Essential Solar Reviews
4.5
Leave a review Based on 574 ratings Aus Ranking
- 5 star 187
- 4 star 344
- 3 star 40
- 2 star 2
- 1 star 1
Average Customer Review
- Value 4.27
- System Quality 4.55
- Customer Service 4.65
- Installation 4.72
Timeline
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Essential solar is a family owned renewable energy company established in 2012.
We are a high-quality retailer, designer and installer of both residential and commercial solar PV rooftop generators.
Our success lies in our devotion to quality of products and our enthusiastic staff dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction. We are committed to providing the right solution to each and everyone of our customers while focusing on Performance, Quality and Reliability.
At Essential Solar we regard every company and residential customer an important part of our business. We pride ourselves in providing exception advice, support and service from our first consultation to years after installation.
As well as the environmental benefits of solar power, we understand that an important driver to install solar is to save money. Our qualified CEC design team will ensure the best panel layout for your premises based on a number of factors, including shading, roof availability and electrical parameters to maximise efficiency of your system and providing the best financial return.
Of course, purchasing a solar PV is a long-term commitment so the reliability of the components of the entire system is critically important and for that reason Essential Solar’s CEC accredited installers will only install Tier 1 products. We are accredited direct service partners with Fronius Australia and believe our business relationships is an important aspect of our company to be able to supply our customers with the latest and most efficient products on the market and continue to provide our customers with the best support possible.
Don’t waste sunlight – make the sunshine work for you.
Essential Solar Solar Reviews
Promptly and politely installed.
Despite my wish to install a battery, I was given the reasons why it was unnecessary at this stage in my suburb.Fully explained to me during the visit for the quote. Comprehensive review. Show additional information
Great experience
Great installer, helpful and informative salesperson and a fantastic administration team in the office. Show additional informationSupplier did what they said they would do, when they said they would do it. Offered extra services to rationalise property power supply. Value for money unknown, but happy with the result
Sales quoting: Informed and helpful, but not assertive. Two n site visits prior to final quoteInstallation: Punctual, tidy, friendly and very professionally executed
Customer Service: Organised grid connection and retailer plan as soon as installed Show additional information
Happy customer
The guys that turned up for the installation were so polite, punctual and did not leave any mess. Jess was fantastic to deal with from the admin side of things. Extremely happy Show additional informationGreat experience start to finish
All stages of out interaction with Essential Solar were faultless.Ray Bout handled our queries professionally and provided the quote promptly. Most importantly, he visited our house to inspect the site. Some companies were not prepared to do that.
Dealings with the office team of Jessica and Hayley were also professional. We were dealing with some major family health issues at the proposed installation time - and Essential Solar were very responsive in our need to delay installation.
All materials explaining the installation process were clear and largely easy to understand
The actual installation took place seamlessly, especially so in the Covid 19 environment. The installation team were fast and unobtrusive.
And further follow up queries by us have been handled professionally .
We would have no hesitation in recommending Essential Solar Show additional information
Essential Solar
Couldn't recommend Essential Solar more highly. Listened to my requirements, suggested good solutions and gave a fair quote. Installation was professional and quick. The follow up when there was an equipment problem ( due to the manufacture) was exceptional. Show additional informationProfessional
Staff at Essentialsolar are knowledgeable and upfront. This company is prompt, professional and responsive. We are very happy with the installation. Show additional informationSolar was not the only light that entred our home!!
To the Management of Essential Solar,Due to the Government rebate and your price we found yours reasonable.
Ray Bout was our first point of contact....I hope he does not mind but here is a partial copy of an email I sent him,
Lou and I would like to extend our thanks to you and your company for installing our Solar panels.
You were clear, concise, honest and more importantly it was smooth process. And no hidden agendas and costs. That's all people (customers want) less bs in business.
I will endeavour to get on your website to praise the whole team but the buck started with you and thank you again for your professionalism...….
So I hope your management value his hard work dealing with endless questions and nagging customers. And REWARD him especially in these tough times. (Maybe updating his company car with a Maserati )
The young man (I think Tom) who installed the roof barriers and keeping the installers safe....professional. I am aware this is recent addition to your operational practicer that your company have introduced because when you installed Solars across the road …..you were not using them. Just suggestion maybe inform customers this is LAW and explain it's included in our installation price. Emphasize SAFETY for your workers is paramount.....no solars or valuable workers if they fall off the roof!!!!
