Solar Expert Sam Valenti Reveals TOP Mistakes in Solar Panel Installation - EP37

You're using good product , absolutely . So what's the key kind of products in the game that you're using ?

So I always say to people if you get something $1,500 cheaper or even $2,000 cheaper , that's one year longer wait , but if it lasts 15 years longer , you make 30 grand more on your $2,000 extra investment , exactly . So why wouldn't you do the long , better quality ?

Don't overdo it , because there's always expandability . You get the right product , you can expand . You get the wrong product .

But it's how people respond and how companies respond and manufacturers respond . That plays a key role in all this .

You know , I think the most common fault that we may have had is , you know , your data manager might have an issue or something like that , but that doesn't stop the system from operating . You know , in most cases , and obviously the implementation of backup as well , people want to know that if I've got a battery , do I get backup as standard ?

And I usually like to talk to people about having backup as an option . But it's not a standard inclusion You've got to . There are other equipment and items required if you want to call it to make all that work .

You know , if I'm getting this battery , if I'm investing all this money into a battery , am I actually going to have the backup benefits as well , or is that even an option with this particular system ? You know it's not just Fronius BYD , there are options .

You know we do SolarEdge as well and you know fantastic product , a different sort of field , if you want to call it , but you've got the opportunity to do that if that's what you want to do . But ask the question and tell us what it is that you want to back up , because not all inverters work the same .

You can have a whole of house backup with the battery and , depending on what you want to spend on the money , that's the kind of backup you're going to get . Of course , and would you explain that to people ?

Absolutely , but do people sometimes buy stuff from other solar companies where it's all left a bit murky and they think they're getting one thing but they're getting something else ?

For us it's a case of okay . If you're after backup , that's what you want , not a problem . What are the main ? What are the critical things you must have ? What are the must haves ? Because there's no point saying , all right , we'll give you a whole house backup .

You turn everything on and then it turns the inverter off and you say , oh well , where's the backup ? It's like well , hang on a minute , we've got to understand a little bit more and then we can advise you in the right direction . You know it's all about . That's the way I look at it .

It that you also understand that reserve is going to be reserved , it's not going to be operating in normal condition , so there's no point having this .

You know , five kilowatt hour or 10 kilowatt hour battery , let's say , and you know you're only able to use your loads for , let's say , 10 minutes Because you've put such big loads on it , absolutely so how do you size a house size with ?

Because if you're using that PV during the day then it's not going towards the battery , which means it isn't going to be supporting you in the afternoon and evening . So I think it's quite important that when we're looking at the battery capacity , we understand the usage patterns during the day of how people are . You know that could be at work .

The system's generating fantastic . Let's put that power into the battery rather than send it back to the grid at essentially nothing , because that's what it is . But at least you'll then get the benefit of having that capability in the evening time , which is certainly useful . But of course I find in most systems that we do .

If we size it up right , most of the time the battery's full within the first couple of hours of generation . You know what I mean , right ?

just use it again . Absolutely . Would you agree with the kind of thinking that to really get a battery and make it fully useful you need a strong horse ? At the front end you need a decent sized solar system . If you're in a little terrace house with a tiny little solar that you can put on , then your battery and your solar is mismatched , isn't it ?

So what's the size solar for maybe a four-person household that you should have ?

I mean , they're already out in the market now , but that's where you can pick up a bit more of an added benefit , right ?

Yeah and so , but I don't have to sit there somewhere watch the wholesale stock market on my electricity . That's just done automatically , is this ?

It's a matter of when and which vehicles are going to be able to do it and which chargers are going to be able to do it . So I know Fronius has their WattPilot Flex , which essentially , is ready to go , which is expected in the next couple of months , and yeah , I think that's going to be a bit of a game changer as well .

Right , right Now , do you do commercial solar ? We do . I must admit , it's not something we've specialised in in the long term We've always been capable of doing it but it is something now that we are starting to see a bit more interest in as well .

In-house service is quite important as well . So you know , at the end of the day , you invest in a system and you have an issue with it . We've got a dedicated tech support .

You can call the tech support anytime basically you know , during business hours , of course but you can speak to our tech guys and if we can't find a resolution with your system , then obviously we can come out to site and we've got an in-house guy that does that . So in terms of long-term support , you've got that with us .

You know your Facebook , your Solar Choice and Solar Quotes , of course , solar Quotes .

We've got a really good review platform with those guys and I think it's important that people that have had a great experience or even maybe not a great experience , because that happens in this industry and I'm not going to say that we're perfect and we never have a problem Quite honestly , you know , everybody has a hiccup here and there .

I think it's quite important how that company deals with those hiccups and our reviews reflect that . So we've got quite a good response online and a lot of people see that and make inquiries online and obviously come through based on a lot of the stuff that they see as well .

That's important because it also means that customers generally don't get the wrong stuff . Now , if that happened , it's a matter of okay , can we get someone in the car now , get it out there , or is it a case of all right , we're going to have to reschedule and deal with that and obviously communication to the customer is the most important thing .

