{"id":51465,"date":"2021-09-06T13:13:20","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T02:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=51465"},"modified":"2023-11-23T14:18:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T04:48:17","slug":"solar-buying-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-buying-process\/","title":{"rendered":"How My Friend Frank Used SolarQuotes To Buy Solar"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53729 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank-solar.jpg\" alt=\"Solar quoting case study\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank-solar.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank-solar-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank-solar-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank-solar-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>My friend Frank was considering putting solar panels on his roof, so &#8212; knowing I&#8217;m a solar guru &#8212; he asked me what he should do.\u00a0 I told him to use the SolarQuotes site and &#8212; if it was okay with him &#8212; I&#8217;d write about his experience.\u00a0 He said that was fine provided I didn&#8217;t make any horrible puns and we shook hands on it.\u00a0 This was a little painful because I had my fingers crossed at the time.<!--more--><\/p>\r\n<p>In this article, I will take you through the whole process he went through to get a reliable, low-cost, and well-installed solar system here in Adelaide.\u00a0 I will cover&#8230;<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>His initial thoughts &#8212; and misconceptions &#8212; about rooftop solar.<\/li>\r\n<li>Using the SolarQuotes website and answering the questions it asked him.<\/li>\r\n<li>Deciding on which quote to go with.<\/li>\r\n<li>The installation, and finally&#8230;<\/li>\r\n<li>The meter changeover.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>I&#8217;ll also let you know whether or not he appreciated the advice I gave him and if we&#8217;re still friends.<\/p>\r\n<h2>My Friend Frank<\/h2>\r\n<p>My friend Frank is a bright young man with a bright future ahead of him.\u00a0 On most days he also has a brightly illuminated roof.\u00a0 Because he&#8217;s so bright, he wanted to see if he could take advantage of all that illumination by putting a solar power system on his roof.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>He&#8217;s very focused on making sound investments for his future and wanted a reliable solar system.\u00a0 But he was also on a budget because he&#8217;s saving for his honeymoon.\u00a0 As he put it, the more expensive his solar power system, the shorter his honeymoon will be.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>I asked where he was planning to go and he said, if they were able to travel, he&#8217;d like to go to Hawaii or maybe somewhere else in the United States.\u00a0 I suggested Frankie go to Hollywood, and he just gave me an exasperated look and said, &#8220;Relax, don&#8217;t do it, when you want to pun.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<p><div class=\"youtube-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (original version)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7WZ33w3B8Hw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\r\n<h2>Solar Power Misconceptions<\/h2>\r\n<p>Before he used the SolarQuotes website Frank and I chatted about solar power and I discovered he had a few misconceptions.\u00a0 These were:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>His household electricity consumption was low, so he wasn&#8217;t sure solar panels would be worthwhile.<\/li>\r\n<li>Because of his low electricity consumption, he thought a battery might make sense because it would increase the amount of solar energy generation he would use.<\/li>\r\n<li>He thought there was no point in getting a solar system larger than 6.6 kilowatts.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Luckily, he had me to set him straight.\u00a0 Or rather, at that time, I thought I had set him straight&#8230;<\/p>\r\n<h2>Solar Worthwhile For Low Electricity Use Homes<\/h2>\r\n<p>Frank wasn&#8217;t certain solar panels would pay for him because there are only two people in his house, and neither use much electricity.\u00a0 This is partly because they&#8217;re careful with consumption, but also because they have a gas hot water system and stove.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>I told him to try out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/solar-calculator\/\">SolarQuotes Solar &amp; Battery Calculator<\/a>.\u00a0 This will estimate the simple payback time for solar, which is how long it takes for the savings on electricity bills to equal the cost of a solar system.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>If you enter an Adelaide postcode into the calculator and use the default figures that come up, it will give a simple payback period of 3 years and four months for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/systems\/6kw\/\">6.6 kilowatt system<\/a>.\u00a0 That&#8217;s damn good.\u00a0 Because a quality solar system lasts a long time, I can&#8217;t think of any better investment.\u00a0 At least, not anything legal<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-buying-process\/#en-51465-1' id='enref-51465-1' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(51465)'>1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\r\n<p>Frank&#8217;s electricity consumption is lower than the default, but this isn&#8217;t a problem because the calculator allows you to enter your annual electricity bill.\u00a0 You can also adjust the per kilowatt-hour cost of grid electricity and the solar feed-in tariff, as well as enter the cost of the solar power system.