Quote for solar, is this a good price? - Updated

scarletjim

Hope no one minds me hijacking to ask a quick question - people always say how important the warranty is, but what if the company goes bust? Are they normally insurance-backed warranties?

Similarly, what happens to people with LG panels when LG has said it's pulling out of the solar market? Is the warranty with the manufacturer or the installer? Does it mean LG will simply stop taking questions from customers who have purchased their products hoping to use them for 30+ years?

QrizB

scarletjim said:

Hope no one minds me hijacking to ask a quick question - people always say how important the warranty is, but what if the company goes bust? Are they normally insurance-backed warranties?

They're not normally insurance-backed, they're regular manufacturer-backed warranties.

Here's a blog post I read a couple of years ago that explains that warranties might not be all that important anyway:

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/solar-panel-warranty-paradox/

scarletjim

QrizB said:

scarletjim said:

Hope no one minds me hijacking to ask a quick question - people always say how important the warranty is, but what if the company goes bust? Are they normally insurance-backed warranties?

They're not normally insurance-backed, they're regular manufacturer-backed warranties.

Here's a blog post I read a couple of years ago that explains that warranties might not be all that important anyway:

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/solar-panel-warranty-paradox/

Very useful thanks. The key message I'm taking away from that article is that whilst a manufacturer of high quality panels might provide a good warranty because they're confident they will rarely have to action it, the point to focus on is that they are providing high quality products that are very unlikely to fail - so whether the company is still around in 10 years or not is extremely unlikely to be relevant. I see - thanks.

scarletjim

Another question - the opening poster talks about having arrays on multiple roofs - is this generally more costly, panel for panel I mean?

For example, if I was going to have (say) 16 panels on a south facing roof, but instead decided to have 8 on a SE and 8 on a SW, would that be more expensive? If yes, would that additional expense just be the labour cost of putting the scaffolding up twice, or would their be additional hardware or configuration costs for having the 16 panels split between 2 different roofs?

ccbrowning

I don't get how people get these cheaper quotes. Even for me, Light Renewables is way more expensive. Averaging 12-16k for 10x390W panels + a 9.5kW battery with GSE mounting.

Screwdriva

scarletjim said:

QrizB said:

scarletjim said:

Hope no one minds me hijacking to ask a quick question - people always say how important the warranty is, but what if the company goes bust? Are they normally insurance-backed warranties?

They're not normally insurance-backed, they're regular manufacturer-backed warranties.

Here's a blog post I read a couple of years ago that explains that warranties might not be all that important anyway:

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/solar-panel-warranty-paradox/

Very useful thanks. The key message I'm taking away from that article is that whilst a manufacturer of high quality panels might provide a good warranty because they're confident they will rarely have to action it, the point to focus on is that they are providing high quality products that are very unlikely to fail - so whether the company is still around in 10 years or not is extremely unlikely to be relevant. I see - thanks.

While I agree with the sentiment on some (those with some semblance of a reputation) solar panel manufacturers, I would definitely not agree with this on the inverter, battery , controllers and to some degree the optimizers. 

2nd_time_buyer

Screwdriva said:

scarletjim said:

QrizB said:

scarletjim said:

Hope no one minds me hijacking to ask a quick question - people always say how important the warranty is, but what if the company goes bust? Are they normally insurance-backed warranties?

They're not normally insurance-backed, they're regular manufacturer-backed warranties.

Here's a blog post I read a couple of years ago that explains that warranties might not be all that important anyway:

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/solar-panel-warranty-paradox/

Very useful thanks. The key message I'm taking away from that article is that whilst a manufacturer of high quality panels might provide a good warranty because they're confident they will rarely have to action it, the point to focus on is that they are providing high quality products that are very unlikely to fail - so whether the company is still around in 10 years or not is extremely unlikely to be relevant. I see - thanks.

While I agree with the sentiment on some (those with some semblance of a reputation) solar panel manufacturers, I would definitely not agree with this on the inverter, battery , controllers and to some degree the optimizers. 

There are reports from MC Electrical of failures of Solardedge optimisers in high Australian temperatures:
https://www.mcelectrical.com.au/solaredge-inverter-optimiser-review/

And how Tigo optimisers perform better than Soalredge in the shade:
https://www.mcelectrical.com.au/tigo-energy-solar-panel-optimisers/

Solaredge also have some terrible reviews on Trustpilot for inverters and optimsiers and their customer service:
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.solaredge.com

But I have not manged to find any negative reviews for Tigo optimisers - out of interest, have you found any?

For the record, I have Solaredge optimisers and am pleased with them. However, I am nervous that I am effectively tied to them if something goes wrong.

Screwdriva

2nd_time_buyer said:

There are reports from MC Electrical of failures of Solardedge optimisers in high Australian temperatures:
https://www.mcelectrical.com.au/solaredge-inverter-optimiser-review/

And how Tigo optimisers perform better than Soalredge in the shade:
https://www.mcelectrical.com.au/tigo-energy-solar-panel-optimisers/

Solaredge also have some terrible reviews on Trustpilot for inverters and optimsiers and their customer service:
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.solaredge.com

But I have not manged to find any negative reviews for Tigo optimisers - out of interest, have you found any?

For the record, I have Solaredge optimisers and am pleased with them. However, I am nervous that I am effectively tied to them if something goes wrong.

I have read the reviews of the Aussie optimizer failures. It's alarming to think that a failure rate could be as high as 2-4% but it's also unlikely we're going to hit those temperatures anytime soon (but who knows after this summer?). 

It may surprise you to learn that I am a fan of Tigo optimizers. I just didn't install them because my SolarEdge inverter requires it's own optimizers. On the subject of being efficient in the shade, this may apply to smaller sized systems but for those with 8+ optimizers on their roof, it appears that Mark suggests that the efficiency deficit is mitigated. 

I've (so far) had a single exchange with SolarEdge warranty support and it was pleasant enough. I do suspect one of my panel optimizers is malfunctioning so will report back on my experience in dealing with them soon enough. Safe to say, I share your nervousness to an extent but not nearly comparable were I dealing with Growatt etc. 

2nd_time_buyer

Screwdriva said:

I've (so far) had a single exchange with SolarEdge warranty support and it was pleasant enough. I do suspect one of my panel optimizers is malfunctioning so will report back on my experience in dealing with them soon enough. Safe to say, I share your nervousness to an extent but not nearly comparable were I dealing with Growatt etc. 

Yes, please keep us posted. My understanding is that they will replace parts but not necessarily foot the bill for the labour to replace them(?).

For better or worse, once you go down the Solaredge route, you are effectively tied to their inverters for the life of the panels. At least with other brand inverters and Tigo optimisers, if it doesn't work out for you, you can switch to a different brand.

I suspect that the number of negative reviews on Trustpilot is not representative - people seem generally satisfied on here.  However, there seems to be a recurring pattern of them not resolving issues promptly which is worrying.

scarletjim

scarletjim said:

Another question - the opening poster talks about having arrays on multiple roofs - is this generally more costly, panel for panel I mean?

For example, if I was going to have (say) 16 panels on a south facing roof, but instead decided to have 8 on a SE and 8 on a SW, would that be more expensive? If yes, would that additional expense just be the labour cost of putting the scaffolding up twice, or would their be additional hardware or configuration costs for having the 16 panels split between 2 different roofs?

@Screwdriva as you are around today and I believe (judging by another thread I've read) have panels on multiple roofs, are you in a position to answer the above by any chance?