Have to reschedule and deal with that and obviously communication to the customer is the most important thing . If you leave them in the dark , they're not going to be very happy . I mean , I wouldn't be happy . So communication in that respect and how we deal with it is always useful .

I mean , that's just crazy . But obviously they stand by their product right .

Most inverter manufacturers are giving a standard 10 years and I think it's important that people understand , especially with us dealing with reputable companies , that if they're giving a parts and labour warranty , it's always that peace of mind to a customer that touch wood if we were to shut down and that's certainly not our approach but they've got the peace of mind

that knowing they've got a product that is backed by the manufacturer and the manufacturer is going to pay an external company to go out and fix that for them . So they're not really going to be in the lurch , if you want to call it .

We stand by for 10 years , that the quality of the workmanship and the way we've installed it is good enough .

Right , and look , I understand where that point comes from , but , at the same time , there is also something that not many people like to think about , and it's really general wear and tear . I mean things , they're out in the elements . You know , we have crazy weather at times , and it's not always a case of because the soil is up on your roof .

That that's what's caused a roof leak , and sometimes we've actually gone out to site and the roof leak's nowhere even near the panels . So the point I was getting at , though , is we actually went to site . So , you know , I think it's important that we do investigate and see what's involved .

We're getting out there and we're seeing absolute mess and what I mean is most of it is okay . I'm not going to say that it's a complete schmuzzle but there'll be times where we get up on the roof and there'll be , you know , cables hanging down . We get up on the roof and there'll be , you know , cables hanging down , touching the roof , especially tin roof .

You know end clamps that haven't been put on properly , some of them even missing , and it's the sad part about it really is , the owner doesn't know , unless they get up there and check , like we are , which you wouldn't expect .

You know anyone to just jump up on the roof I'm not doing it anymore , no , but , but yeah , and that happens and unfortunately , you know the companies that do that and they're no longer in business . They disappear because obviously they're just doing things unethically .

Ultimately , the customer's a loser there , and that's what we're trying to educate people that you don't just get anything because it's a sake of ticking a box and saying , hey , I've got solar tick . It's a case of let's do it right , let's understand what the best overall is and let's make sure that you don't have these hassles in the future .

When you think about it , what I find is the heart of the system is probably the most important , so the heart being the inverter , the one that's going to deal with all the power , followed by the panels , obviously , and then obviously the installer is important and you know ways that we manage our installation process is also have independent auditing .

You know Solar Victoria run around and do audits and I think it's great Pick up on those that are doing a shonky job and get them out of the industry . We don't want them there .

But we also , as a company , run internal audits and we manage our processes that way , making sure that whoever's you know when the jobs are getting done , they're done to our high standards and we go out , we take photos , we do reports you know , not on every single job , but we definitely get out there and do that and that keeps us in the loop as to the

quality of workmanship that we've got going on those properties , wow wow , Now you've got a lot of solar experience on those properties .

I wouldn't just jump at anything . You see , I think it's important to understand the company and how long they've been in business . That's quite important . We've seen over the years , as you know , a lot of companies that have come in done absolute rock bottom prices that I can't even understand . How people , you know , how do you survive and then disappear ?

Well , they didn't survive . Well , exactly Right , and that's , and that's the key point , right , they didn't survive and ultimately , the losers are the customers .

We went out there and we said , okay , well , we have to inspect the system . Cut a long story short .

We found so many breaches and basically the customer said listen , it's not worth what we're going to spend to rectify everything , because obviously , if they want us to certify it , we have to rectify it to make it to comply to now and we have to put our name on it . So I'm not going to do that if it's not compliant . And cut a long story short .

Yeah , we had to take it off and we started again , and obviously the customer is the one that lost out of all that . The company is no longer in business , but they couldn't get connected to the grid right , so paperwork was never lodged and now we can't just go and certify it .

How can you calculate my potential savings ?

There's no point saying , oh look , this system , it's you know X amount of kilowatts is going to generate X amount of power every day and it's going to save you X amount of dollars . That's all based in a perfect world and , as you know , especially in Melbourne , the weather is never consistent . It's always up and down and all over the place .

So we try and take an average but also percentage of use during the day versus the nighttime . There , an average , but also percentage of use during the day versus the nighttime . There's no point basing your system on all the usage getting used during the day .

I mean , ultimately , if you can use all your power during the day , then yes , you are going to save the most amount of money , but not everybody's home during the day . And this is where batteries become even more attractive , because batteries help you use that power during the day and let you use it later .

But yeah , we do a full bill analysis , we break it all down and that's why we ask for your bill . It's not because we want to give you work to do , but if you help us , we can help you in that respect , and understanding your usage patterns as well helps us spec up the right system .

But if you've got options for us to set up the array right , then yeah , absolutely , you can benefit from that now I heard that the feed-in tariff used to be very high in melbourne , was 60 cents and all that .