The 3 men that arrived to install the solars ….no mucking around with them. We were calling them the good old lovely possums ( they sure sounded like them). They had excellent manners and answered our questions.
Which leads me to your next team member Jess. She always followed up on our questions, gliches and payment.
It was just really smooth, no bs and honest process. Its hard to find when it comes to big pricey jobs like this. Just recently we got a roof restoration and we had to tell the bloke to do the job bloody properly. Don't screw us around because we are 2 girls. So yes your company was a breath of fresh air.
Oh I better not forget the bloke that did the safety check on the fuser at 7am. Oh well this is the SOLAR buisness and the sun shines every day!!
Take care to your whole team at Essential Solar, we really value the environmental progress your company is contributing......it's the future for this beautiful home of ours! As the Indigenous mob say "Care for Country."
Regards Michelle and Lou Show additional information
Very Pleased
From the very beginning of our dealings with Essential Solar, until the completion of installation, we enjoyed great customer service. All questions answered honestly so that we got the best system for our needs. We did our homework first so we were able to have good conversation with our consultant who took his time to answer all our questions. Installers were very well organised and professional. Everything went smoothly and the system works as promised.Very happy to recommend. Show additional information
Sales and quoting process very professional
Installation process excellent and customer service top notch Show additional information
Installation process excellent and customer service top notch Show additional information
Everything went smoothly and the quality of the work looked good. Importantly, the whole installation has been working perfectly since day 1.
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Excellent, professional service
Excellent service! The installation was extremely professional. The pre-assessment and post-installation customer service was also of a very high standard. Knowledgeable, professional, and I would highly recommend. Show additional informationEssential Solar made this process very easy.
The Essential Solar team have been exceptional from the start of the quoting process, right through to installation and beyond. Tam was professional, listened to our requirements and gave us a competitive quote. When we compared Essential Solar with other quotes that we received (we wanted a microinverter setup) she informed that our model choice of microinverter wasn't required and we could make it work with the mid-tier level of micro, so our quote was based on her choice of microinverter (same brand, just lower model). She came back to us a few days later however, to inform us that we did need the higher model inverter due to the power delivery amount each panel is putting into our grid. Even though this model was more expensive, Tam honoured her initial quote, which resulted us in a free upgrade so to speak.During the application process they were transparent and kept us in the loop every step of the way.
On the day of installation, Karl and his team arrived on time, were friendly, and worked quickly and efficiently. Karl gave me a rundown of how the system works at the end, both on the phone with the app for our inverter setup, and the PV boxes next to our meter.
Grid connection was handled by Essential Solar and was a smooth process. Show additional information
Simple to organise and solid installation.
We we're recommended Essential Solar by our neighbour who has been happy with their Solar system for the last couple of years. Essential Solar were prompt, easy to deal with, and happily re-evaluated the panel layout based on my concerns about the 'aesthetic' view of our house from the street. The installers were great, tidied any mess and left the our house how they found it. Show additional informationShould have done this years ago
The sales process was very informative, not knowing a great deal about electricity or solar I was brought up to speed with all the things I needed to know and understand to make good decisions. Firstly about the size of the installation required to get a good outcome, aesthetics for the property and future proofing for additional add ons such as batteries.The installation team were super professional, punctual, polite and most importantly accommodating when it came to positioning of the inverter and the necessary switching. All done in a day, terrific.
The customer service team had the electrical inspector there in a couple of days and the grid connection completed within a week, pretty impressed. Show additional information
Overall experience is 10/10. Highly recommended.
Their salesperson (Vipul) was very knowledgeable of the product he is selling and very honest as well.Their installer team were very professional, they did a good job and explained to me how the system works in a very detailed way.
Customer service team was awesome, nice to deal with and very straightforward in all the communication I made.
Special thanks to Hayley, their customer service officer who never gives up in resolving the issue with my energy retailer during the transition process.
Thanks Essential Solar for giving me the best service ever.
Overall experience is 10/10. Highly recommended. Show additional information
Trustworthy and good value
I had no idea about selecting a solar company so asked for help from a friend. I soon realised that there were many businesses out there that had gone bust changed their names and then continued on. Essential Solar have been in the solar industry for many many years. When I rang around different suppliers, interstate For example they all knew of the owner and said he was very knowledgeable. Show additional informationLove their work
The guys were punctual, polite and well informed by all the questions we had. Everything from sales through to grid connection was an awesome experience for us. Show additional information
The customer service has been great especially with the new Vic rebate. We were lucky enough to get in on 1 July and this was partly because of the help from Essential Solar. We had one hiccup which was fixed quickly. We love the Enphase system - the tracking app is great! Not fully connected yet but in the hands of our distributor/supplier.
