Australia Wide Solar Reviews
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Australia Wide Solar is a Solar Power Installation business. Here are their reviews as submitted by visitors to SolarQuotes
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Australia Wide Solar Reviews (14)
Show Most Recent reviews from All time
Average Scores
4.0/5
Value for money
4.8/5
Quality of System
4.5/5
Installation
4.6/5
Customer Service
- 5 star 3
- 4 star 9
- 3 star 2
- 2 star 0
- 1 star 0
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25 April 2023
12 April 2023
Original Review on 11-06-2022:
Awesome professional team.
When I was initially thinking about getting solar I had reached out to Australia Wide Solar to get a quote. I then fell down the rabbit hole of researching solar panels, inverters, batteries, layouts, usage meters, etc. I found the Solar Quotes website an excellent resource as were the Solar Forums on forums.whirlpool.net.au.I eventually got additional quotes via the Solar Quotes site which was very helpful to compare options and prices from different installers.
I ended up going with Australia Wide solar as their sales person (Vicki) was absolutely amazing. Vicki was very patient with all my questions (I had lots!). She is extremely knowledgeable and is backed up by their team of engineers and in-house installers. Ellena was also great in coordinating the scheduling of the install.
The quote I received from Australia Wide Solar was very competitive.
I ended up getting a 13kW system. 33 x Trina 400w Vertex panels, 2 x Sungrow 5kW Inverters and Sungrow Meter. I have a mix of north east and north west facing panels (4 strings in total). One section of my roof where I wanted panels ended up being a bit to narrow, however the engineering team were able to come up with a solution and re-orient the panels so they could be installed in a safe and efficient manner.
The installation was quite straight forward and took two days. I requested that the work be done by there in-house team (rather than sub contractors) so had to wait a bit longer given their busy schedule (but I was happy to wait). They cleaned up and took away any rubbish. The finished product is very neat and professional.
The team also came back later to shorten a vent pipe that was casting a shadow on one of the strings of panels (the photo attached was taken before the vent was shortened). By getting rid of the shadow, that string of panels should now be more efficient. Other installers may not go to this trouble so it pays to select a quality installer.
Using the Sungrow App and website to track my electricity usage has been great. Even though the system has been installed during winter we are feeding in more energy then we are using. So I'm keen to see how the system goes during summer. With power prices starting to go through the roof I'm glad I've finally made the move to get solar.
I'd happily recommend Australian Wide Solar to anyone looking at getting a quality system installed by true professionals.
10 months later we asked Michael: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
12 month update: Have really enjoyed the savings from having a decent sized system. My first power bill after installation was $17, the second was a $60 credit.The monitoring system did detect 1 system fault recently. The system automatically rebooted and have had no issues since. I reached out to Australia Wide Solar to clarify if there was anything to worry about and they were extremely quick to respond and answer my questions. So far their after sales support seems excellent (although I really haven't had any real issues to test their support)
Overall I'm extremely happy with my move to get solar.
24 February 2023
Very good after sales service.
Six years after install a leak developed in a large storm such that water was running along one of the panel rails and into the bathroom vent stack conduit and this left water running into the roof space and on to the ceiling.Sun Solar came to fix the problem at no charge despite it being outside the warrant period.
Panel rating: 5/5
Inverter rating: 5/5
18 January 2021
Original Review on 25-05-2020:
Top Quality
We have had solar panels for 10 years and have been very happy with that system. However, looking to the future we felt that further investment in solar would further reduce our living costs in retirement - like buying shares, except the sun is unlikely to go bankrupt. The system we had was a top quality system and we were looking for a good installer who was happy to install a decent battery, more quality panels which was all to be integrated with our existing system. We found a company that had a very obliging sales representative on the phone who returned specific and informative replies to my emails instantly. Prompt replies to emails is very important to me. The system Engineer that inspected my existing system was obviously very experienced and competent ( I still had his card from 10 years ago although he did not get the job at that time). The installation took two days by a team of very competent people who just knew what to do. They cleaned up, helped me install the Tesla Gateway app on my iPad and showed me how to use it before they left the site. I believe there may still be some issues with our existing meter system but AWSolar are handling this.The best thing about our new installation is the Tesla Gateway and associated app. We can now monitor, in real time, our electricity generation and use which means can avoid turning the washing machine, dishwasher and other hungry appliances on when the sun is not shining so we don’t have to draw power from the grid.