And it's changed because back then you would get solar for the benefit of the 60 cent feeding tariff . That was the main reason . Now you're getting solar to avoid buying from the grid . That's what it's all about . You don't do it just . I mean , you can do it for the sake of it , if you want to , no problem .

But essentially , as I said , the goalpost has changed . So if we can , you know , change how we use our power , especially during the day and especially with a battery , then absolutely it makes perfect sense to not give it back to the grid and just save it for yourself and save not having to buy it from the grid . Grid independence is what we're aiming for .

And I don't mean that because you sort of say to yourself , well , why waste something good and something that's working ? And I say , well , I get that , but you might have six panels up on prime real estate of your roof and it's only producing , let's say , a kilowatt . What was the point of keeping it in that spot ?

I mean , if we take it down , okay , you get a new set of warranties , a whole new system that's much more efficient than what it used to be . You know we're sitting at what ? 470 as probably the average system panel these days , where before it was like 180 , 190 , 200 , 250 , you know , 300 was the big one .

But yeah , we're just seeing an increase and obviously if we can maximise what's on your roof now , then it just means you've got one solution rather than multiple .

. Obviously the electrification component as well , people getting off gas and looking at ways they can switch over to more electric options . I think really , with automation , it's just a matter of you know how can we program things to work better in our favour . You know how can we program things to work better in our favor .

And you know , we see it now with SolarEdge , we see it with . There's actually another company that we're in talks with now that is developing a bit of a home assistant sort of function and that's going to be quite exciting . That's going to be quite a good option for a lot of people .

So if you bought crap , got your rebate , it packed it up and now you need another one , you have to actually put your hand in your pocket and pay the full lot , is it Pretty much , yep ? So , not ideal . Better to buy something good in the first place .

You know , you've done your research , you do it with a reputable company , you do it with reputable brands . You know , for us we don't just go and put any product out in our offering .

You know it's quite important that we as a company do our own due diligence and make sure that we believe the products that we're offering are going to stand up for the long term and the manufacturer is going to be there to support not only us but the homeowner as well , because there's no point just getting anything to say , hey , I've got solar and then all

of a sudden you're having issues and it might not be in the first year or two . You know you might get two great years out of it and everything's going well , and then something might give and then it's just crickets and ultimately you don't want that what do you mean with crickets ?

You know all black white back sheet . I think white back sheet probably keeps a little bit cooler , which is a bit nicer , and obviously the cooler , the more efficient , the more power . But yeah , you've got a few options and this is why , for us as a company too , we don't offer you , you know , 20 different brands .

We sort of brought it down to the top five and that's what we offer . And if you want anything else , well , you know we can probably get that for you . But is it the right option ? Is it the right solution ? Maybe not .

Yeah , you want a five kilowatt Wi-Fi inverter with some tier one panels . Yeah , it's um , you know , but I mean , that's how the cheap stuff sells it exactly .

We're the ones that have to support you throughout the whole process , and this is why understanding your consumption and your bill is critically important .

I mean , we're happy to give you a quote , that's not an issue , but I want to make sure that we're giving you the right option first , and if , ultimately , your budget is okay , I've got plenty of roof space , I've got plenty of space to put all the panels where I need to , and I might have some space for some more in the future and a 6.6 is the option

for you , then great , we can give you some options on that . But what I'd be looking at is okay , well , that might suit you now , but what about in the next year or two ? What about when you decide that you may want to get an EV ? Is a 6.6 going to still be sufficient ?

Maybe you know , if you put a battery and you're using a lot of power , you know you guys might work from home or have people home during the day and use a lot more of that power . Is that going to be the answer ? Maybe not , and this is why we don't want to just give you a price without educating you on .

You know the types of products and the types of you know warranties and guarantees and so on to suit now and the future Right .

So they were spending probably a lot more than what they spend these days on a smaller system , and all to get that 60 cent feed-in tariff , where now it's like , okay , I don't , because there's , you know , no feed-in tariff . Essentially it's going to disappear anyway eventually .

We're sort of saying , well , you're not there to benefit from the feed-in tariff anymore . That's not the reason you do solar .

The reason you do it is to minimise what you buy from the grid , because at the end of the day , if the cost of electricity went and it will eventually , I mean I strongly feel like I remember the days , for example , when it was 16 cents , 18 cents , and now we're sitting at , you know , an average of , say , 33 to 35 cents .

What happens if overnight it just miraculously went to 50 cents , 60 cents ? What are you going to do ? Turn off everything in the house ? You know , I'm not saying that that's exactly what's going on , but it certainly feels like it's heading in that direction . It's not coming down and the only way is by minimising your reliance on the grid .

So you know , if you've got a decent enough system that can do that , then obviously yeah , you're going to reap the benefit a lot faster .

