SolarEdge Solar Quote review - SolarHart

Hi,

I was hoping to get some feedback on a couple of quotes I received. We currently use 13.72kw of power daily.

One system: all Solar Edge units (Aztech)
9.68kw costing $14,780 (including a EV car charger)
22 DAS Solar Blackframe 440 panels
S44 Power Optimizer
8.25kw Home Hub (Energy Hub)
Home Solar Edge EV Charger (EVSA-32A-01)
Total price $14,780.00

Second Quote: SolarHart:
21 Silhouette 440kw
21 Optimizer Solar Edge 440w
Invertor Solar Edge 8,25kw Genesis
1 Fimer EV Charger 7.4kw

$12,999.00

What I am interested in understanding is are either prices fair but we are thinking of putting in a ducted heating and cooling (currently we have a single reverse cycle aircon) and wanting is understand the impact of that system and adding a EV charger to our usage.

Thank you for any advice or help, it is greatly appreciated.

Hi,

I was thinking, does anyone have any experience with the operating system of either aztech or SolarHart. I am wondering which system is easier to use, or has more features?
Just an update: SolarHart rang and offered an extra $1000 off their opening price.

Hi, sorry to bother, but they both look very similar, bus the firs one has more detailed equipement.

Those are the specs?

The prices are quite good, and I would probably go with the SolarHart quote, but I’ve never heard of “Silhouette” solar panels. Do you have a spec sheet for the panels.

The control software is not provided by SolarHart. Both systems use SolarEdge inverters, which come with it’s dedicated monitoring software.

Your daily consumption will increase considerably after adding a ducted split-system and EV charger. It could be as high as 40kWh per day, so this size system is well suited for higher consumption.

https://www.solahart.com.au/products/solar-power/solahart-silhouette-premium-plus-pv-systems/solahart-silhouette-m/ gives specs for a Silhouette panel (SOLAHART415S5) which is rated to produce 415Wp (STC) and 312Wp (NMOT). The spec sheet is dated Jan 2023. I think it possible that the second quote is for an installation with 21 of these panels – which are being oversold by an indicative (unwarranted) power they’d produce when insolation is higher than the STC of 1000W/m2.

I think it also possible that the second quote is for an installation with 21 SOLAHART400V2 (being oversold as a 440W panel because that’s what it is likely to produce at 1100W/m2). See Solahart Premium PV systems

And I think it possible that Solahart is contracting to install some panel that isn’t yet revealed on their website, and which produces 440Wp at STC.

The first quote might be for an installation with 22 x DH144NB-440. As specified at Das Solar Modules Datasheet PDF, Price, Review, Dimensions, 420W, 425W, 430W, 435W, 440W Solar Panel, these panels are warranted to produce 440Wp at 1000W/m2 (STC), and 323Wp at 800W/m2 (NMOT).

All to say that, if a contract doesn’t clearly specify the panel that’ll be installed, it’s anyone’s guess what panels will actually be installed. However it would seem that the first quote may be for an array that’ll produce (22)(323Wp) = 7.1kWp when insolated at 800W/m2, whereas the second may be for an array that’ll produce (21)(312Wp) = 6.6kWp at 800W/m2 of insolation.

There’ll be power losses in the wiring and in the inverter. In my case (in Auckland NZ), the inverter losses on partly-cloudy days were the main reason why my array produced far less than the headline figure I had been quoted on my contract… but I had no contractual recourse because the panels were still performing to spec after 6 years, and because the inverter (Goodwe 3000NS) isn’t warranted for operating efficiency under variable-cloudy conditions. I rather doubt any more-modern inverter’s warranty covers that… but I’d guess that more-modern inverters respond much more quickly to changes in insolation than the Goodwe 3000NS (which first went into production more than 10 years ago). Gory details at MPPT is problematic for my domestic rooftop PV in Auckland – cthombor

All to say that I think it’s something of a pig-in-the-poke when purchasing a PV system, because these are complicated systems with complicated performance attributes which will play out rather differently in every installation.

A closing note: I’d suggest searching Australia’s equivalent of NZ’s Companies Register, to distinguish a solar installer which has been running continuously for a decade or more, from one which has a pattern of declaring bankruptcy every few years and then rebirthing (as a phoenix company) which adopts the name of its predecessor as a dba. Don't Get Swooped by Phoenix Companies | Solargain Blog

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. I’ll add some specs with my replies.

Thank you Svarky for getting back to me. Greatly appreciated. I have ended up going with SolarHart. They also use their own people to install and didn’t require 100% payment up front to secure job

Hi,

Thank you for replying to me with so much information and detail. I really appreciate the time and effort, and all the information. It got me thinking about all sorts of things I hadn’t. Thanks again, have a good day.