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>After entering figures he was happy with, the calculator told Frank the simple payback time of a 6.6 kilowatt solar system on his roof would be 2 years and 10 months.\u00a0 He was pretty chuffed about that.\u00a0 I then warned him grid electricity prices and solar feed-in tariffs could fall in the future.\u00a0 It&#8217;s definitely possible that, before long, all homes in South Australia with smart meters will have no choice but to use a time-of-use tariff and this can reduce the return from solar.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>While our Solar &amp; Battery Calculator can&#8217;t compute time-of-use tariffs at the moment, I told Frank he could simulate the effect by reducing the cost of grid electricity.\u00a0 This is because a time-of-use tariff will charge less for electricity during the day when solar systems provide power.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>After hearing this, Frank decided to crank the cost of grid electricity down to 20 cents and the feed-in tariff to 10 cents, which I consider very pessimistic.\u00a0 Despite this, the simple payback period only increased to 4 years and Frank was very happy with that pessimistic payback time.<\/p>\r\n<h2>A Solar Battery Won&#8217;t Pay<\/h2>\r\n<p>Because he doesn&#8217;t use much electricity, Frank thought a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/comparison-table\/\">home battery<\/a> might save him money.\u00a0 By storing solar energy he didn&#8217;t use during the day for use at night, he thought he might be able to increase his solar self-consumption<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-buying-process\/#en-51465-2' id='enref-51465-2' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(51465)'>2<\/a><\/sup> to a level where, along with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sa-battery-update-mb2136\/\">SA Home Battery Subsidy<\/a>, it would make a battery pay.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>I had to break it to him that&#8217;s not how it works with today&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/cost\/\">battery prices<\/a>.\u00a0 A household needs a high evening electricity consumption for a battery to even come close to paying for itself, even with the state subsidy.\u00a0 Some people buy batteries because of their ability to provide backup power, but Frank doesn&#8217;t put a high value on that and decided not to get one.\u00a0 I told him he could always get a battery installed later when prices come down.<\/p>\r\n<h2>More Solar Panels Equals More Savings<\/h2>\r\n<p>Frank had heard 6.6 kilowatts was a good size for a solar system and had decided that would be all he&#8217;d need.\u00a0 I told him that was a good size several years ago, but he&#8217;d be better off going bigger and suggested he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/how-does-solar-power-work\/how-much-power-do-i-need\/\">get as much solar<\/a> as would reasonably fit on his roof while remaining within his budget.\u00a0 I set up a whiteboard and took out some markers and outlined four reasons why it was a good idea:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>Going bigger usually &#8212; but not always &#8212; lowers the cost per kilowatt of solar.<\/li>\r\n<li>Because he has single-phase power in South Australia, his inverter will be export limited if he gets a system over 6.66 kilowatts.\u00a0 But the losses from this are likely to range from insignificant to none.<\/li>\r\n<li>He&#8217;ll be prepared for the future if he buys a battery or electric car or his consumption increases.<\/li>\r\n<li>While a larger solar system can have a longer payback time than a smaller one, it can still be a better investment.\u00a0 If you&#8217;re getting solar panels to save money, you should aim to get a system that is the best investment for you overall and not one with the shortest payback time.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>After I had finished telling Frank all this, he nodded to indicate he understood and agreed with me.\u00a0 I did notice his eyes had glazed over soon after I&#8217;d started lecturing him a couple of hours earlier, but I assumed he got the thrust of my message.\u00a0 Otherwise, why would he nod and smile?<\/p>\r\n<h2>Frank Uses SolarQuotes<\/h2>\r\n<p>After giving Frank the benefit of my years of experience and minutes of wisdom, it was time for him to use the SolarQuotes website and get some quotes.\u00a0 I was there with him as he went through the process, which mainly consists of entering your postcode and answering some questions.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>We try to keep the number of questions to a minimum since we don&#8217;t want to take up your time, but our goal is to get enough information to allow the installers to do a good job of helping you, so be prepared to spend a few minutes on it.<\/p>\r\n<p>If you don&#8217;t know the first thing about solar power, apart from the fact you&#8217;re interested in getting some, that&#8217;s not a problem.\u00a0 Just answer the questions as best you can.\u00a0 But if you want more information you can check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/solar101.html\">Solar 101 Guide<\/a> that takes you through the basics.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>There&#8217;s also a massive amount of information on our website including videos, info dumps on specific topics, and blog posts.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve even written some of it myself.\u00a0 You can also read Finn&#8217;s best-selling book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/good-solar-guide\/contents\/\">The Good Solar Guide<\/a>, for free.