Some people talk about oh look , I only want to get a cheap system because I'm only going to be here for the next two years . No-transcript if you were to get the right system , even if you're not going to stay there long-term , because ultimately you talk to any real estate agent .

I don't see any real estate agent coming in and saying if you put solar in your house , you know you're going to devalue your property , right ? So what I'm trying to say is that if you

do it right the first time , I think the new owners are going to love you .

The support is definitely there as well between Fronius and BYD and you know , if I have to be honest , we've spoken to Fronius more than we've spoken to BYD , and sometimes it's for minor things that are just , you know , a quick firmware upgrade and it could be fine . Most of the time you don't require anything , but BYD is definitely there .

We've also got SolarEdge as an option . Enphase is there as well , but really , you know , sungrow has certainly come a long way as well . It's certainly one of our better offerings as well . The stacking capabilities there they've been around . A lot of people used to look at them and think , oh SunGrow , oh Goodway , and Goodway's great too .

We've got those options and they're only getting better . They're innovating , constantly , listening to the feedback of the market , looking at the data and saying , right , we need to improve . And they're doing it , you know , and we're happy to support those companies .

I mean , the cluey ones are sort of you know , the ones that are following the trail , uh are onto it , um , but I think that's going to play an important part with , uh , some of those properties that maybe can't have a battery or don't have a lot of space for a battery , but you know they've got an ev and , uh , they want to try and offset some of their

night time . That vehicle to grid or vehicle to load option is certainly something that I think is definitely going to get bigger .

But when I do charge it , we've got 15 kilowatt up on the roof , right ? So I just plug it in on a Friday afternoon or Friday morning and by the afternoon it's full . Essentially , what we're saying is I could take that home .

If I had a vehicle to grid-grid charger at home or vehicle-to-load charger at home , I could take the car home and I could plug it in . And I can do this every day , right , because I've got solar up on the roof . So people that are working in you know factories or wherever else , it doesn't matter where .

If you've got access to a charger , you can charge your car from during the day home . We can plug it into the you know to the house , essentially and discharge a certain amount as long as we've got enough to get to work the next day . But essentially , yeah , we can plug it in and run the house off the car .

So does that mean that you shouldn't have a home battery ? Well , no , but what we're saying is that that's an option for those that maybe can't , and even if they can't , it's .

But what we're saying is that that's an option for those that maybe can't , or , and even if they can't , it's an option to channel some of that power out of the car into the house , use it at nighttime and the next day drive to work , plug it in and do the same thing again .

Once we start to see how much of an impact and benefit that makes , a lot more people will follow suit , especially if you've already got an EV Makes perfect sense . Of course , you have to make sure that your car can actually do that , or it's capable of doing that , which you know . You'd have to investigate that yourself . Yeah , not all EVs can do it .

Not all EVs can , and that's what you have to understand . Don't just , hey , I bought myself a car and all of a sudden you go home and plug in your Wattpilot Flex and all of a sudden it's not doing what you want to do and you say , oh , this is all a scam . You know it's not . It's just making sure you ask the right questions and understand .

And you know , ask the companies like us to do that and we'll guide you in the right direction .

And we say , oh , good question , so no with us . Essentially , you authorise us , you sign up , you go ahead with us . Then our customer service team contacts you and says , hey , we've got all your stuff . Can you just confirm these details , whatever else .

Our engineer will then look at all the submission so the paperwork , the photos , the pre-design that salesperson's done and basically review it and make sure that , hey , this can actually work or actually . No , it can't , or actually .

Hey , I think we need to go and site inspect this , because what we don't want to do is just turn up on the day and say , ah , that's not how it's supposed to work , because that happens right .

And this is another thing that I find in the industry , where people get a quote , obviously from us , get a quote from someone else , and it turns out they were you know X amount cheaper and they say , oh look , we're going to go with the cheaper companies . Similar gear , similar gear , and that's fair .

And look , I'm not going to say we're definitely not the most expensive and we're not the cheapest . And we're not the cheapest for a reason we invest in the right people we have . If you want to come down to our factory and showroom , you're welcome to . You know , running Telemarine , you've got customer service , you've the stock in it .

We pick every kit ourselves . We don't rely on distributors to put everything together and send it to site . And then , oh no , there's been a design change and hope for the best . So no , we do all that .

And then what we find is that customers generally get a bit of a shock , because that company will come out and say , oh , but you didn't tell us it was terracotta , you just said it was tile . Well , that's an extra . And oh , you didn't tell us that the inverter's going on this side of the wall , that's .

You know , we've got to run all these extra cables and all this sort of stuff , and that's an extra . And your switchboard needs an upgrade . Yeah , yeah , exactly . And this is the thing . This is . You know , people that are , you know , and we I should say this too we have a couple of options .

Some people don't want people to come to their home , they just want to speak with someone over the phone , and that's okay . We've got options for that . We've got people that are in our office that speak over the phone if that's what they want .

