Good news, friends! I’ve discovered a new solar panel manufacturer site full of bizarre English! It is brilliant! I haven’t been this happy since since the days when Risen Energy boasted about having a blue ocean strategy instead of a red ocean where the fish keep biting each other.
Update 10:04 am 17th Sept 2019: Astroenergy has told me they have a 12 year product warranty on all panels sold in Australia and not the 10 years given in the warranty document I downloaded from their site. If you get CHINT Solar / Astronergy panels, I recommend checking you can get a 12 year product warranty for them.
The manufacturer is CHINT Solar, which makes Astronergy solar panels – and their site is a beauty. It kept me entertained for hours. I talked to their representative a couple of weeks ago but only got around to checking what they have on the internet today and I’m very glad I did.
I should probably give you some information on Astronergy, rather than just compliment them on the hilarity of the English on their website, as the number of their solar panels being installed in Australia is increasing. Here are some bullet points:
- They produce tier one panels.
- 10 year product warranty on most solar panels and 12 years for double glass.
- Did well in 2018 DVNGL solar panel testing.
- Manufactured in China. They also produce solar cells in Thailand.
- Careful colour matching of cells avoids patchy looking panels.
- First sold in Australia 9 years ago.
- Competitive pricing.
- They have an Australian Office in Adelaide under the name CHINT Solar — not Astronergy.
I’ll go over some of these points below, as well as cover what Astronergy has to do with powering Astro boy.
Here we see Astro boy destroying a Dutch Mutant Tulip, as is only good and right.
But first I have to tell you about CHINT, the company that owns Astronergy.
Astronergy — Part Of The CHINT Group
CHINT is a big company — as in billions of dollars of revenue each year big. It’s also diversified, which means they do more than just make solar panels. Hopefully, this increases their odds of still being around in the future to honor their solar panel warranties.
The company was founded in 1984 and has around 30,000 employees. It produces electrical equipment, including large inverters for solar farms and other applications. CHINT also appears to make very relaxed and laid back electric appliances, as this information from Bloomberg suggests:
Maybe something got lost in translation and they actually mean “low voltage appliances”.
CHINT Solar, or Astronergy as it’s generally called, started producing solar panels in 2006. Their site says they have the capacity to produce 3.5 gigawatts per year. It also says they have the capacity to produce 2.5 gigawatts per year:
Either way, that’s a whole lot of panels, but these days it’s only enough to make them a medium sized manufacturer. They say they reached 2.5 gigawatts of manufacturing capacity in 2016, so it’s not hard to believe they are up to 3.5 gigawatts now.
CHINT Company Culture
CHINT has a company culture that encourages vigor, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and marching forward pertinaciously. And if you don’t believe me, check this out:
As hard as it may be to believe, “pertinaciously” is actually a word. According to Google it means, “holding firm to an opinion or a course of action”. So, thank you CHINT for teaching me English I didn’t know. Whether or not it’s a good idea for you to be using English words that even I don’t know — a writer who has been married to a journalist, a professor of literature, and a lawyer — is another question. But it’s always good to learn something new.
CHINT’s Chairman
The Chairman of CHINT is Nan Cunhui. And here he is:
He is not just known as Chairman Nan. His vast array of titles and awards — taken verbatim from the CHINT site — include:
- Spokesperson of China’s emerging China private enterprises.
- Outstanding Chinese characteristics of the builders of socialism
- CCTV2002 China Economic Person of the Year
- Eleventh China Top Ten Outstanding Youth
- The first Chinese outstanding private entrepreneurs
- China’s overall well-off special contribution figures
Being an emerging, outstanding, socialist, private entrepreneur, and economic person is very impressive Not only that, he also came 11th out of 10 of China’s outstanding youth. When you think about how many youth there are in China, that is something truly special.
And here is a literal Chairman
Astronergy Solar Panels are Tier 1
Astronergy is a tier one manufacturer of solar panels. They were apparently anointed with this status by Bloomberg in 2016.
