The Planning department will decide based on if it can be seen from the street or any local parks. Our sustainability experts are experienced with this process and will gladly help you through the process.
You get what you pay for when purchasing a solar system for your home. Some solar system providers and retailers may offer you a cheap system but this end up costing you more in the long run.
Without a solar battery storage unit, all the electricity you are using at night time is imported from the grid (which you are paying for). With a solar battery any of the excess energy that your solar system produces during the day that you do not use at the time will be stored in a battery unit instead of being exported to the grid. Not only could this save you money on your electricity bills it will decrease your overall reliance on the energy grid and fossil fuels.
Investing in solar storage unit has typically been uneconomical. However, more and more products are coming on the market making solar battery storage an option for many home owners with a solar system.
If you are unaware if there is asbestos in your home and on the day of install your installer identifies potential contamination, then work in that area will stop until a qualified asbestos inspector has tested the area and organized for its removal. Installers may also partially redesign some of the solar system to work around asbestos however, we recommend its removal.
The owner of the home is responsible for covering the cost of asbestos removal and we encourage that if you have any doubt, getting an asbestos analyst to check your home prior to the installation day.
If you’re concerned about asbestos in your home and you want to invest in solar power, our sustainability experts would gladly help you through the process.
If you are thinking about installing a solar system in your new home build there are few things you should think about – panel location, pitch and orientation, inverter location, pre-wiring your home for solar and more. EnviroGroup can even help you work out roughly your ROI depending on your current energy consumption, taking into consideration any changes to your lifestyle or appliances in the home.
On the EnviroGroup end, it is important to notify your solar consultant and designer with a minimum one month lead-time if your planning on incorporating a pre-wire into the build for your installing solar panels.
We can’t connect solar to these circuits. Sometimes it is possible to cut a trench from the shed to the house and either install a sub-mains or run the solar cable back to the main meter box. This can vary in price depending on distance and whether there is any cement to cut through. Our consultants will be able to assess all this for you when they visit your house
To choose a size of solar system it is important to be clear on what you would like the solar system to achieve. For those wanting fast financial paybacks smaller systems are sometimes preferred, whereas maximum environmental benefits are achieved with a larger solar power system. Most of our customers want a mixture of both these things. This chart serves as a guide only so please consult with one of our professional solar design staff to discuss your situation.
Poly cells are blue and have a mottled effect. Poly panels have no diamonds because the ingots are rectangular so when you cut the wafers, they are square. There is a new type of panel arrangement called ‘shingles’ which are monocrystal and they don’t have diamonds either. Don’t lose too much sleep over any of this as really doesn’t matter. Since Envirogroup prefers to use the latest equipment like Sunpower and these are monocrystalline, most of our range is mono but we have used poly in the past and may again.
It’s better to have 80% of something when you need it than 100% when you don’t. East facing panels are less desirable because household loads are minimum in the morning when the sun is powering these systems but if you have a pool or you can run equipment in the morning then sometimes it’s a good option.
We can even put panels on the south in certain circumstances. It is certainly the least desirable option and in Victoria, the winter generation will be terrible but if you have very high summer bills from air-conditioners or you are just plain desperate to reduce your bill even with an inefficient system and the only option on the roof is south, then we can consider it but it is really a last resort in Melbourne. If you are in Brisbane or Darwin where the winter sun is much higher in the sky then south is far less lossy.
However, the process is difficult and it is likely to end up costing more to uninstall and install again the system than it is to get a new one. Why not add to the value of your old home, leaving the solar system for the new owners or occupants to use and participate in the renewable energy movement.
If you have identified that your roof is over 40 years old with terracotta tiles or of poor-condition make sure you have at least 30-40 spare tiles to ensure that the installers can replace tiles if they are cracked or damaged during installation.
When choosing your system components consider this; warranties should exist for at least the time of the company’s operation so that they are around if anything goes wrong.
If you have identified that your roof is over 40 years old with terracotta tiles or of poor-condition make sure you have at least 30-40 spare tiles to ensure that the installers can replace tiles if they are cracked or damaged during installation.
We also need to see your bills. The bill tells us what rate plan you are on and also your consumption each month. Some of the better bills also tell us when you are using electricity and this makes analysis much more accurate. We can also tell you whether you are paying too much for power and we might recommend shopping around for a better plan. This, plus adding solar power, will help smash that dreaded power bill.
However, if you have a large home needing more supply you may have a three-phase property. This is identified in the same way as a single-phase by looking at how many circuit breakers control your main power supply. At a three-phase properties switchboard there will be three circuit breakers controlling the power mains power supply.
These hybrids are like having a PV inverter and battery inverter in the one box. The Tesla and similar have the battery inverter built into the battery case. Battery systems require a good deal of consultation to ensure you have the appropriate system for your needs. They are NOT all the same. For more detailed explanation on battery deployment and “battery readiness” please call our consultants.
Here at EnviroGroup we generally see a 2 – 5 weeks turn around for solar feed-in tariffs to start (sometimes even as fast as 1 week!). We pride ourselves on getting you connected quickly so you can start receiving your export discounts on energy bills. This is due to our quality internal processes and our strong commitment to service excellence.
The energy grid is not always stable, it is subject to supply and demand of electrical energy. Grid-voltage issues are generally caused by a large amount of solar production during the day, whilst a low amount of consumer consumption of the energy. When grid-voltage issues occur with your solar system the factory safety fault settings of your inverter shut down the system, this can lead to efficiency and solar energy production issues.
The issue is often resolved by one of EnviroGroup’s solar technicians adjusting your inverter’s settings. However, in some cases where the issue has persisted, the energy distributor is contacted as the energy supply may need adjustments or upgrades.
Then an inspector will come out and check the system. Many low-cost systems are defected at this point and then you will have to have the installer return to fix the problem. Being approved and accredited is still no guarantee of quality however, but it does ensure that the installer is trying to operate within the rules.
Brands like Fronius, SMA, ABB, Delta and Sungrow are common inverters and panels like Trina, Yingli, Jinko, Canadian Solar, SunPower and Winaico with a couple of others are the most frequently seen. We choose these products because we are confident they will last and perform as claimed and because we have confidence in the support from those companies. The last thing we want is ongoing warranty issues that can wreck our business and your support.
However, more importantly than panels and inverters, the really important part of a solar system is what we call the balance of system (BoS). This is the cabling, conduits, isolators and railing that form the infrastructure of the entire system and it’s here that low cost operators cut corners. Isolators are for protection and cheap isolators start fires. Cheap rail and mounting systems fail in wind or weather and panels start coming off roofs. Roof penetrations must be correctly sealed and conduit must be compliant and properly finished. A good solar company will have a great reputation with customers, government and business and will do everything to protect that reputation. Ask about this when you get your quote.
In general, a typical household with 2 or more people would have a payback time between 4 and 7 years depending on the level of equipment being used. If your return on investment ROI is over 9%, a solar system beats almost every other type of investment you can think of. International shares can have average returns of 12-14% but with the risk of loss. There is no risk of loss with solar and there are plenty of installations returning 20-30% ROI or more.
So, the real question isn’t how good your payback period is, it’s whether you want to keep giving your money to the energy retailer or do you want to keep it for yourself. Not installing solar ensures you never keep that money and you are always at the mercy of the energy market.