But we've also got in-house guys that go out and visit the property to do that at the first point of sale because we want to make sure that they can identify anything . So that way , when we give you an accurate offering , it's generally on point .

If end customer think , oh , I couldn't be bothered with the side inspection , you really will not get the best outcome . Yeah , and that's what you need to do .

And then all those extra costs bring us so close to where we were in the first place that you may well have gone with us in the first place and you wouldn't have the disappointment .

And of course , whether it's over the phone or whether it's face-to-face , we get all the information we need and we ask the customer , you know , give us these particular photos and we can make a fair assumption . And if we're not sure , we will send our service tech out to inspect it all prior to us booking in the installation .

Because at least then , when we're there on the day , as long as there's no other variations , there shouldn't be any price changing . You know , it's generally that's , that's what it is , um , but also uh , yeah , we see it a lot , put it that way um , if I have a shady roof , a little bit of shade on the roof , does that mean I'm disqualified from solar ?

I wouldn't say disqualified . Look , it does bring some limitations to the system output and maybe the capacity of the system . You know there's a couple of different ways we handle that . One of them is obviously with microinverters and optimized systems . So you know your solar edge .

Now some people are going to say , oh , you know , we've already spoken about Fronius and you know they've got their . You know their shade fix sort of solution and whatever else . And they do . Every manufacturer , decent manufacturer , has a solution for that . But of course I look at what's the best overall for the customer and amongst other benefits .

So I would say if you've got shade on one section of the roof , we would try and avoid that section . Now , if it's on the south , bonus right

, because we generally don't use the south it doesn't mean you can't right . Obviously there's some limitations to it . But yeah , we use what we can and what's going to be most beneficial and then obviously look at the right system to go with that . We don't want to give you just anything off the shelf .

And then all of a sudden you know you're expecting to be getting X amount of output and you're only getting half of that . And that's because obviously a lot of the bypass diodes are kicking in and , you know , not allowing the power to flow .

Essentially , but basically there are technical capabilities and technical solutions should you have shade Correct and you can help with those we can , and that's again , as a company , why we don't just grab anything off the shelf . It's making sure we give you the right solution .

You can have a $1,400 loan which is over I think it's over four years from memory and that is interest-free . They just basically take $1,400 and divide it over the four years and you also have the option for at present , a $8,800 up to $8,800 of an interest-free battery loan .

Now , of course , how that's going to work with the potential of this rebate the battery rebate that they're talking about could be a bit of a different scenario , but at the moment you've got that as an option over four years . So that obviously helps make batteries a lot more attractive to people as well .

And again , it's not a finance company that's dealing with it , you , basically . You know Solar Victoria . You do your application , you do a couple more things with them and they'll come back to you in a bit of time and say , hey , yep , you can , you can do it , no problem .

If what we're offering wasn't working and it wasn't doing what we say it's going to do , I honestly don't think we'd be in business , and not just because of that , I think , from all the claims of false information is probably the key .

If you follow the advice and try to use the power as much as you can during the day , whether that be by using it yourself or by doing it with a battery , whichever way , there's no question that you're going to have less reliance on the grid , which , therefore , is going to save you more money by not having to give it away in rent .

Essentially is what I call it the more money you throw at the grid , the more money you're throwing away . It's as simple as that .

I'd probably be speccking up more towards the higher end , you know , if you're you know , 13 kilowatt or something like that . And , yeah , we would do the calculations based on what your output , because every roof is different . Right , just because it's rated to 13 kilowatt doesn't mean that you're going to be able to consistently get that .

But of course , we'd look at your specific roof profile , the tilt , you know , the angle and so on and the panels that you're using . And then , yeah , do the calculations and tell you exactly what you can save based on your current bill .

That $3,000 bill went down to , I believe in summertime it was about 300 bucks . Wow , yeah , and that's . You know running multiple things during the day , high .

You know welders and laser cutters and all that sort of stuff , and essentially they saved a massive amount of money and essentially paid the system off in I think it was about four years and now they're reaping the benefits .

And obviously , yeah , if you're using that power which you are , then that's where you're working right and you may not need a massive system . You know , if you're not using , you might be using a decent amount of power , but it doesn't necessarily mean you need to go and spend , you know , $50,000 , $60,000 in order to get that benefit .

The Labor government has just announced that there will be a solar rebate for batteries . Is there a plus and a minus to that ?

From my understanding , it's going to work very much like the STC scheme that we have now , which is quite good , because then really it's not really means tested , so that means really anybody can have it . Where I like it is that now it makes the better systems , the higher quality systems , a bit more attractive .

Where I don't like it is the low-end , cheap stuff that's flooded in the market is now going to be a lot more attractive , which and this is my opinion right , Every company that offers these sorts of products . I see that , yeah , they're going to get a lot more inquiries and a lot more stuff going out the door .

But I just worry about companies that we've seen and you know that have disappeared over time . Are we going to now see a revisit of that ? And that's what I'm a bit worried for the market in that respect .