<\/p>\r\n<p>I&#8217;ll go over the questions Frank answered below but, because we&#8217;re always looking to improve things, it&#8217;s possible that when you use the website we&#8217;ll have tweaked them so they&#8217;ll be a little different from what they are now.<\/p>\r\n<h2>Frank Answers SolarQuotes Questions<\/h2>\r\n<p>I told Frank to go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/\">SolarQuotes home page<\/a> and enter his postcode in the box at the top right.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s what it looks like:<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_53632\" style=\"width: 948px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53632\" class=\"wp-image-53632 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq1.jpg\" alt=\"Postcode entry\" width=\"938\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq1.jpg 938w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq1-300x130.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq1-768x334.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 938px) 100vw, 938px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-53632\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Normally there isn&#8217;t a giant red arrow sticking out of the side of Finn&#8217;s face. I just put it there to make it clear where to enter your postcode.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>After he entered his postcode, this came up:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53680 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q0.jpg\" alt=\"Select type of solar installation\" width=\"1352\" height=\"1524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q0.jpg 1352w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q0-266x300.jpg 266w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q0-908x1024.jpg 908w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q0-768x866.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1352px) 100vw, 1352px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>You can see the SolarQuotes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installation-guarantee\/\">Good Installer Guarantee<\/a> there, which Finn is very proud of:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53635 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq_guarantee.png\" alt=\"Good Installer Guarantee\" width=\"1309\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq_guarantee.png 1309w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq_guarantee-300x74.png 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq_guarantee-1024x253.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq_guarantee-768x190.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1309px) 100vw, 1309px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>I don&#8217;t feel much in the way of emotions on account of how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/tokyo\/art\/asahi-art-square\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I&#8217;ve seen some things, man<\/a>, but I have to admit I&#8217;m a bit proud of it too.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>But what Frank needed to focus on to get his quotes was lower down the page:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53636 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/fran_sq3.png\" alt=\"Type of solar installation\" width=\"771\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/fran_sq3.png 771w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/fran_sq3-300x144.png 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/fran_sq3-768x368.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>This part of the screen defaults to residential installations, but if you want commercial you can click on that.<\/p>\r\n<p>Five options are presented:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Solar only<\/li>\r\n<li>Solar + batteries<\/li>\r\n<li>Off-grid system<\/li>\r\n<li>Upgrades<\/li>\r\n<li>Repairs and Maintenance<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>Frank only wanted solar only, so he clicked on that and this question came up:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53640 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq4.png\" alt=\"Installation site\" width=\"762\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq4.png 762w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq4-300x147.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 762px) 100vw, 762px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>This is an easy question and Frank clicked the circle for, &#8220;An existing home&#8221;.<\/p>\r\n<p>The next question was:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53642 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq5.png\" alt=\"Purchase timeframe\" width=\"558\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq5.png 558w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq5-300x109.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 558px) 100vw, 558px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Frank clicked on, &#8220;In the next 4 weeks&#8221;.\u00a0 I asked him why he chose that when nothing was stopping him from getting solar panels right away.\u00a0 He said he didn&#8217;t want to seem too eager to get solar installed because he might not get a good price.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>While that can be a useful tactic in many sales situations, you can trust me when I tell you no installer in our network will charge you more because you said you want a solar power system immediately.\u00a0 If they&#8217;re not busy they&#8217;ll just be glad you want it without delay and can get things moving right away.\u00a0 But note it is normal to have to wait several weeks before a system is installed.