Tier one means banks and financial organisations are willing to lend money to large scale solar energy projects using those panels. It’s not a direct measure of quality, but panels that are crap aren’t going to get tier one status, so you can be confident these solar panels are most likely reliable.
Product Warranty: 10 Years Or 12 For Double Glass
Conventional Astronergy solar panels have:
- A 10 year product warranty, and…
- A 25 performance warranty.
Their double glass panels have:
- A 12 year product warranty, and…
- A 30 year performance warranty.
While I am not a lawyer1, I am confident under Australian law a 25 or 30 year performance warranty is effectively a product warranty. But overseas this is often not the case and the longer the product warranty the more confident you can be the solar panels will last long term.
A couple of years ago most tier one solar panels only had a 10 year product warranty. But this has been improving and 10 years is now towards the low end. As Astronergy seems very confident about their quality, hopefully they’ll get around to increasing it soon.
Clearly CHINT Solar employed the Michelangelo of Photoshop to create this masterpiece. It has solar panels, a dopey looking electric flying car, and an outdoor solar panel fabrication plant with a robot just waiting to hand a solar panel to anyone passing by. One worker is cradling the rising sun in his hands. Or at least I hope it’s a rising sun. If it’s not, they have spectacularly messed up the orientation of their panels.
Ridiculous Maintenance Conditions For Warranty
You are protected by Australian Consumer Guarantees no matter what a written warranty might say, so under Australian law you don’t have to tolerate ridiculous provisions they may contain. But it’s always better to have a written warranty that’s free of bullshit so you can feel confident you won’t have to fight a solar panel manufacturer, or take them to a consumer tribunal or small claims court, to have them to live up to their obligations.
Unfortunately, the Astronergy warranty document has a doozy of a dodgy clause. Their warranty reads:
The black line just indicates a break where I cut out some stuff that was boring.
Looking up their installation manual for the maintenance recommendations I see this:
So in order to keep your warranty, you have to have the panels cleaned at least once a month or right away after “dust wind” and you have to record the weather conditions every day with a camera. This is completely nuts and when you add up the costs of having solar panels cleaned at least once a month as well as after “dust winds”…
…it blows the economic benefit of rooftop solar power out of the water.
These conditions were obviously written with a large solar farm in mind. The sort of place where someone is paid to monitor things full time. But the fact they haven’t updated their warranty for residential solar installation doesn’t give me confidence they are adequately focused on the residential side of their business.
Astronergy Is A DNVGL PV Scorecard “Top Performer”
DNVGL is a Norwegian standards organisation that used to subject solar panels to rigorous testing and then publish the results — or at least some of them — in their annual PV Scorecard report. Last year the part of DNVGL that does the testing was split off and is now called PV Evolution Labs, but they are continuing the work.
Manufacturers don’t have to pay to have panels tested every year. Astronergy told me they didn’t have any tested for this year’s report. But they were tested for 2018 and did well. Four reliability tests were performed and an Astronergy solar panel made it into the “Top Performer” category in each:
Manufacturing Locations
CHINT Solar/Astronergy produces solar panels in China and has a solar cell factory in Thailand. As far as I can tell they don’t have manufacturing facilities in other countries. They did buy a factory in Germany in 2014 after Conergy ran into financial problems, but sold it this year.
Frankfurt named a street “Chint Avenue” after they bought the factory, but I can’t see it on Google Maps now. So it’s just like I’ve always said — never trust Germany when it comes to naming streets and always keep an eye on them around Poland and the Low Countries.2
Colour Matching Of Cells
Manufacturers of premium solar panels normally put effort into making sure the appearance of the cells in their panels are consistent. Lower cost manufacturers don’t always do this and so panels can end up with solar cells with slightly different colours that give them a patchy appearance. Astronergy told me they put a lot of effort into matching cell colour, giving each solar panel a uniform appearance. This is not something I would expect from a company mostly focused on solar farms, so maybe they’ve put more thought into the residential side of things than their warranty document suggests.
They Have An Australian Office — If You Can Find It!