So basically , if you sell cheap solar , not make much profit enough to put a bit aside and then those batteries at year three or so start going pop , pop , pop , is it worth it for you to be around or do you just going to do a runner ?

You know , if you've got a lot of these cheaper products out in the market and all of a sudden they're all starting to have issues , and you know we've seen the recalls , we've seen all that stuff happening and you know credit , where it's due .

The companies that have had those issues and recalls have said , yep , we've got an issue , we're going to fix it and we're going to make it right . And they are making it right , and I think that's a good thing .

But what about the companies that you know haven't , haven't been able to do that and can't afford to do that because they've basically sold it at such a low amount ? And this is not just the You're talking about . Chinese manufacturers really , let's be blunt Essentially the cheap manufacturers , right that , won't be able to support that .

And essentially you've got a system that's sitting there that's not working , and it could be sitting there like that for two or three months , four months , however many months . What do you do then ?

You can't then say to the installer it's the installer's fault , well , the installer installed the job , it's been done correctly , let's say , and it's a manufacturing issue . Then what ? So ? Where I feel confident is when we're offering products like BYD , for example .

The support is there , the financial bankability of the business is there and therefore long-term longevity is there .

You're likely to get a product that will have issues , you're not likely to find the after-sales service is going to be up to scratch , and then at the end you probably actually got a piece of equipment in your house that nobody wants to take , so getting rid of them is going to be difficult .

So you're going to spend good money after bad to try and get rid of that gear . So isn't the logic just to get a good quality brand like a SICK Energy a ? Solaredge a . Tesla ones that have a lot of customers here in Australia , have a lot of backup staff and have you also have the confidence that the product lasts ?

But this is why I'm not giving you the cheap stuff , because I want to feel good in myself and as a business that we've done the right thing by you and that the products we've selected . If there was to be an issue , they can be dealt with by the manufacturer and between us and the manufacturer , no problem .

But what people have to understand is that when you're , let's say , you know you go off-grid , okay , you put a particular inverter in to spec up that off-grid Big battery , big inverter you can have all the batteries and inverters you like , but essentially , if you've got too much load or it's not specced up correctly , okay , you might save that $1.30 a day in

the supply charge from the electricity , right ? That's fantastic . Yeah , we're going to save it . But you've got a system that may not be able to handle the loads and the peak start-ups that you might want to run and trip all the time . Well , that's not very good . So there are ways of doing it .

With a lot of battery storage , a lot of different options , it's basically a single phase site that we managed to turn into three phase with some off-grid stuff and there was a very big investment from the customer there and it was a very tricky project to make work .

It took a lot of engineering , a lot of hours , but again , we've got the capability of doing that . And if you've got a customer that understands the limitations of what the product can offer , then absolutely we can give you whatever you like , but you have to understand it . And that's obviously where we come into it . We can educate you on that .

But it's not something where you know you've got the grid that provides , you know , the typical power that you need in a daily scenario . And of course , if you overload the grid it just trips your main switch , right . If you overload your inverter , it trips the inverter , so it's the same concept .

But of course , if you were to turn on multiple air conditioners and then you're , you know , at the same time you wanted to put the oven on and you wanted to then put your induction cooktop on , something's got to give because there's a lot of demand happening at that one point .

So all we're saying is , in general , just try to be a bit smart with you know how many things you turn on at the same time .

I mean , our philosophy really is performance , quality , reliability the three key factors to a system and ensuring that what we offer you ticks those boxes , but also that we've got the right people . So , if you wanted to come into our office and speak with our engineer , you can .

If you want to come and see what panels look like before we put them on your roof , you can . If you want to , you know , come in and you need some help with your SolarVic application , you can .

You know a lot of companies , and there are still a lot of great companies out there that do a very similar thing to us , and I think that's a great thing because it shows that they're investing in the right places as well . But there's also a lot of companies and I think really you should be looking at the quotations when you're out in the market .

Where are these people based ? Where are the companies based ? You know , if you're at a suite , you know level four or level 20 or whatever you want to call it . Something in Collins Street , melbourne . Is that just like a small sales office ?

You don't want to tell me where you are to invest all this money with you , and then , if I have a problem , if you just change the number and whatever else , how else do I get through to you ? So we've had the same number for the last for the whole time , really Same location for the last 10 years . So we haven't changed .

You know , telemarine's , where we are . Do you have a showroom ? It's a showroom progress . So I've recently just repainted everything and we've got some banners up , we've got some panels going in . It's actually a bit of a blank canvas . So you know we are going to be putting up some more stuff .

We used to have an old showroom and I said , no , look , we've got to revamp it . So we've done that . We've literally just finished painting it and , yeah , we will be setting up a few things . But even without the stuff on display , you know , as soon as you walk in , you can still come down . We can show you in the warehouse .