8 months later we asked Doug: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
The addition of panels facing east and west has been fantastic. Use of electricity at breakfast and dinner is now covered by the panels.I am over the moon with the total system of 12 old SunPower north facing panels and the new 12 SunPower east west panels. I run a pool pump and pool solar heating pump as well as normal home use for two people and the system covers the lot. I think solar panels and battery can be compared to the purchase of a motor car or painting a house - it is not just about financial return.
12 December 2020
Would reccomend
Ignacio from AW Solar was informative and very receptive to questions. The quote was clear and detailed. Sparkie Tim was also a pleasure to deal with. On a kW basis, our system wasn't as cheap as those widely advertised, but you get what you pay for; a quality system and quality installation.09 January 2019
Your site was very helpful in assisting me make my choice of a quality system & to wade through a lot of the BS that abounds around the solar power industry.
Thanks, Andrew
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Thanks, Andrew
17 May 2018
Very appreciative of all the information on your website and the email updates. Also thank you for providing names of 3 possible suppliers
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11 May 2018
actual installation was quicker than expected. installers arrived on time very efficiant and left everything tidy and cleaned up. in all a wonderful experience
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13 November 2017
Original Review on 16-03-2017:
8 months later we asked Michael: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
Australia Wide Solar also installed a Tesla Powerwall 2. In my opinion the battery is vital so that I'm self-consuming as much as possible. because the feed-in tariff would not be sufficient to cover the daily connection charge all year around. Since the battery was installed I have not imported any electricity other than for my solar water heater which still has an off-peak booster. The backup feature of the Powerwall 2 cane in handy a couple of months ago when our street was without power for a few hours. The TV and fridge kept going and I didn't have to reset all the digital clocks!25 May 2017
Original Review on 23-09-2016:
The installer will be here on Wednesday next week. However, the supplier will be attending in person - only one other company bothered to do that - Blue Mountains Solar, however they were using a bank of 2kWh batteries which I found too expensive.One problem I had with many companies was that they were prepared to install whatever I mentioned - despite my repeatedly asking fro their expertise/input. They failed to design a system suited to our requirements - they just wanted to sell product. A very short-sighted and insincere approach.
Australia wide solar have been very easy to communicate with. I'm very impressed with their conception, planning, explaining to a non-technical person like me their design and mentioning ahead of time any otherwise unforseen extra charges/system glitches.
8 months later we asked Paul: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
On 31st December 2016, our 60c per kWh rebate finished, dropping to 7.2c. During the preceding months I had been researching power companies, solar system software and battery technology. Decisions about appropriate battery technology are somewhat fraught. The energy required to mine the essential minerals, build and ship a battery to our door, then dispose of the components after the battery’s useful life, won’t be outweighed by the battery’s role in storing our solar yield. Until energy can be stored effectively another way, batteries are a necessary evil (though there is an Australian company currently developing a fully recyclable battery).On the other hand research and development of solar technology and innovations in energy storage systems will only occur when demand by consumers forces change. So we decided to acquire a battery and a further 3kW of Jinko solar panels (bringing our system to 5kW with a 10kwH battery).
Of four companies I researched, only two bothered to offer a site inspection prior to a quote (Solaray and Australia Wide Solar). Solaray offered the adaptable Enphase battery system, allowing multiple batteries to be connected in-series. The benefit being that more batteries can be added as finances permit. Solaray provided a detailed quote after a site inspection and discussed the location of the inverter and batteries (an important consideration).
Both companies quoted to upgrade the existing system - as it no longer met Australian standard, connect to our internet, provided 10 years warranty and offered the latest solar panel technology with micro-inverters. Panels lacking micro-inverters shut down entirely when a section of the overall panel is shaded, rather than shutting down only those sections of the panel directly shaded. Importantly, both companies also used their own staff for installations.
We decided to go with Australia Wide Solar for two reasons:
• We wanted to sign-up with a company associated with Reposit (an Australian solar software developer whose product allows detailed monitoring of the system’s effectiveness and daily function).