Astronergy have an office in Kent Town, Adelaide. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find if you search for Astronergy — which is no doubt what many people will do.3 Instead you have to look for CHINT Solar. Here is evidence from Google Maps that it does exist:
You can stop by CHINT Solar/Astronergy between getting some rubber from Clark, having a pint in The Maid (where Jono used to work before SolarQuotes) and attending the Belly Dance Arabesque.
CHINT Solar/Astronergy Panels Could Be A Good Deal
CHINT Solar/Astronergy solar panels are tier one, which indicates they should be reliable and the representative I talked to said the company was dedicated to building a good reputation in the Australian residential market. If true, they should be ensuring every panel they send here is reliable and made from quality materials. As they are competitively priced they could be a good choice for a low cost but reliable system.
Before getting them I would want their warranty document improved. I would also prefer it if their product warranty was longer, but maybe it won’t be long before CHINT stretches it out over a few more years.
What the hell, CHINT? We’re good enough to be touched by your glowing ball, but we don’t merit a flag? I protest! After all, South Africa gets a flag and your ball hasn’t gone anywhere near it!
Astronergy’s Involvement With Astro Boy
I promised to tell you what Astronergy has to do with powering Astro Boy. That’s easy to do because the answer is — absolutely nothing! This is because Astronergy solar panels are real while Astro Boy is a fictional character. What’s more, he’s a fictional character who is nuclear powered. The literal translation of his Japanese name is Atom and his sister is called Uran, which is short for Uranium. So every time a giant robot punches Astro boy it’s a potential environmental disaster in the making.
It’s probably just as well CHINT Solar and Astronergy have nothing to do with Astro Boy. Because when you think about it, he’s a little disturbing.
I know it always freaks me out when he taps on my window late at night wearing nothing but his red booties and painted on pants:
Then there’s the whole question of why he has butt blasters:
Not to mention whatever the hell is going on here:
WTF Astro Boy!
About Ronald Brakels
RSS - Posts
Ronald, while this article has your usual gripping asides to make the contents interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, I feel that you are poking fun at their connection to nuclear power in such a ‘green’ industry as solar.
I think it is a brilliant marketing ploy to remind us that solar energy is solely the product of a nuclear reaction…if the sun wasn’t a nuclear reaction we wouldn’t have solar energy, but thank our lucky stars (boom boom) that it is so far away.
Don’t worry – we’re only 40 years away from nuclear fusion power plants producing cheap, clean energy on Earth. Which they said in 1945 and every decade since. Still 40 years away.
hehehehe…. They used to say that about about roof-mounted solar systems, too. NOW look!
Hello Ronald , Kindly review a new panel manufacturer in the market called HT SAAE , Seem good
Okay.
HT SAAE have been a Chinese Govt owned company since1960, HT-SAAE started on solar technology research for China Aerospace and Satellite’s Application. From year 2000, HT-SAAE began to transfer “Aerospace” PV technology to Commercial Application.around since 1998.
Previous SQ review https://www.solarquotes.com.au/panels/shanghai-solar-energy-s-and-t-review.html
One of the cheaper alternatives.
There we go:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/ht-saae-solar-panels/
How’s that for service?
Hey Ronald,
Firstly thanks for the usual belly laugh.
We have 20 215W Astronergy CHSM 6609P-215 installed since 2011 and production is going fine (other system details are SolarEdge optimisers and inverter) … currently SolarAnalytics reports 118.4% above monthly average production. Above average production expected after some shading was removed and panels cleaned.
Good to hear they are still going strong.
How long have performance warranties been around?
Has anyone tested your theory in court?
Not to my knowledge. But it is only a matter of time before it happens. I’m confident the performance warranty will be considered as applying to any panel that has stopped working if tested in court – and set a precedent…
Hi, I am looking to put solar on my house in QLD…hopefully before Qld.
Got a quote ffrom SOLARBOOST for
System Capacity 6.6kw
Premium Tier 1 Astronergy 300-Watt Panels + Solis SinglePhase Inverter
18 + 4 Panels Extra + 5 KW High-Efficiency Inverter
$4000
Typical…if u buy now…you can get cheaper or beat the change in QLD govt policy.
