Longi or LG depending on what you feel more comfortable with. I also doubt that they could get 16 panels up if the other mob has measured up and reckons they can only get 14-15.

Good luck, keen to hear how it goes.

Marty

Thanks Marty,
I do have some updated information, and one more major question. Should we optimize all panels for piece of mind to make sure the system is running 100% of its capacity at all time? is this important consideration if we plan on a battery in the future?

Quote 1: update with 15 panels (longi 350W) total 5.25kW with full optimization on Huawei $9800, $10500 with SolarEdge SE upgrade.

New quote- Evergen (CSIRO tech): $22680 (or $19500 with 11kWh Alpha battery w integrated inverter)
16 panels of Sunpower 325kW= 5.2kW
Fronteus inverter
Tesla Powerwall 2 battery (or alpha 11.5kW)

Evergen did not provide a quote without a battery.

The original provider of quote 2 had also provided a quote for LG Neon2 350kW panels (5.6kW)
SolarEdge full optimized
LG Resu Chem 9.8kWh for $24500 ($22500 for 6kWh)

Hi @Casey_W, I forgot to ask, why do you want batteries? Here’s my thoughts in the matter:

Also, regarding optimisers, this should help:

Hi Marty,

Those articles were very helpful.
I received one more quote after a site visit, form Gippsland Solar. Main reason is they are now owned by RACV and very unlikely to go out of business and leave us in the lurch!

Fronius primo 5kW
16x REC N-Peak panels 325W
5.2kW total system. split into 2 strings, one east and one west (both on a north facing flat roof with 20 deg pitch) so that any shade thrown by a vent in the middle (on shade analysis will effect one panel on each side before 9am and after 3:30pm in winter) will not heavily effect the rest of the string.

$10995.

REC Seems to strike a balance between LG and Longi. And better warranty, and more reputable installer? Also a much more proven inverter, however without full optimisation?

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Yeah I like the sounds of that logic, regarding the company, and the products.

If shade is minor, that seems fine.

The price seems a bit dear to me though. Can you get them down a bit? Or ask them why it’s high? I would be wanting to pay around $9k max for that system I would have thought (after STCs), but I could be missing something.

Ah, you did say it requires scissor lift which can get pretty expensive, especially if not in metro area. That would account for much of the extra. But can you give us a break down of that? Sounds like there’s still a bit of cream in it for them if you wanted to try and work it down a bit.

Cheers

Hi Marty, I’ve attached a screenshot of the roof layout.
Tilt is 20 deg. This installer charges, one we spoke too didn’t.

Wiring could be difficult to switchboard, and the recent quote was the only one that actually looked at how they would be able to get to the switchboard.

Not sure if blowing smoke or a genuine concern. However most of cost is in the panels and inverter.

Line Total (ex GST)

  1. Key Components - REC / Fronius - 5.2 kW Solar Power system:

$8,748.74

16 x REC N-Peak 325W Mono Split Cell Panels (REC325NP) 1 x Fronius Primo - 5kW inverter (Full 10 yr Warranty)

1 x Fronius Energy Meter - single phase

16 x Klip-Lok clamp roof mounting kit with 15-30 deg. tilts

  1. Installation, Materials and Administration:

$3,451.43

Full installation of the Energy Solution, Independent electrical inspection and CES

Full processing of rebate forms (as applicable)

10 year workmanship warranty

10 to 25 year Product and Performance Warranties (Refer to Product Data Sheets) Application to Electricity Retailer to connect the system to the Network

Includes full monitoring system with automated alerts

1 x Scissor Lift

  1. “Special Offer Discount” Applied to Quote

-$109.27

  1. Federal ‘STC rebate’, based on 67 Certificates at $35 per Certificate

-$2,345.00

Note 1: Gippsland Solar has included the STC Rebate as a ‘Point of Sale discount’. On the day of installation you will need to sign our paperwork to assign all the STCs to Gippsland Solar to recover this cost.

  1. Solar Victoria ‘Solar Homes’ Rebate / Optional Loan

$0.00

Not applying / ineligible for this rebate

  1. GST - Residential

$1,209.09

Note 3: GST is calculated on the STC rebates depends on whether you are a resident or a business that is registered for GST.

TOTAL ex

$12,090.91

Total STC Rebate (4)

-$2,345.00

Total installed price, after rebates (inc GST)

$10,955.00

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Casey Walsh