\u00a0 Bad weather can also cause delays.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53647 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq6.png\" alt=\"Type of system\" width=\"621\" height=\"129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq6.png 621w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq6-300x62.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>As he has no solar, Frank obviously wanted a complete system and clicked on that.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53649 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq7.png\" alt=\"Installation consultation\" width=\"657\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq7.png 657w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq7-300x114.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 657px) 100vw, 657px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>As you can see from the note at the bottom, Finn recommends a home visit and you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/good-solar-guide\/site-inspections\/\">read his explanation here<\/a>.\u00a0 But Frank didn&#8217;t bother to click the link.\u00a0 He chose the second option, &#8220;I am happy to Zoom call with the installers before they quote&#8221; because he thought it was a better choice for people living in a time of COVID. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53652 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq8.png\" alt=\"Number of quotes\" width=\"631\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq8.png 631w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_sq8-300x91.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 631px) 100vw, 631px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Frank decided to get quotes from three installers. Because we&#8217;ve gone through the hard job of weeding out dodgy installers and will only refer you to ones that do good work, that&#8217;s a reasonable number to consider.\u00a0 But if you only want one or two quotes, that&#8217;s still a safe thing to do, as we only refer quality solar installers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53655 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q6.png\" alt=\"System installation price range\" width=\"462\" height=\"155\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q6.png 462w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q6-300x101.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>For this one, Frank clicked on the middle option, &#8220;A good mix of quality and price&#8221;.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>I asked him why he did that when I knew he was budget focused and he told me he wanted to make sure he got a reliable solar system.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>It&#8217;s definitely true that when you&#8217;re not using SolarQuotes, choosing the cheapest system available is an excellent way to get one that isn&#8217;t reliable.\u00a0 But when you are using SolarQuotes and ask for a good budget system, then a good budget system is what you will get.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not a euphemism for low price and low quality, as it is in many situations.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53657 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q7.png\" alt=\"Roof type\" width=\"631\" height=\"264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q7.png 631w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q7-300x126.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 631px) 100vw, 631px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>This was an easy question and Frank simply clicked, &#8220;Tile&#8221;.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53660 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q8.png\" alt=\"Quarterly electricity bill costs\" width=\"533\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q8.png 533w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q8-300x127.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Frank clicked, &#8220;Less than $500&#8221;.\u00a0 Because electricity is expensive in Adelaide, that indicates his electricity consumption isn&#8217;t high.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53661 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q9.png\" alt=\"Home storeys\" width=\"461\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q9.png 461w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q9-300x98.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Frank clicked on &#8220;1&#8221;.\u00a0 This question is so installers can allow for the cost of appropriate equipment and safety gear in their quotes.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53662 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q10.png\" alt=\"Solar power system size\" width=\"518\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q10.png 518w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q10-300x151.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Under my watchful gaze, Frank clicked on, &#8220;More than 6kW&#8221;.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53664 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q11.png\" alt=\"Method of payment\" width=\"675\" height=\"164\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q11.png 675w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q11-300x73.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Frank is the kind of person who likes to pay cash and chose the first option.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53665 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q12.png\" alt=\"Solar monitoring options\" width=\"530\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q12.png 530w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q12-300x130.