• We knew we wanted 6 -10kWh of battery from the outset (we decided on the 10kWh to give a 10 -15 year service, since as the battery ages, it’s storage capacity will diminish).
The Australia Wide Solar installation team went the extra mile in their thoughtful approach. They suggested spreading the panels to extend the ability of our system to harvest early morning to late afternoon sun. Their electricians were careful to hide the new wiring, ensure weatherproof connections and site the new inverter and battery to maximize performance. Software was neatly located in the redundant inverter housing. The team were polite, informative and cleaned-up after each work day, while the management staff were efficient, courteous and excellent in their communications. Follow-up has been impressive.
It’s now winter and the system has been installed for three months. On an average day our battery fully charges, allowing us to use 95% solar energy with minimal energy import, while excess energy is sold back into the grid at 7.2c/kW. Our power bill for May is estimated to be $40.00 (we have natural gas for heating, hot water and cooking). Using an efficient electric heating system with a timer, we can improve our energy efficiency further by warming the house during the day when the battery reaches its capacity.
17 May 2017
17 October 2016
This has taken a lot longer than I thought it would. I was probably naive. The panels took a while to source and then the installation has taken place over a number of days over about 2 weeks. Please note that my install is probably more complicated than most. The panel connection will be completed today. I live in a house built in the early 1900's with a rear extension and access under the house in some areas is quite difficult. I know I have been there. I still need to wait until mid-end November for the battery which is on a container ship somewhere. I added in a Reposit Power management system which hopefully will allow me to sell back excess power at a higher rate during times of high demand. This also required me to "switch" electricity suppliers to one that supported Reposit Power. Not really a problem as I was looking at that anyway but the "5 minutes to switch" slogan is a bit misleading. Mine took over a month and I was leaning on the new retailer because I was on a trial of Reposit Power for selling back power. The switch took so long I think mainly because I had an old spinning disc meter and needed a new Smartmeter before the other stuff could kick in and the old one was only read every 3 months. Even after the Smartmeter is installed it can take 3 weeks for everything to settle down and full switch and meter reading is completed.
Note "nicest sales person" means to me the one that walked me through the major pro's, con's, and possible problems - though more came up ;-)
I am hoping for a return on investment of about 8% P.A. and hopefully that will rise as power prices increase though the line rental is a constant I cannot get rid of at this stage.
It has been a learning experience but I still think it is worthwhile until someone comes up with affordable cold fusion.
An unsolicited plug for SolarQuotes - Although I didn't go with one of their recommended suppliers their website gave me a lot of information and the suppliers they gave me allowed me to make a reasoned decision on how to move forward and the parameters on which to choose.
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Note "nicest sales person" means to me the one that walked me through the major pro's, con's, and possible problems - though more came up ;-)
I am hoping for a return on investment of about 8% P.A. and hopefully that will rise as power prices increase though the line rental is a constant I cannot get rid of at this stage.
It has been a learning experience but I still think it is worthwhile until someone comes up with affordable cold fusion.
An unsolicited plug for SolarQuotes - Although I didn't go with one of their recommended suppliers their website gave me a lot of information and the suppliers they gave me allowed me to make a reasoned decision on how to move forward and the parameters on which to choose.
06 July 2016
Original Review on 03-11-2015:
8 months later we asked This person: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
YES06 August 2015
Great advice, great tradesmen and patient with our queries.
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Great installer and great result
We were recommended Australia Wide Solar by an electrician friend and they lived up to his recommendation. The 6.5kW system and (first in NSW last year, May 22) Solar Edge battery was installed after something of a wait but when it happened it was quick and painless. I had done my homework and the installation was a difficult one due to separated roofs and shadowing but Darren and his team were willing to listen to my suggestions and make their own - it was a very amicable and efficient install. It was AWS's first Solar Edge battery also and there were seven people watching on for the commissioning of the battery. The system has worked flawlessly from day 1, apart from the battery being limited to charging to ~30% for a few days. This was fixed by a call to Jack at AWS and a reboot of the battery and has not recurred. I had changed over to a Smartmeter beforehand to the surprise of the installers - they said that they would have organised that as part of the installation.Panel rating: 5/5
Inverter rating: 5/5
Battery rating: 5/5