{"id":97376,"date":"2026-01-24T06:05:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T20:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=97376"},"modified":"2026-01-24T07:11:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:41:39","slug":"when-nobody-designs-anything-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/when-nobody-designs-anything-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"When Nobody Designs Anything Anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-97377 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/nobody-designs-anything-solar.jpg\" alt=\"opinions expressed about a solar quote\" width=\"1194\" height=\"622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/nobody-designs-anything-solar.jpg 1194w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/nobody-designs-anything-solar-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/nobody-designs-anything-solar-1024x533.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/nobody-designs-anything-solar-768x400.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\" \/>This post is about a choice most people do not realise they are making.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><!--more-->You can buy a solar battery system from a catalogue.<\/li>\n<li>Or you can have one designed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Speak To An Expert<\/h2>\n<p>A lot of people avoid conversations with installers or salespeople because they are scared of being sold to. Fair enough. The industry has earned that distrust. Too many bad actors and shiny promises. So people skip the chat and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/phase-shift-why-the-rate-my-quote-frenzy-is-toxic-for-solar\/\">go straight to forums instead<\/a>. One question, a couple of genuinely useful answers hidden in dozens wrong ones floating in a sea of side conversations, distractions and petty gripes.<\/p>\n<p>Avoiding the conversation with a professional does not protect you, it just pushes you into a mire of confusion and second-guessing.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not asking you to spend hours with a pushy salesman. I&#8217;m asking you to consider spending ten minutes talking to someone (ideally IRL!) who knows what questions to ask and why they matter.<\/p>\n<p>A competent installer or sales person will not just ask how much energy use on an average day. They&#8217;ll show you how to see how much electricity you use every hour, so they can get the ratio of solar to battery right.<\/p>\n<h2>Your Future Plans Matter<\/h2>\n<p>The best ones will ask how things might change in the future. EVs. Heat pumps. Renos. Retirement. Working from home. This stuff matters.<\/p>\n<p>They will also ask what you want from the solar and battery.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do you want to generate enough solar yourself, or are you happy to rely on a &#8216;3 free&#8217; plan to top up?<\/li>\n<li>Do you just want to power your home, hardly touching the grid?<\/li>\n<li>Or do you want sell back to the grid when prices spike too?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The answer to those 3 questions completely change what your system should look like.<\/p>\n<p>Then come the basics that can add or subtract thousands from your quote:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What does your switchboard look like?<\/li>\n<li>Where will the battery go?<\/li>\n<li>Do you want backup, and which circuits?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>None of that is upselling, it&#8217;s competence.<\/p>\n<h2>Catalogue Shopping Is Not The Answer<\/h2>\n<p>The alternative to having a conversation, is to just pick a system from an retailer&#8217;s catalogue &#8211; Budget or Premium? Small, Medium or Large? &#8211; get an official quote by email, upload it to Facebook. No usage data beyond &#8220;I average 25 kWh per day&#8221;. No mention of how you intend to use the system. No switchboard context. No tariff info. No backup goals.<\/p>\n<p>Just a spec sheet and a price, waiting for permission from strangers you&#8217;ll never meet to buy this sophisticated high current energy system subsidised by thousands of tax payer dollars. The same strangers you&#8217;ll be asking to rate your install, tell you why your backup isn&#8217;t working, and why your monitoring looks weird.<\/p>\n<p>You need a solar and battery that fits how your home uses energy now, how it might use it later, and has the features you need. Installed, tested configured and backed by a local team who will be there for you when you need them.<\/p>\n<p>That starts with choosing a great local installer and having a short, informed face-to-face conversation in the spot you hope to place the battery. Not buying from a catalogue and asking Facebook for permission afterwards.<\/p>\n<p><em>Phase Shift is a weekly opinion column by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock. Subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/weekly-newsletter.html\">SolarQuotes\u2019 free newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to get it emailed to your inbox each week along with our other home electrification coverage.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post is about a choice most people do not realise they are making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97377,"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-97376","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>When Nobody Designs Anything Anymore<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I&#039;m not asking you to spend hours with a pushy salesman, but to spend ten minutes 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I started SolarQuotes in 2009 and the SolarQuotes blog in 2013 with the belief that it\u2019s more important to be truthful and objective than popular. My last \"real job\" was working for the CSIRO in their renewable energy division. Since 2009, I\u2019ve helped over 800,000 Aussies get quotes for solar from installers I trust. 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Progress Solar is proposing a PV facility on a 44-hectare former landfill site in Springvale South - around 24 kilometres south-east of Melbourne's CBD.