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Professional and honest company
From a great , honest and educational salesman who explained everything clearer installation team were punctional and very business , professional in their work and were happy to chat and explain the whole process in simple language which I enjoyed highly recommend this company 10 out 10. Show additional informationExcellent Service
We found the Essential Solar process from start to finish a pleasant journey. Show additional information
Hard to rate quality of system until it runs a few years, but so far it looks good. Essential solar communicated the process very well, had the clearest explanations and easy to work with to get panels in the best position.
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Solar made easy
Easy and personalised quote process. Installation was efficient & installers polite & happy to explain. Show additional informationGood customer service and follow up, quality installation. Would happily recommend
Essential Solar were the only company that provided a comprehensive quote and come to the property to property inspect and specify what was needed. Show additional informationFantastic installation
It was very good It was punctual and polite It was good Show additional informationGreat Advice, Great Service, Great System
I had a great hour session with Ray Bout from Essential Solar, during which we looked at the appropriate panels, inverter options and panel siting for my needs. Ray was fully across his game and able to answer all of my questions, whether techy or just general 'how does it all work'. Ray arrived for our appointment bang on time. By the end of the hour we had a design I was happy with and some good tips received.My installer team also arrived bang on time as arranged, Cathal and his workmate were up on the roof in no time (where Cathal even spotted I had a broken tile leaking into my roof - thanks dude). All of the work on my tiled roof and colour bond garage roof was done by lunch, with the inverter sited exactly where I asked for it, and my electrical box rewired. All of the wiring is neat and finished to a high quality. Everything was left neat and tidy.
The safety inspector David was round within 3 days to certify the system and switch on, so we could enjoy the power straight away.
Jessica and Hayley were great at rounding up all the loose ends, getting my retailer and grid connection sorted, and helping me to get the Fronius app working on my phone :-).
All done within 4 weeks from the first enquiry and the system looks cool and is performing great.
Seriously, call these guys first, don't mess about. Show additional information
Essential Solar was great to deal with
The salesperson I used was great, very patient and explained everything thoroughly. Just waiting for it now to be connected to by electrical supplier. Show additional informationGreat supplier, great sparky with installation crew. Great customer service
Sales process excellentGreat installation team
Great customer service
Can't ask for anything else Show additional information
Great company, highly recommend
Quote process - they came on time we’re prepared and professional, this was the only company who immediately booked a tome to come to my house. They went through options & came up with a good quality system to fit my budget. Install was excellent, they have their own workforce of tradies who work in dedicated teams, they were professional, quick and tidy and spent time problem solving to get the best location for panels and inverter. customer Service were proactive & helpful all the way through getting my application lodged & helping me to do my part, following up with paperwork and connection to the grid. Always very quick and responsive on email and calls. Show additional informationGreat experience with installer
Everything in the process was explained carefully. The installation people were nice and punctual. Customer services staff were helpful and nice. I would recommend Essential Solar to other customers. Show additional informationFantastic service and installation
The sales Quoting person was polite and very professionalThe installers was polite,Tidy and Punctual.
The customer service girls where very helpful and answered all questions put to them. Nothing was a problem,and yes they did organise the inspector to come to our house. Show additional information
Terrific Customer Service, willing to educate the customer
Essential Solar were not the cheapest quote I had, in fact they were the most expensive out of the 4 I received. Where they stood out though is that their service and expertise were head and shoulders above the others. For a start, despite being an hour away from my property, they were the only company willing to come out and look at my house prior to the quote. They also showed great patience in dealing with my many follow up questions. I though they were so professional that I referred them to do my parent's solar. Show additional informationFriendly and professional down to the last detail
Quoting was face to face; friendly and spent time to explain process clearly. Particularly impressed with the insulation. A potential fault with the electricity provider was picked up and the installation team worked with me on this while the electricity provider dealt with the issue. The installers were polite and professional. Customer service linked all parts of the process from beginning to end so it all went smoothly. Show additional informationFab solar panels
Good sales and quoting process.Installation was ok, punctual, polite, very loud very early (Couldn’t be helped), a few broken tiles that I wasn't told about.