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Provided you can afford it, consumption monitoring is a good idea &#8212; if you&#8217;re the sort of person who will actually use it.\u00a0 You can read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/good-solar-guide\/monitoring-systems\/\">why it&#8217;s a good idea here<\/a>.\u00a0 But because Frank was looking to save money he decided to do without it and clicked, &#8220;Performance monitoring: ( included with all the systems )&#8221;.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53666 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q13.png\" alt=\"Microinverters and power optimisers\" width=\"597\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q13.png 597w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q13-300x94.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Microinverters and power optimisers can potentially help with shade issues and have some other advantages, but they add to the cost of a system.\u00a0 Because Frank&#8217;s roof has no shade issues he chose, &#8220;No&#8221;.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53667 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q14.png\" alt=\"Added comments\" width=\"462\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q14.png 462w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q14-300x126.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Frank didn&#8217;t have anything he wanted the installers to know, so he clicked, &#8220;No&#8221;.<\/p>\r\n<p>And that was it. \u00a0Frank had answered all the questions and it had only taken him a few minutes.\u00a0 All he had to do to complete the process was enter his address, which he did on this screen here:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53685 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q15.png\" alt=\"Address of installation\" width=\"774\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q15.png 774w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q15-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_q15-768x402.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<h2>Your Information Won&#8217;t Go To Anyone Else<\/h2>\r\n<p>The information you enter into the SolarQuotes website is only seen by us and installers we refer to you.\u00a0 We will never sell it to anyone else.\u00a0 We won&#8217;t give your personal information away either.\u00a0 Because that would be wrong.<\/p>\r\n<p>I&#8217;ve had people offer to sell me personal information.\u00a0 Last time it happened was for a list of people attending a conference.\u00a0 I feel like I should report these people to the police, but because I&#8217;m not clear on the legal details I just tell them to go to hell.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h2>Frank Gets 3 Quotes<\/h2>\r\n<p>Over the next few days, Frank was contacted by the three installers and then received his quotes.\u00a0 I didn&#8217;t bother helping him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/choosing\/\">choose an installer<\/a>.\u00a0 The decision was his to make.\u00a0 I also wasn&#8217;t worried because I knew he would get a well-installed system no matter who he went with.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>After a couple of weeks, Frank told me he was going with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installer-review\/adelaide-solar-systems-and-solahart-mile-end\/\">Adelaide Solar Systems<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_53602\" style=\"width: 911px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53602\" class=\"wp-image-53602 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_adelaide_solar_systems.jpg\" alt=\"Adelaide Solar Systems\" width=\"901\" height=\"326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_adelaide_solar_systems.jpg 901w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_adelaide_solar_systems-300x109.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_adelaide_solar_systems-768x278.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 901px) 100vw, 901px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-53602\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Neither of these people is Frank, but if it makes you feel better you can pretend one of them is.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p>I asked Frank for details and he said he was getting a six kilowatt system.\u00a0 My response was&#8230;<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<h1>&#8220;<strong>What?<\/strong>&#8220;<\/h1>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>I was so flabbergasted my flabber was at maximum gast.\u00a0 &#8220;Didn&#8217;t you pay attention when I when I said you should go bigger than that?&#8221; I cried in despair.<\/p>\r\n<p>&#8220;Not really,&#8221; said Frank.\u00a0 &#8220;I saw your lips were moving, but I just assumed you were droning on like you normally do, so I tuned you out and read War and Peace on my phone.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<p>He told me our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/solar-calculator\/\">Solar &amp; Battery Calculator<\/a> gave a shorter payback time with a six kilowatt system than a larger one, so he thought he&#8217;d be better off with that.\u00a0 I told him to enter whatever figures he thought were reasonable into the calculator and increase the size of the system over 6.6 kilowatts and see if the return on his investment was still better than anything else he could do with his money.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>He did that and said&#8230;<\/p>\r\n<p>&#8220;Ohhhh&#8230; I get it now.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll ask Adelaide Solar Systems to give me a quote for a larger size.