Solar System Pricing Packages

What should you expect from this system?

When we talk about entry and mid-level, we are talking about everything from the ads that you see on TV, and the super specials where ‘you can get a 6 kilowatt system for $5,000….you’ll get bonus this and bonus that’, and all the gimmicks that come with it.

Not to be misunderstood, there is a place for this sort of system in the market and there are people that are energy conscious and can’t afford to go above their budget. They want to do the right thing by the environment. We only advise that it is definitely worth doing your due diligence to make sure that you get the right system and to make sure that there’s a minimum expectation that your panels and your inverters and all of the major components will actually last a reasonable amount of time.

From here you go to mid-level systems. Mid-level is an acceptable entry point into the market.

All inverters and all panels must meet Australian standards to be allowed into the market. This is a great starting point, and this has allowed the industry to have a little bit more assurance for customers that they are not going to get systems that do not work and that do not meet requirements.

Unfortunately, the regulations and industry standards that have been put into place are there only to prevent equipment going into the system that fail to meet requirements. However, the regulations do not specify anything in regard to quality.

Customers may not know if the inverter they pay for is going to be a good quality and last the expected length of time that is required to make sure that an investment serves its purpose.

If you are on a limited budget or looking to put a system on an investment property

We recommend this is where you might start for peace of mind that will get a reasonably good return on your investment. As previously mentioned, we strongly recommend that you take your due diligence when looking at entry to mid-level systems to make sure that the company that you’re using is reputable and most likely going to be around to honour warranties.

This is where we start in the market.

We understand that we cannot be a one-size-fits-all for all clients and we have a minimum expectation that a good quality system should come with a 10-year warranty minimum on the panels, on the inverter and on the railing system.

This should be in conjunction with all installs offering a five to ten-year minimum workmanship warranty.

This is where most panels sit in the market. These panels are of good quality and there is a fine line between good Chinese made inverters and panels, and average Chinese made panels and inverters.

When looking for a good quality system

It is important to make sure that you are using reputable brands and make sure that the warranties are a good quality. We would expect the majority of solar systems installed across the country to fit into this category. If you are looking for a nice balance of quality vs cost efficiency / value for money, this is a system that would most likely serve the purpose of the majority of the population.

Top of the range solar systems are from companies that have set the bench mark in the industry.

These companies have taken the time and effort to build up research within the industry and are also industry leaders with what they accomplish.

When considering panels, we highly recommend LG, Hyundai and REC. These three companies have panels that come with a 25-year manufacturing warranty.

When considering inverters, we talk about SolarEdge systems, which are optimised systems and the best on the market and have been for years.

We talk about Enphase micro inverters with optimisation of every individual panel using an AC micro inverter. We talk about your industry stalwarts, and your Fronius inverter.

These German and Austrian companies have been in the Australian market for over 10 years now and are the leading manufacturers and suppliers to the Australian market. They have set the standard well above other inverter manufacturers and they have a proven track history well in front of most in the market.

We expect a 25-year manufacturing warranty on the panels as standard in the top of the range category.

The inverters come with a minimum 10-year warranty. The amount of research and design funding that these companies put into their programs is well above most in the market, and the efficiencies of these panels and inverters are leading the industry.

You are paying a little bit more for these systems and should be getting the peace of mind that backs up these companies.

A lot of these also offer extra functionality and ability to have added features, which others do not have the capacity to do.  There is always going to be discussions on whether this inverter is or is not what we would call best quality or top of the range by industry expectations, and knowledge over the years always leads back to the same products.

A lot of people ask if the inverters being installed are hybrid inverters and battery compatible.

To answer this, we advise that nearly all systems can have batteries added to them in the future by using AC coupled retrofit solutions.

Such inverters include the Tesla and the new Energizer battery. This is a system that does not mind whether the power is coming from a solar PV on your roof or whether it’s coming from a wind generator, or hydroelectricity.

If you are looking at a specific hybrid inverter with a battery management system and the capacity to add a battery tomorrow with no extra requirements, then you are going to be looking at a cost of approximately $1,500 to $2,000.

Once again this is depending on the quality of the system. Because of this, we don’t necessarily recommend to our customer to spend this additional cost unless they are 100% certain that moving forward they will be installing batteries

All pricing mentioned and discussed is purely a guide and based on pricing as of July 2021.

All pricing is also the out of pocket cost and does not take into consideration Victorian rebates. The Federal government also offers rebates Australia wide called Small Technology Certificates (STCs) for installing a renewable energy source on your roof.

For more information visit our Government Rebates & Feed-in Tarrifs page.