Customer service has been great, paperwork straight forward, prompt connection and apps, great communications. Show additional information
I initially had a good feeling about using Essential Solar from my interactions with the salesman and also by looking at the positive reviews they had. Unfortunately the design turned out to be different to what I had expected. I ended up with all North West facing panels when I had initially requested some panels to be North East facing to capture the sun exposure in the morning. A couple of days before the install they sent me the varied design which was not what I had agreed to. The salesman said that their engineers had decided that all north west facing was the best design and it would be too much trouble to install the north east facing panels and scaffolding. So I was given very little notice of this change and just felt I had to accept it as to change the design meant I would have to wait another month and miss out on the maximum rebate. They told me that their designers have the overall say, so I am not sure why they even bothered consulting with me about the design in the first place.
Secondly, I was assured by the salesman that the panels would be very discrete as they were putting half of them on my front roof which did worry me. He said the panels would be very discrete and will blend in with my black tiled roof. The thing he didnt tell me is that they would put the big ugly white isolator switch (size of a big shoe box) in full view on the front roof, and now it’s the only thing I can see when I look at my panels as I am pulling into my driveway. Everyone who comes to the house notices the isolator switch it as it stands out like a sore thumb right in the middle of my roof. The inspector even told me they could have put it in a more discrete location. When I asked if they could move the isolator switch to the other more discrete side, they told me they would charge me $500! So now I am stuck with a white eyesore on my black roof and can’t do anything about it, I am absolutely not happy about this.
In addition, the sales person said I would be able to monitor all of the panels to see how they are performing and he recommended I go with the Fronius inverter due to its monitoring ability and now I realise that it just gives me a graph with the overall energy production but I can’t see how each string is functioning i.e. if there is a problem with shade etc. So I am not happy about this either. Overall I am very disappointed and wish I had gone with another provider. Show additional information
Secondly, I was assured by the salesman that the panels would be very discrete as they were putting half of them on my front roof which did worry me. He said the panels would be very discrete and will blend in with my black tiled roof. The thing he didnt tell me is that they would put the big ugly white isolator switch (size of a big shoe box) in full view on the front roof, and now it’s the only thing I can see when I look at my panels as I am pulling into my driveway. Everyone who comes to the house notices the isolator switch it as it stands out like a sore thumb right in the middle of my roof. The inspector even told me they could have put it in a more discrete location. When I asked if they could move the isolator switch to the other more discrete side, they told me they would charge me $500! So now I am stuck with a white eyesore on my black roof and can’t do anything about it, I am absolutely not happy about this.
In addition, the sales person said I would be able to monitor all of the panels to see how they are performing and he recommended I go with the Fronius inverter due to its monitoring ability and now I realise that it just gives me a graph with the overall energy production but I can’t see how each string is functioning i.e. if there is a problem with shade etc. So I am not happy about this either. Overall I am very disappointed and wish I had gone with another provider. Show additional information
Easy Replacement and Upsize
Thank you Essential Solar team.From the knowledgeable Salesman, to the neat and tidy work done by the installation team the job was hassle free.
The customer service organized everything and were always there to answer any question, then after the completion sent out a comprehensive data pack.
Very happy with the end result and the contact people, would recommend Essential solar to anyone needing to replace, upgrade or buy a new system. Show additional information
Professional and hassle-free installation!
The quoting process was timely, friendly and efficient. The installation went smoothly with no problems encountered. The staff helped organise the grid connection immediately after completion and this happened very quickly with no problems. The staff have also been happy to help with follow-up questions relating to the retailer's website and app plus inverter warranty. Show additional informationExcellent install of the panels BUT poor service
The quoting process was smooth although they did not ask me if I wanted consumption monitoring which would mean that I have to get it installed after which is more expensive. I only realised I wanted one when I started looking at the data and consumption is missing.The installers arrived on time. The installation took pretty much the whole day. The panels were installed neatly on the roof. It was excellent. However, the installer had issues connecting the fronius with my router so had to install a wifi extender. I only realised that he did not setup the extender properly and wasnt working. I suspect that he only needed to refresh his browser connecting to the Fronius to get the signal. In the end, I had to pay extra for the wifi extender which i never needed. Customer service werent that particularly helpful as well. I was told that if I returned the extender and there was any connection issues then i'll have to pay for them to come out and have a look. They never believed me that the installer had not properly setup the extender thus it wasnt working in the first place. I am very disappointed in this regard. Show additional information
East to work with, good installation team
Sales rep. Vipul was very informative, explaining the different systems and following up with emails. Jessica from customer service was very efficient, keeping me updated with the progress.Installation team were efficient, installation was done in good time with minimal power interruptions and no mess
Customer service arranged grid connection and all paperwork submissions Show additional information
Really great support and experience
Essential Solar have been really great for us through the whole process. Knowing that the company is based locally, in our area, did make a big difference for us, but I think they'd do a good job anywhere!The sales rep spent a lot of time making sure the details of our system were correct, and would fill our needs. This is our first home and it was important to us to get things right, but we had no idea what we were doing so good and honest information was important. It was really clear that the rep knew the products and the installation process, and really paid attention to our energy requirements and our budget - when we asked for a lower-cost solution, we got it. Everything was backed up with manuals and manufacturer's specifications - this was a really transparent and detailed process. We had help navigating the State Government rebate system, which can be confusing (especially for first-home buyers like us), and the customer service was always outstanding with quick turnarounds.