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_53688\" style=\"width: 330px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53688\" class=\"size-full wp-image-53688\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_rita_repulsa.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_rita_repulsa.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_rita_repulsa-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-53688\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Make my monster grow!&#8221;<\/p><\/div>\r\n<h2>Frank&#8217;s 8.51 Kilowatt Solar System<\/h2>\r\n<p>Adelaide Solar Systems were happy to give Frank a quote on a larger system and they suggested this:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53612 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_roof.jpg\" alt=\"Solar panel layout\" width=\"884\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_roof.jpg 884w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_roof-300x119.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_roof-768x305.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 884px) 100vw, 884px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>This is an 8.51 kilowatt solar power system with 23 panels.\u00a0 It&#8217;s on four different sections of a tile roof.\u00a0 This means it&#8217;s not the easiest of installations.\u00a0 The easiest installation is usually putting panels on one large section of a metal roof.\u00a0 Note this isn&#8217;t a photograph of the installed system, it&#8217;s just a mock-up from the quote.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Solar Panels:\u00a0 <\/strong>Here are the panels that were used:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53614 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_trina.jpg\" alt=\"Trina solar panels\" width=\"923\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_trina.jpg 923w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_trina-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_trina-768x441.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/trina-review.html\">Trina Solar<\/a> produce lower cost, reliable panels.\u00a0 A long time ago<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-buying-process\/#en-51465-3' id='enref-51465-3' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(51465)'>3<\/a><\/sup> Trina had a problem with defective panels, but they replaced them.\u00a0 This responsible behaviour is part of the reason we&#8217;re able to recommend them.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>These particular panels have a 15 year product warranty and a 25 year performance warranty.\u00a0 According to my interpretation of Australian Consumer Law, Trina will have to repair, replace, or provide a refund for defective panels for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/warranty-and-law\/\">the full 25 years<\/a> of their performance warranty.\u00a0 Despite this, it&#8217;s still a good thing they have a fairly long product warranty.\u00a0 But note that I&#8217;m not actually a lawyer.\u00a0 This means that, while I could give my opinion in court, I can&#8217;t actually come up with some astounding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4dwFIyndnNs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">legal bullshit<\/a> to save the day.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Inverter:\u00a0 <\/strong>Here is the inverter:<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-53619 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_inverter.jpg\" alt=\"Goodwe inverter\" width=\"924\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_inverter.jpg 924w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_inverter-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/frank_inverter-768x441.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/inverters\/goodwe-review.html\">Goodwe inverters<\/a> are not expensive, but still reliable.\u00a0 They now have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/goodwe-inverter-warranty-mb1850\/\">10 year warranty<\/a> and are hardware we can recommend.\u00a0 This particular series of inverter has 3 MPPTs or Maximum Power Point Trackers.\u00a0 I won&#8217;t go into the technical details, but that&#8217;s one more than most inverters have and it can make installations easier.\u00a0 It has an efficiency of 97.3%, which is very good.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Warranties:<\/strong>\u00a0 With a 10 year warranty for his inverter and 15 and 25 year warranties on his panels &#8212; and because it was installed by someone we know does good work &#8212; Frank should not be out of pocket for any repairs to his solar system for a minimum of 10 years.\u00a0 But he can be pretty confident his inverter will last longer than that.\u00a0 The only cost Frank should have to pay for a long time is to have it inspected every five years.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>System Cost:\u00a0 <\/strong>This solar power system was $5,800.\u00a0 That&#8217;s a very competitive price.<\/p>\r\n<p>This does not mean that you can get an 8.51 kilowatt system from Adelaide Solar Systems for that much.\u00a0 It will depend on your roof, the difficulty of the installation, and solar hardware prices and exchange rates.\u00a0 But it does mean you can get a very competitively priced, and well-installed solar system from them.\u00a0 The same can be had from a considerable number of other quality installers in Adelaide.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h2>Lower Cost Per Kilowatt For Larger Systems<\/h2>\r\n<p>The system Frank was originally going to get was 5.92 kilowatts and would have cost him $4,300.\u00a0 That&#8217;s $726 per kilowatt.