They set brochure for:
Astronergy – Chint 300 Watts Mono panels
285W~315W
Monocrystalline PV Module
CHSM6610M Series
CHSM6610M/HV Series Not sure which one.
I am wondering your thoughts and if the components are worth it, or cheap. I welcome your recommendation for a SE qld company and components….
I have a 5 bedroom house and a pool and electric hot water.
Hi Lee
I don’t know of a company called Solarboost, but there is one called Sunboost. You can read reviews of them here and I highly recommend you click on “Ausrankings” so you can see how they compare to other installers in Australia:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/installer-review/sunboost/
Astronergy panels are tier one and so should be reliable. Solis is a lower cost inverter but it appears to be good value for its price.
If you would like us to receive some quotes through us just go to our homepage here:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/
Enter your postcode in the space at the top right and then answer the questions that come up as best as you can:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/
If you would like to see the panels and inverters we recommend they are in our Solar 101 Guide:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
HI Mate. Your article is an interesting read. Like another guy earlier, I have been quoted by SunBoost for 6.6kW setup at $3,700 for 22 x 300W Astronergy Mono Tier 1 Panels + Solis Premium Inverter 5kW.
I got a quote from Origin Energy (my retailer) for different gear for $8,500 for same output set-up, different gear.
Clearly a huge difference.
I notice that while Solis is on your inverter chart at the Kia end of the scale, Astronergy is not mentioned in your panel chart – any reason..?
I have also read the reviews on your Reviews page – all is not glowing for SunBoost.
In any case, I am just tossing up the options..so any advice welcomed.
Hi Brent
The panels we put on our chart are ones we have heard good things from installers about. Either they almost never have problems or if they had problems in the past the manufacturer fixed them without a fuss. Astroergy are tier one which is good evidence they are reliable but we simply don’t know enough about them at this time to either put them on the chart or say they definitely don’t belong there.
I’m glad you checked out Sunboost’s reviews. I also recommend looking at Origin’s as well and their Ausranking. If you’d like some quotes through us from installers we have vetted and trust to do good quality work, you can get them through our homepage.
Late to this party but i think the guys from Lego should be suing Chairman Nan to get their head back!
Feeling a bit racist vibe there, eh? Would you do the same if the site was from a German company? Think about it. They speak two languages m, how about you?
Hi
The Astronergy panels are not listed by the CEC.
So how I get my STCs?
Hi Steve
Astronergy panels are on the CEC Approved Solar Panel List but they are under the name Chint or Chint Solar Zhejiang Co Ltd.
Hi
Ah..Yes! Sorry about that.
But they’re not on your Solar Panel Comparison Chart yet as far as I can see.
When do you think they’ll be included please?
Astronergy panels are tier one, so I expect they are reliable if you have them installed. But to get on our recommended list have to be reliable and be backed up by strong customer service that fixes problems without a problem when something does go wrong. This has to be demonstrated over an extended period of time. A panel could be excellent and not appear on our list simply because we don’t hear enough about them, but we’ll only put panels on it we’re very confident people won’t regret using. Astronergy panels may be put on our recommended list in the future, but right now I couldn’t say if or when that will happen. But I can tell you they are not one of the many low quality panels that I recommend staying away from.
Hi, im from perth. And i have a quote for Astronergy CHSM60M-HC Series 330 plus Growatt MIN 5000TL-X is that a good price for $5200?
Is there any brand for solar and inverter which is better to the one i have received and lower in price?
Astroenergy panels are tier one and so should be reliable, but they are low cost tier one panels while Growatt is probably cheapest inverter available in Australia. As Perth has the lowest rooftop solar costs Australia so if you shop around you should be able to get something similar or better from an installer who does good work for less than that.
Our Solar 101 Guide has graphics showing the panels and inverters we recommend with the least expensive on the left and the more expensive on the right:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
If you would like to get some quotes through us you can go to our homepage:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
And enter your postcode in the space at the top right and then answer the questions that come up as best you can.