These are the two different panels . You know we've got some RECs in there , we've got some ICO panels , we've got some , you know , your JAs and your trainers and all that sort of stuff . And if you want to see a Gen24 battery set up ready to go , we can walk straight in there anytime .

And basically , yeah , we can see in the flesh what it actually looks like and what it you know how tall the battery sits and all that sort of stuff . To give you a bit more of a visual rather than a photo . Sometimes pictures don't do justice , you know you need to see it and , yeah , we've got those options .

So I encourage people to come down and see what it's all about before we just get out there and put it up on your roof .

So we do get quite a lot of our jobs from SolarQuotes , but also , you know , with the likes of you as well , helping us out . You know , getting the name out there online . You know your Facebook , I mean . Look , our advertising strategy is pretty simple . It's more about the brand and who we are rather than , you know , flooding the market with .

You know , five kilowatt Wi-Fi inverter and tier one panels for only $999 . I mean , what even ? What does that even mean ? You know what I mean ? Sounds cheap . Well , you know it's much , much cheaper than what we could offer , and that's because we know it can't be done right and you can't offer quality products for that sort of amount .

You've got to think , if I'm going to go and get you don't have to have the top of the range , right , but it's like if I'm going to go and get the right product , I've got to get an installation crew out there . We've got to get up .

We've got to do all the right safety things and get all the rail down and grind the tiles out properly so that way the tiles sit back on top . You know that's an important thing . Attention to detail is quite important . We have to have our engineers that make sure the job is going to work , all the systems designed correctly , it's going to work for you .

All that doesn't come at 999 . I mean it does somehow . Yeah , because I hide a lot of sins under the pen , and that's the point I'm getting to that for it to be done right , you've got to have the right people , and we've got the right people . So therefore , I know that it's getting done right .

So in that respect , I sleep easy at night , in that respect , because everything that we do is to the highest standard we possibly can . And again , I'm not going to say we've never had a problem . It's how we deal with it . And I can tell you now that if there's an issue and it needs to be rectified , we get it rectified .

If it's something we've stuffed up on , we put our hand up and say , hey , look , we've made a mistake here , but this is how we're going to do it , this is how we're going to fix it . We try to do our best in everything we do and I think , really , that's probably one of the reasons why we're still standing the way we are .

And we've tried to get it connected to the grid and they've always said , well , we never got the paperwork and we need someone to come out and do the paperwork and all this sort of stuff . And we said , okay , look , let's do a health check , let's come out , let's have a look and see what it's all about .

And I remember we got out there and it was like , nah , we need to start , almost start again .

And you know , some of the panels had to come off , fix up some of the cabling , take all the photos and in most cases , depending on what it is , if it's our own work , for example , well , I shouldn't say that because really our processes make sure that we send the paperwork and

you know when we do that . We keep you involved because we CC you in on the email . So you've got record that it was submitted . Where a lot of companies don't do that , a lot of companies probably don't even give you the right user manual . With us .

It might not come tomorrow , the day after install , but you will get your user manual and you'll have everything itemized of exactly what's been supplied to you and what's on your roof . And that's important to understand all that . There's a perfect example . We've got a call about a commercial property .

Um car wash customer says oh , look , I need um , I need you to come out , and , um , my system's not working . I don't quite know what's wrong with it . And we said , okay , yep , no problem , look to help us out , to help us understand um , can you provide me with um ? You know the sld . You know , single line diagram explains where .

You know which panels are connected , where and how many of them , and so on and and have you got access to the monitoring ? I know the monitoring has never really worked and it's like , well , hang on a minute . So you got a system installed . You knew at the time what you were getting . You can't remember now , because it's been like five years .

You can't remember . All you remember is you had a , you know , let's say , a Fronius inverter or a Goodway inverter , whatever it may have been , and that's okay , but you don't know how it was wired because you never got any paperwork . Did you get a copy of the certificate ? Oh yeah , I'm not sure where it is and it's like you know .

For us we've sort of evolved a little bit with how we do our user manuals and a lot of it is okay . Here's your copies of certificates and so on when we sent to the retailer . But you get a QR code next to your fire map that we have to put in the switchboard .

You scan that QR code , it takes you to your user manual and it's got everything in there so you can download it anytime and everything is relevant to the job .

And that's why and for me it's a no brainer having all the documentation , whether you own the property or someone else owns the property that anyone can go up , scan that and see exactly what's been done , where most of these people just can't give you that information , so we have to then go out , spend all this time figuring it out and ultimately the customer's

paying us to figure it out . Because we're not a charity , unfortunately we can't go out there and do it for nothing , especially when it's not our job , where if you have an issue with our job and you ring us up , we say , okay , what's the issue ?

We look at the online monitoring if we can , and if for any reason , we can't , when we go out there , we know exactly what's been installed and how it's been installed and we can isolate the issue where , when you're walking into some of these other things , you've got no idea .

And that's where it's really , really disappointing , because ultimately the customer is the loser .