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>The system he settled on was 8.51 kilowatts and cost $5,800.\u00a0 That&#8217;s $681 per kilowatt.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>So each additional kilowatt above 5.92 kilowatts only cost him $579.\u00a0 That&#8217;s 20% less than the average cost per kilowatt of the smaller system.<\/p>\r\n<p>This is a major reason it can pay to go big with rooftop solar. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h2>Spare Tiles<\/h2>\r\n<p>Before the installation, Adelaide Solar Systems asked Frank if he had any spare tiles, but didn&#8217;t ask for a specific number.\u00a0 Frank had plenty, so it wasn&#8217;t a problem.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not uncommon for some tiles to be broken when you are walking all over the roof and grinding grooves in tiles for the mounting brackets.\u00a0 If you don&#8217;t have any spare tiles it&#8217;s best to grab some that match your roof beforehand.\u00a0 If you can&#8217;t find any that look exactly the same as the ones already there you can ask the installers to put any replacements under the solar panels where they won&#8217;t be seen.<\/p>\r\n<h2>The Installation<\/h2>\r\n<p>Frank was working at home the day he&#8217;d arranged for the installation and said the entire 8.51 kilowatt installation only took about 4 hours.\u00a0 That is very efficient.\u00a0 He said there was some noise, but he put on his headphones and it didn&#8217;t really worry him.\u00a0 After the work was done they cleaned up and showed him the system was working.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>It turned out they didn&#8217;t need spare tiles because they didn&#8217;t break a single one.<\/p>\r\n<p>And that was it.\u00a0 He had solar power.<\/p>\r\n<p>Well, it was almost it.\u00a0 He still had to get his electricity meter changed over.<\/p>\r\n<h2>Electricity Meter Change<\/h2>\r\n<p>Most homes in Australia &#8212; except in Victoria &#8212; will need their meter changed when solar is installed.\u00a0 Electricity retailers are now in charge of electricity meters and I warned Frank not to change his retailer before his meter was changed because it could easily delay the process.<\/p>\r\n<p>Frank is with Origin Energy and they took 3 weeks to change the meter.\u00a0 Now Frank is free to enjoy his cheap solar electricity and send the surplus generation into the grid where it will&#8230;<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Help lower electricity prices for everyone, and&#8230;<\/li>\r\n<li>Reduce fossil fuel generation, which is good for our health and slowing climate change.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Happy Frank<\/h2>\r\n<p>Now his solar system is up and running Frank is, to be frank, a happy man.\u00a0 He told me over the past week he has only used 10 kilowatt-hours of grid electricity.\u00a0 That&#8217;s under 1.5 kilowatt-hours a day and under a quarter of his usual grid consumption.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>After he told me what he thought of his solar power system, I said I would quote him in full:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s beautiful.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>I agree with Frank.\u00a0 He got a good system, he got a good deal, and he went through us so he&#8217;s protected by the SolarQuotes Good Installer Guarantee.\u00a0 He got a solar system that&#8217;s great for him and has the peace of mind that comes from knowing it will operate as promised.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>On top of all that, he&#8217;s still my friend, so I also win.<\/p>\r\n<p>Mind you, if I was living in Frank&#8217;s house, I would have used the south-facing roof to install an even larger system<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-buying-process\/#en-51465-4' id='enref-51465-4' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(51465)'>4<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 But I&#8217;m a solar nut.\u00a0 Frank&#8217;s system suits him well.\u00a0 It will rapidly pay for itself while still being large enough to charge a home battery or electric car in the future.\u00a0 He&#8217;s also ready if he wants to make the financially sound choice of giving up his gas connection and going all-electric.\u00a0 But whether or not he decides to give up on gas now, he&#8217;s saving money on his electricity bills and saving for an even brighter future.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My friend Frank was considering putting solar panels on his roof, so &#8212; knowing I&#8217;m a solar guru &#8212; he asked me what he should do.\u00a0 I told him to use the SolarQuotes site and &#8212; if it was okay with him &#8212; I&#8217;d write about his experience.\u00a0 He said that was fine provided I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":53729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-installation","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How My Friend Frank Used SolarQuotes To Buy Solar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My friend Frank wanted solar panels on his roof, so he asked me for advice.\u00a0 I recommended he use SolarQuotes. Here&#039;s what happened...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-buying-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How My Friend Frank Used SolarQuotes To Buy Solar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My friend Frank wanted solar panels on his roof, so he asked me for advice.\u00a0 I recommended he use SolarQuotes. 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So how do you find a reputable solar installer? By reading reviews and ratings, or better still - letting someone else do the leg work. 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