We are in Mount Gambier SA and were recently quoted $11959 for 20 Astronergy CHSM60M-HC series 330 panels and a Growatt MIN 5000TL-X Inverter. From reading the above comments/reviews my gut is telling me this quote is a premium price for budget end products.
We are currently sifting though 2 other quotes from solar retailers recommended by Solar Quotes (still waiting for contact from 3rd recommendation).
Hi. I definitely would not pay that for a 6.6 kilowatt Astronergy and Growatt system. They are clearly trying to take you for a ride. If you don’t mind, please let me know who they are so I can keep an eye out for them. If you’d rather not say here, you can email me:
[email protected]
OMG $11959 is a bloody rip off. I just have solar installed two weeks ago in Melbourne with the same setup (20 Astronergy CHSM60M-HC series 330 panels and a Growatt MIN 5000TL-X Inverter) for only $2850 after Victoria rebate. you should definitely shop around for a lot cheaper quotes.
Yes absolutely especially as you have given us a comparison of same system through I’am assuming a diferent supplier. We have several quotes from recommended solar retailers and they are around the $5000. Enjoy you’re new solar system.
Hi,
I’ve just received a quote for a 6.6kw astronergy system from TechNaus. The quote is for just under $11000, no upfront costs.
System Size : 6.6
Panel Model :Astronergy 370W
Inverter Model : Growatt MIN 5000TL-X
Number of Panels : 18
Obviously the no upfront cost is appealing, but I don’t want to be paying a premium price for a budget product. I live in regional NSW, postcode 2681. Would I be paying too much with this company?
I’ve tried looking at reviews but they are pru mixed.
Thanks, Kristy
Hi Kristy
That is definitely a low cost system and you are being charged far too much for it. While you can expect to pay more in your location than in large town or city, you don’t need to pay that much more.
Astronergy panels are tier one which is evidence of quality, but they are low cost panels. Growatt is the lowest cost inverter I know of.
Fortunately, we have a considerable number of TechNaus reviews on our page here:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/installer-review/technaus-solar/
If you click on “Aus Ranking” you will be able to see how they compare to other installers.
Hi Finn or Ronald
I have just been offered the following in Lapoinya Tasmania
System: 6.6 KW Premium Solar Package
Pack price: $4900
20 X Astroenergy Astrosemi 330W Black Frame 120 Half-Cut Cells Mono
1 X Solis 4G-MX 5 KW 1 Phase 2 MPPT Gris Connect (inverter)
1 X Solis Wi-Fi Stick ( what’s that??)
Installation by CEC Accredited Installer
Local Warranties
25 years Linear Performance Warranty on Solar Panels
15 Years Product Warranty on Solar Panels
5 years Product Warranty on Inverter
1 + 9 Year Workmanship Warranty
I have seen comments on systems above and would be interested in comments on this one. It seems on face value to be reasonable (but can probably work them down a bit although this could cause inferior products to be used, no doubt).
Hi John
Tasmania is the most expensive state to get solar, so that’s not a bad price, but note the panels and inverter used are lower cost hardware. The good news is Astronergy panels are tier one and should be reliable while Solis is a lower cost inverter but reliable and should be good value for money. It’s one we can recommend in our Solar 101 Guide:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
The Solis wifi stick allows you to monitor the output of your solar system on the internet.
I’m not sure if you can work the installer down on price as that’s not a bad amount for a rural location in Tasmania.
Hi Ronald
Thanks for your prompt response and the information therein.
I forgot to mention that the quote is from Sunboost.com.au, which advertises on a commercial TV channel a 6.6 kw solar system for the special price of $4591, presumably in metropolitan areas.
I will check back on Solarquotes report on Solar Panels re the half-cut Cells as I did note something was mentioned about these there. There is no problems with shade where I will have these installed.
I greatly appreciate the valued information provided by Solarquotes and your’s and Finn’s comments on the Blog system.
Hello John
Before you go ahead please read our review page for Sunboost Solar:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/installer-review/sunboost/
See what people say in their comments and I strongly recommend clicking on “Aus Ranking” so you can see how Sunboost’s score compares to that of other installers in Australia.
