A couple of years ago, Ronald (SolarQuotes’ Fact Checker) asked me for advice on buying a commuter push bike. I told him:
“Whatever you do, don’t buy a bike from K-Mart!”.
The next week, I walked into the office and saw a K-Mart bike leaning against the wall. It died on its maiden trip from Ronald’s house. The bottom bracket was toast, the gears were mangled, and the thing wouldn’t pedal.
When I pulled it apart at home, I was surprised. The hardtail frame itself wasn’t bad – good welds, decent geometry. But the components? Mostly junk. I replaced the worst of it with spares from my garage, bought a proper bottom bracket, headset and brakes. The components were worth about $600 on top of the $150 bike. The result: a solid commuter that rides well and should last for years.
The lesson stuck with me: with the right parts, fitted properly, even a K-Mart bike frame can turn into reliable transport. Manufacturing technology is so mature, even dirt-cheap bike frames can be reasonable quality these days.
The Same Applies For Solar
Solar’s at that stage. Most panels and inverters on the CEC list are fine. The frame is solid. But the difference between a solar power system that saves you money for decades and one that drives you mad comes down to design, installation, configuration and support.
There are some dirt-cheap Chinese brands that are actually OK. I’ve seen them run reliably when installed, configured and supported by the right people. Some good installers I know use them without drama. But you won’t see those brands on our Trusted Brands chart – for two reasons:
- They’re the calling card of bottom-feeder solar retailers. The cheap-and-nasty end of the industry loves these brands, so if you’re not careful you’ll end up with OK hardware butchered by a bad design and install.
- Their Australian support is patchy at best. If your installer has your back, that’s fine. But if you are with a bottom-end retailer that doesn’t do customer support, you’re left trying to get the manufacturer to help you, and without industry connections, you’re in for a world of pain.
The ‘Rate My Quote’ Circus
Which brings me to the circus on the giant My Efficient Electric Home Facebook group. This community has provided a lot of value over the years, but these days is dominated by ‘Rate My Quote’ posts. Post a screenshot and wait for the mob to decide if that’s too much (or too little) money for the brand being offered.
This kind of quote shaming is poison. It reduces a complex system – design, installation, commissioning, long-term support – down to two things: the logo on the hardware and the price at the bottom. It makes good installers look like rip-off merchants, while encouraging a race to the bottom that leaves consumers stranded when things go wrong.
One example of the recent barrage of social media posts asking for a public verdict on a solar/battery quote.
A Quote Doesn’t Just Cover The Hardware + Install
The truth is you’re not buying panels, an inverter and a battery. You’re buying decades of lower bills – and maybe blackout protection. That only happens when someone designs, installs, configures and supports the system properly.
Want proof? Look at SolarQuotes’ top-rated installers. They’re often fitting solid mid-range gear and backing it with service that lasts. Their five-star reviews aren’t just from shiny new installs either – plenty are from customers who had their systems installed half a decade ago and are still impressed, because their installer is still taking their calls, or even better, proactively calling them years later to check they’re still happy with the system.
A beautifully installed, well-supported, mid-range system on my shed.
The good news? Plenty of Australians are smart enough to value that. The bad news? Too many are still getting sucked into a brand vs. dollars quote frenzy, and the whole industry pays for it.
And if K-Mart ever starts selling solar systems next to the cheap mountain bikes, you’ll know we’ve hit rock bottom.
Phase Shift is a weekly opinion column by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock. Subscribe to SolarQuotes’ free newsletter to get it emailed to your inbox each week along with our other home electrification coverage.Â
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Which is why you need far more detailed quotes.
Otherwise there is no reason for the 4 grand higher price apart from the bigger inverter, (which i highly doubt will cost 4 grand more than the 5kw unit). So – unless they are trying to rip you off, the difference will be in the layout, locations and install itself.
If those details are not included you cant ask the relevant questions.
When i had my solar installed i did not go with the lowest quote, I went with the company that made me feel most comfortable when explaining what they were going to do, and of course, their terms and conditions – one company that quoted me basically wanted 100% of the price up front before they put a foot on my roof – that quote went straight in the bin without even looking at it any further. The company I did chose was about $1500 dearer than the lowest quote, but i consider it money well spent.