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Springvale South solar energy project","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/springvale-south-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/springvale-south-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/springvale-south-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/springvale-south-solar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/springvale-south-solar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53327,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/woolworths-bricks-solar-mb2129\/","url_meta":{"origin":97376,"position":1},"title":"Woolworths Bricks &#8211; Solar Panels Included","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"August 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been said we can't consume our way to sustainability, but Woolworths is giving it a red-hot go with its new \"most sustainably focused collectible\". On the weekend, Woolworths announced Woolworths Bricks, which will be available soon. For each 30 bucks you spend on shopping, you'll get a Bricks pack\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Woolworths Bricks - solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/woolworths-bricks-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/woolworths-bricks-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/woolworths-bricks-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/woolworths-bricks-solar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/woolworths-bricks-solar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":91334,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/greens-solar-renters-mb3158\/","url_meta":{"origin":97376,"position":2},"title":"The Greens&#8217; Solar For Renters Pledge: A Bridge Too Far?","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"April 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"More stick than carrot could be perceived in the Greens' proposed Renters Right To Solar pledge. It will be interesting to see how landlords react. \u201cThere are seven million renters in Australia and they deserve to be able to cut their power bills and reduce their emissions, just like homeowners\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar panels on a rental home rooftop","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/solar-renters-greens.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/solar-renters-greens.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/solar-renters-greens.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/solar-renters-greens.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/solar-renters-greens.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":90903,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sma-sungrow-growatt-security-mb3148\/","url_meta":{"origin":97376,"position":3},"title":"Solar Inverter Security: SMA, Sungrow, Growatt Flaws Exposed","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A US-based cybersecurity firm has released a report detailing dozens of vulnerabilities it discovered in products from some of the world's major solar inverter manufacturers. But there's good news. With so many solar inverters now internet-connected, the risks associated with a mass takeover of systems by hackers looms large as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Inverters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Inverters","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-inverters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar inverter security","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/solar-inverter-security.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/solar-inverter-security.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/solar-inverter-security.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/solar-inverter-security.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/solar-inverter-security.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74687,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solutions-to-solar-panel-recycling\/","url_meta":{"origin":97376,"position":4},"title":"Some Solutions To Solar Panel Recycling In Australia","author":"Kim Wainwright","date":"June 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you scratching your head over what to do with old solar panels?\u00a0 After dissecting solar panel recycling's tricky challenges yesterday, today I'm plunging headfirst into solutions. First up, I'm bringing in Megan Jones from Circular PV Alliance (CPVA) - who made an appearance in Part One of this series.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Panels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"piles of old solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/solar-panel-recycling-pt2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63551,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/panel-exclusion-zones\/","url_meta":{"origin":97376,"position":5},"title":"The Pragmatist&#8217;s Guide to Violating Solar Panel Exclusion Zones","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"July 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When it comes to installing solar arrays on buildings, one particularly edgy subject is exclusion zones. It seems nearly every solar framing system has copied their competition's homework. So when it comes to the edge, hips, ridges or gables of a roof, 200 mm is generally as close as you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Installation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Installation","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar panel exclusion zones","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/edge-zones.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/edge-zones.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/edge-zones.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/edge-zones.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/edge-zones.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97376"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97379,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97376\/revisions\/97379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}