Hi Ronald,
Your article certainly gives lots of useful information as well as a great laugh in this evening- 2nd day after Stage 4 restrictions eased in Melbourne.
I have been scratching my head worried if I chose the wrong products, ie. Astronergy, rather than Jinko. If Jinko is certainly better and not much dearer, then perhaps we would ask them to amend the quote. Please advise.
Very similar to John’s quote in TAS, 3P solar gave us a quote for $2650 after Fed and State’s rebate. System includes 20 x 330W Black frame 120 half cut cells mono and a 5Kw Solis inverter 1P5K-4G-MX.
Looking forward to your reply.
The good news is, while they are low cost, Astronergy is not a no brand panel without any reputation. They are tier one and so should be reliable. They aren’t on the list of panels we recommend in our Solar 101 Guide:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
But if we continue to hear good things about them they may appear on the list in the future.
What is really important is the quality of the installation. A good quality installation with Astronergy panels is likely to be fine, but a shoddy installation may have problem after problem. I’d suggest carefully checking the installer’s reviews online, paying attention to what sort of service people receive when something goes wrong. If you would like to get some quotes through us so you can see what is available from installers we know do good quality work, you can go to our homepage…
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/
…and enter your postcode in the space in the top right corner and then answer the questions that come up as best you can.
I’m afraid I’m not sure how long it will take to get solar installed in Melbourne at the moment.
Hi Ronald:
Thanks for your prompt reply. Now, when I contacted the solar co, they said Jinko is $300 more and 3 years less of product guarantee compared to Astronergy (12 vs 15). So, there are upsides and downsides of each system. But, looking at Jinko’s website, it does give a peace of mind with so many offices in Australia…. , which makes things harder to decide.
And, of course, as you suggested, good installers would certainly help with the lasting of the panels.
Anyway, thanks for your advice. Have a good day!
Hi Ronald a bit dumbfounded over here on which way to go, being all new to me,
Got a quote from InStyle solar for
Canadian Solar – HIKU Mono – 370 Split Cell – 12 Year Structural & 25 Year Linear Warranty (1765 x 1048)
AU$ 0.00
27
AU$ 0.00
SGR-SG8K – Sungrow 8.0kW Inverter (WIFI) – 10 Years Parts Warranty & 5 Year Parts & Labour Warranty
For a 9.9kw system
And then on the other end of the scale from Sunboost
PRICE
$4100.00
27 Panels
1 Inverters
1 Monitoring
Basic System Cost House Type
Roof Type
Roof Angle
Net Meter Special Discount Other
Astronergy AstroSemi 370W Black Frame 120 Half-Cut Cells Mono (CHSM60M-HC-370)
Solis 5G 8 kW 1 Phase 2 MPPT Grid Connect (Solis-1P8K-5G) Inbuilt Wi-Fi.
I know for the price I should go sunboost. But I just cannot wrap my brain around price difference. Please help
Sorry doesn’t look like it came through
InStyle solar charging. $13,250
And sunboost charging $4,100
With the 9.9 kilowatt system costing $13,250 that comes to $1.34 a watt that is expensive for a system using Canadian panels and a Sungrow inverter. While I consider them good brands, they are not high priced hardware.
Before buying a solar system I recommend checking out the installer’s online reviews. Here’s our review page for Sunboost:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/installer-review/sunboost/
Be sure to click on “Aus Rankings” so you can see how they compare to other installers.
I’d recommend looking at more quotes. If you’d like us to send you some you can go to our homepage:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/
And enter your postcode in the space at the top right. Then answer the questions that come up as best you can. We will only put you in touch with installers we know do good work.
If you’d like an introductory guide to rooftop solar you can check out our Solar 101 Guide:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
Good luck with your solar shopping and if you have any more questions let me know.
To Denis,
Just want to help with the price issue. Based on my shopping experience as a consumer too. The expensive price is the price before Federal and State governments discounts, whereas the cheaper one is after discounts. Different companies use different selling strategies.
