Sara, Collaroy Plateau
June 2022
Installer – My Energy Group
What was installed?
20 panels – 390 Watt Risen Titan
Huawei string inverter
Smart meter
FusionSolar wifi app from Huawei
Heat Pump
Selection Process
I used ‘SolarQuotes’ to obtain proposals from 3 companies. They all offered the different type of inverters, from simple string inverters to Optimizers and microinverters.
We received the quotes quickly via e-mail, followed by a site inspections.
Reason for Selection
My Energy Group's quote was half the other two, and the others offered Optimizers and microinverters which we didn’t need because we don’t have any shading issues. Our decision was based on price, checking the quality of the products via reviews and the fact the company is a member of the Clean Energy Council and a CEC Approved Retailer. The cost was $5,146 (in June 2022).
Outcome
Installation was fast, 3 weeks after signing the contract. However, after that it was another 4 weeks before the smart meter was installed – responsibility of the electricity provider – and I was not permitted to use the panels in that time.
Over the first year, our electricity costs were minimal. They are rising a little now as the feed-in tariff has dropped, but we are still making substantial savings.
Once we had the solar up and running, we replaced our gas hot water system (which was at the end of its life) with a Heat Pump Hot Water System and didn't note any change in the electricity bills.
We have the FusionSolar Wifi app which shows us how much solar we are generating.
What I would do differently
Get the smart meter installed prior to installing solar panels, so you can use them straight away.
I would recommend shopping around for the
best energy plan when switching to solar. It
makes a big difference.
The only issue I had was with the Product
Warranty of the panels. The project coordinator tried to give me a 15-year one when I signed up for a 25-year one, so always check your details.