But there's still a few companies like us that are out there , and I'm glad that they are , because I would rather have good competition , that's doing the right thing ethically and doing the right thing by the customer and so on , than trying to come up to the likes of , you know , some of these backyard sort of operations that , as I said , it's more of an

interest that they just get in , get the job , get the money and run . You've talked about that lady at the beginning with the dad and the system and all that . You never really finished the stories . I didn't . My apologies , so getting back to that .

So basically we'd gone out there Now it wasn't our installation , we had to take some panels off and fix up some wiring and whatever else . But ultimately the challenge was , you know , because it had been a couple of years well , I think it was about three or four years , something like that .

I think it was just after the rule change , from memory , because when we went to certify it the inspector said , well , you need to bring it up to current standard . And it's like , well , you know , we can only do what we can do , sort of thing .

So essentially we had to just make some adjustments and , you know , fix up some of the wiring and actually , from memory , we had to change the dc wiring because the cable change the um , the old pv1f was no longer valid um change . That everything else was sort of okay once we had that um .

Basically , yeah , we were able to then get the certificate , send it to the retailer . Retailer then approved the um , the uh , the system , yeah , the system to be . Well , I mean , it was energized anyway , that's that's how it was when we found it and it was working .

It wasn't a case that the system didn't work , it was just the poor guy didn't have it connected . So for all these years that he's had it installed , he's never had any feed-in tariff . And now that the tariff's gone it's even more of a disappointment because all that . Don't do it wrong the first time .

In other words , you know , use a reputable company that's got the right processes and practices . Make sure you're kept in the loop as well with everything , so you understand what to expect at the end of an installation . You know , for us it's all documented . Everything we send you tells you the whole process .

Even when we book the installation , we send you a copy of the pre-design . So you know this is what I'm getting installed and where it's all going . And if you have an objection to that and say actually no , I didn't want those panels there , I want them over there .

It's as quick as our customer service team saying , hey , we're on the way , we're running a bit behind , that's what they're there for . But also to give you the opportunity to come back and say , hey , this doesn't look the same as what the salesperson that come out and saw me discussed Is there any reason ? And there might be a valid reason for it .

And they say , okay , now I understand it's actually going to be better for me doing it this way . Great , I'm happy with that , go ahead . But then we also have another method when we actually get to site and we go through with the customer before we do the job . These are the panels you agreed to . Yep , tick , this is the design that you're happy with .

Yep , tick , this is where the inverter is going . Yep , happy with that tick . Greatize that we authorize that we do a quick check to make sure there's no preexisting damage . You know , because at the end of the day . If there's something up there that isn't quite right , we want to make you aware of it too .

You know , because sometimes and it's happened to us once before , we've gone out there and once you get up on the second story and you start working in a certain area , there could be areas where you say , well , look , your ridge capping is falling apart . I sort of want to make you aware of it .

Now , this doesn't happen all the time , of course , but there was a case where we actually said to the customer look , I recommend that you get your roof restored first before we actually do the installation , and we ended up walking away and putting it on hold for like two months . The time the customer got someone out , got it all restored .

I mean , the installers were quite happy when they went back because it's a fresh , clean roof and everything's great . But the point is that it's not all about just getting it on the roof and getting out of your hair .

It's getting there and making sure that we can do it , and if we do do it , it's going to be okay , and if it's not , well , we'll tell you about it . So then you know and it's important you know it's your home .

We've installed quite a few of them recently and , uh , when I say recently , over the last , it's been a few months now . But , um , look , we've've never had a problem . And I know it's still early days . And part of me says you know why are we doing it ? And , to be fair to you , a lot of it is because a lot of customers have been asking us upfront .

I mean , we talk about it , don't get me wrong . But a lot of customers are saying , oh , look , I've seen these ACO panels , what do you know about them ? And it's like , oh , we can tell , got all the info . Um , and they're actually not a bad panel for what they are .

There's other products that we offer and some of them , I believe , are probably slightly better . Um , but ultimately it comes down to you know what ? What does the customer like , what's going to fit within that budget and , ultimately , what's the best overall solution for them . So I have no issue doing the icos at the moment .

Um it's it's not my only offering , but it's certainly up there with the top four .

, if we have to , followed by now Sig Energy . So they're the three that we probably offer more of . We've done a few off-grid systems but , yeah , victron's always been our primary offering and it depends on the application .

The off-grid one I was talking about before that was a mixture of Victron and a good wee three-phase hybrid with BYD there's 144 kilowatt hours of storage .

Other typical off-grid systems we've done a lot for the department of well , deca , if you want to call it so , department of education , climate change and whatever else . Whatever it is , deca is the easiest way .

Um , we did quite a few of them off , a few off-grid systems for them as well , and some of the remote places that they um had community events and everything else . And it was very straightforward just a typical six kilowatt , but all powered by Victron and BYD . And they're still going today . We've got all monitoring and everything on them and reliable .