I mean “rebates” ( not discounts)
It is certainly possible to accidentally look at the price before rebate.
Hi
I have got a quote of $3200 for
18 panels X 370W ASTRO ENERGY (Half Perc) Tier-1 Panels
25 Years Performance Warranty
01 X SOLIS 5kW 1- PHASE Wifi Smart Inverter
10 Year product warranty
Note: Inverter is Compatible With Tesla Powerwall-II
I live around newcastle.
I have 2 storey house.
This is without optimisers and for a 2 way system or something.
My house gets a bit of shate from trees but the guy recons that I dont need optimisers because of the 2 way system.
Is this a good quote for the system
The panels and inverters we recommend are in our Solar 101 Guide:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
Asteronergy are not among them but they are tier one panels which is evidence they are reliable. Solis is a lower cost inverter we can recommend.
A solar system’s hardware is only as good as its installation so I recommend checking to see if the installer does quality work through checking online reviews.
If you want further quotes for comparison and haven’t already done so, you can use our website:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/quote/start/
Hi Ronald& Team,
Thank you for helping all of us in making the right decission.
Regarding my case, I got a quote as below:
=======================================
Price quote: 5250 $
House: Double Storey
INVERTER: 8 kW Solis Inverter (Single Phase)
SYSTEM SIZE: 9.9 kW
SOLAR PANELS: 27panels of 370W Astro MONO Half-Cut Premium Black Tier 1 Panels
Installation Workmanship Warranty 10 Years
Inverter Warranty 10 Years
Panels Performance Warranty 25 Years
Panels Product Warranty 15 Years
Does it makes a good deal and or do I need to re-think before accepting the above offer. Feedback/Suggestion welcome please
Thank you
Hello Erik
Astronergy panels aren’t ones we recommend in our Solar 101 Guide:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar101.html
They are lower cost tier one panels. If a panel is tier one that is good evidence they are reliable. While I don’t think Astronergy panels are bad we’re not 100% certain they are as reliable and well supported as the ones we do recommend.
Solis is a lower cost inverter we can recommend.
That is a competitive price for a 9.9 kilowatt solar system — provided it is well installed. To find out if the installer does good work you can check installer reviews online. If someone who used the installer says they had problems, see if they were fixed without a problem or if they were left hanging.
Because we will only refer installers to you who do top quality work, if you haven’t already done so, you can get additional quotes for comparison through us:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/quote/start/
They also offered :
Fronius inverter + Trina Solar for a Price quote: 7000 $.
Fronius inverter + Jinko Solar for a Price quote: 7200 $.
Not sure I pay only for the brand extra 2k around or just go with 5250 $ for Astronergy panels + Solis inverter is a bit confusing.
Anyway appreciate your reply.
Fronius is a higher end inverter. But, assuming you are happy with the installer, it will come down to how budget conscious you are.
I have 45 370w Astronergy Panels and a 12.5 Fronius Symo inverter.
Decent system and appears to be a quality install – very tidy and great support.
Currently sitting on 100kWh a day.
Install was $12,500 in FNQ.
Hi,
Thanks so much for the information! Helped me so much when researching about solar panels.
Being a terms and condition nerd the warranty clause hit the nail on the head for me.
Thanks so much
Recently we got a quote from Archer Solar for a 10.3kw system.
We live in Shailer Park (Brisbane South);-
Single storey, new build house.
28 X 370W Astronergy MONO BLACK Half Cut Cell PANELS (Premium
Quality – Black Frames).
1 x 8kW Growatt 3 Phase Inverter (Inbuilt Wi-Fi communication for monitoring).
Warranties
25 Years Performance Warranty On Panels.
15 Years Product Warranty On Panels.
10 Years Extended Manufacturer Warranty On Inverter.
Clean Energy Council Accredited Solar Installer With 10 Years Workmanship Warranty.
Archer Solar has a 5star rating on Product Review based on 42 reviews (main office in Sydney)
Hello Paul
I’m not familiar with Archer Solar, so I can’t comment on the quality of their work.