I actually went with the highest quote because I had the most confidence in their offer, odd as that sounds.
Two of the SQ quotes were by folk who never turned up, simply rang and offered bog standard packages. A third guy did turn up, and we talked through his recommendation. It sounded good, but I wanted a 4th quote from a particular company that SQ hadn’t recommended for reasons I don’t know – premium installer versus budget or mainstream installer maybe?
The guy for the 4th quote rocked up, clambered up on the roof, and went walkabout looking at the design. His recommendation was a slightly smaller system than the 3rd guy because the roof shape limited layout options – not a box house with 4 nice flat sides.
I’ve contacted the company on a number of occasions since for assorted reasons – and I’ve no complaints about the service. I have confidence in the company, so I’m happy to recommend them, but they aren’t the cheapest around!
yep, 40 years in government procurement where i was pretty much always forced to take the lowest quote, taught me that rarely is the lowest quote the best value for money.
John, I’d love you to name the company you’re recommending. Also what ‘area’ you are in?
The My Efficient Electric Home FB group I think is the one that kicked me off for refusing to agree that a split system air conditioner runs more efficiently if you let your house get to a freezing temperature overnight, because that way the temperature differential between input and output to the system is minimised in the COP equations. Forgetting that if inside is warm the desired set point temperature is only minimally higher than the current temperature inside, requiring much less heat to be drawn from outside air by the heat pump.
Anyway, haven’t missed the place. Love that SQ has people with actual brains and experience behind it.
Not just solar panels… the “rate my heat pump” and “rate my house plan” posts are also annoying.
You’re dead right that there’s more to it than the specs and the price. It’s the rest of the detail that isn’t seen on the quote, or the bits that aren’t seen with the finished installation.
You are claiming that the customers are more likely to go for the cheapest quote. Sorry, I think the installer is the one running a business, trying to maximize their profit. Give the customer all the information and they usually go for the installer that they are most comfortable with. Tell the customer very little and it looks like you are hiding something. “A Quote Doesn’t Just Cover The Hardware + Install” That is right so why don’t more installers itemize what things cost. Look at the 2 quotes. Where are the guarantees on property damage during installation? This article is on the side of an installer, not a customer.
I’m in two minds on this one.
First, I realise that people are basically lazy and they don’t want to sit down and do the necessary homework. So, getting a few quotes and posting them online for other people to dissect is clearly the easy way out.
But, I’m also aware that the whole solar/battery industry is a nightmare of complicated options that seem to be changing every week. So I can’t blame people for wanting some guidance and reassurance in trying to find their way through the minefield.
I’m considering a battery and I’d really like some knowledgeable person to advise me… but there is no way I will trust a random stranger on the internet!
That Facebook group has been a great source of information and the uptick in rate my quotes I think reflects the willingness of members to share their thoughts and remove the secrecy of quotes.
Honestly, I think people are looking for ballpark guidance that the quote isn’t an outlier at either end. In some instances, you’re spending a similar amount to a small car (before rebates etc) but it is hard to have a benchmark with solar because of all the variables.
In fairness, I’ve used SQ for my quotes for solar and that was a decent experience. However for the battery quote, one company couldn’t quote when given the specs, one company turned up but never provided a quote even after I chased them twice, and the last company had such a crazy mark up it was almost offensive.
I ended up getting quotes off two other local companies that were more competitive for the same components and equipment, so I think the social forums are a good outlet for comparison also.
Worse is when you have to deal with the Sales people which you don’t trust and they are not willing to come out to have a look at your roof.
The quotes were done using Google map by the Sales people .
When the installer came out, he changed the solar layout to maximise the sun coverage. He willingly answered all my questions and did a great job. Thank goodness.
I went with the middle priced quote and because they were more local, compared to the others.
Very happy with the installation but not the after service which was very slow even though they were the nearest mob.
Hi Jas,
Be sure to leave a review on the installer’s page.
Cheers