Astronergy are lower cost panels. While lower cost, you are unlikely to have any problems with them. The 15 year product warranty on the panels isn’t bad, but is not exceptional these days.
Growatt is a very low cost inverter. While I hope it will last you a long time if you get it, you can’t expect it to last as long as a more premium inverter.
This is a low-cost system. If you are okay with the hardware being at the budget end of the market, that’s fine, just so long as you are aware you aren’t getting a high-end system. Provided it’s well installed, it should operate without problem.
If you want more quotes so you can see what’s on offer, you can get some through us here:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/quote/start/
Hi Guys
I fully appreciate the service you provide here.
I Installed a 6.6kw Astronergy AstroSemi 370W Black Frame 120 Half-Cut Cells Mono(CHSM60M-HC-370) with 5kw Growatt inverter and growatt wifi stick for $2850 plus 2 meter box switches for $350 on a single story tile roof with a 25 to 30deg pitch facing 100% north with no shading. The system is split into two and The highest combined performance I have had so far on a clear sunny day at between noon and 1pm on June 22nd is 4800w. I was hoping for more But is this OK. And Solar Junction did everything they said they would faster than their estimates. Thanks Michael
Hi Everyone,
I was wondering if this is a fair price for this system:
16 Panels
1 Inverters
1 Monitoring
Basic System Cost House Type
Roof Type
Roof Angle
Net Meter Special Discount Other
Quotation Notes :
Astronergy 5s 415W P type Black Frame – 108 Half Cut Cells Mono(CHSM54M- HC-415)
Solis S5 5 kW 1 Phase 2 MPPT Grid Connect(S5-GR1P5K (AS4777-2 2020)) Inbuilt Wi-Fi
Total price $3991 from Sunboost
Thanks!
Daryll
Hello Daryll.
Solis is a low cost but reliable inverter we can recommend. Astronergy panels are not currently on our recommended list but are not crap panels and should be reliable.
If the system is well installed then the price is competitive. But if it’s poorly installed then it’s not worth it.
Here is our review page for Sunboost:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/installer-review/sunboost/
Don’t just look at their star rating. Click on “See Australia-Wide Ranking” to see where they come among Australian installers. You can also read individual reviews to see how they respond to systems that have problems.
If you want quotes from installers we have vetted and know are reliable you can get some through us. Simply go here…
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/quote/start/
…and enter your postcode. Answer the questions that come up as best you can. If you want a low cost but reliable system, indicate you want a budget system when that question comes up.
SolarQuotes has a Good Installer Guarantee…
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/installation-guarantee/
…so you can feel confident you will get a quality system.
Hope this helps.
Thank you very much Ronald, Sunboost has just replaced the Astronergy panels with the Trina brand, which is recommended by your team here at solar quotes.
Just so long as you clicked on “See Australia-Wide Ranking” on our review page for them and read some of the reviews left by people who had problems with their installations and are okay with that. Feedback we’ve had from customers who have used them, as well as feedback about them from installers in the industry that we trust, make them a company we wouldn’t recommend to our grandmothers and so wouldn’t recommend to you.
Hi Ron,
Thank you for your advice, we have went ahead with sunboost and we’ve got our smart meter installed as well. The installation was quite neat, no tangled cables or exposed conduits, the installers actually snaked the cables inside the house’s cavity, so far the system is working alright. Just want to know, I live in Adelaide metro and my energy provider is Lumo, could you please recommend any other energy provider that would be better than Lumo? Thank you very much.
Using our retailer comparison page for Adelaide…
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/energy/results/?postcode=5000
I see Simply Energy has a plan with a 15.5 cent feed-in tariff. As that’s much higher than what Lumo was offering last time I checked, you may be much better off with them. But I do recommend checking what else is available. Which plan will actually be best will depend on your electricity consumption patterns. I hope your new system works reliabily.
Is it still working alright? I just had a quote. from the same panels and a growatt inverter, seen your post and just wondering if you have had any problems. with it as you have had it a couple of years