Installation was very professional and punctual (installers arriving bang on time!) - the lead time between paying the deposit and the installation date was a bit quicker than we'd been quoted which was actually great. The installation was very quick and extremely neat, and all of the various safety checks and dealing with the distributors and retailer have been very quick and painless, with a really great level of support.
I absolutely recommend Essential Solar. Show additional information
Communication through the Journey of Solar
The process from Start to Finish is no doubt a journey, but dealing with hard working installers and follow up due to monitoring issues by Sam made the journey easier. I want to make particular reference to Jessica Kidd who was always on top of my questions, thorough and prompt with responses. Dealing with Jessica through the rebate and wifi extender had me never lose faith. Jessica's customer service skills were of a very high quality. Essential Solar came highly recommended from a family member and Paul Hammond set the scene with recommendations. I would have no hesitation recommending Essential Solar to anyone else considering Solar power. Show additional informationSuperb Service
You cant go wrong with essential solar, from quoting stage to installation everything went as planned, after service was great as well they made sure everything was running, sent all relevant paper work to my energy supplier to configure my meter and even made sure my extended warranty was applied, installers were polite and cleaned up their mess, there is no complaints from me Show additional informationGreat job
The process was seamless, all the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable, installed and running in a day. Show additional informationCan't fault them at this point and would recommend Essential Solar :)
The entire process has been great to this point, the sales team are knowledgeable and helpful, the installation process was great and have had no issues so far. And so far, after the install, the customer service has also been great, I have had a couple of queries which have been answered immediately. I will say that I have only had the system up and running for a couple of weeks though, so still too early to judge system performance, savings and responses to potential issues, but again, so far, can't fault Essential Solar and would (and have) definitely recommend them. Show additional informationVery poor service. Left me in the lurch after taking deposit.
I had a sales person visit and she was very thorough and knowledgeable, though she did make the point several times that Essential "weren't like the other dodgy companies". I decided to go ahead and was promised that if I committed by a certain date, install before Xmas would be guaranteed. Deposit was paid and I went through the rebate application/approval process with the government. Then it was crickets.I rang a couple of times to get an install date but nothing was locked in and I was never contacted back. Finally I sent an email saying please advise a date as it was guaranteed before Xmas. The sales person called me to say they wouldn't be performing the works because the install was too hard. They weren't open to discussion, no options to re-look at the pricing even though I was willing to cover extra costs, just bad luck, seeya later.
So terrible service from Essential. They ARE just like the dodgy companies that want to only do the quick and easy stuff. And now i'm months behind getting my solar. Show additional information
Essential Solar made the solar process easy
The sales/quoting process was discussed in detail with us, with all questions answered promptly.Essential Solar assisted us with the application process for the solar rebates. The installers were professional, knowledge, tidy and punctual.
I contacted them several times throughout the process from application to installation. Essential Solar were very professional and great to deal with along the way. I would recommend them, and use them again. I have referred a couple of friends to them as well. Thanks for your help. Show additional information
Solid
Great service, accommodated all my questions and requests. Installers turned up as promised and were very efficient, took the time to explain and confirm all details. From a purely return on investment I probably could have found a cheaper installer (so scored 4/5 for value) but not sure I would have had the same service. Outstanding 10 year whole system warranty. Show additional informationVery Happy with Essential Solar
A most informative Vincent attended our home to discuss needs and potential solutionsBack up by helpful office staff.
The installation team were first class
System is working well Show additional information
Great installer with good after sales care
Great solar company, very happy with quote and service. Salesman isn't pushy and very informative. Sales team had good communication all through the process. Have had the system for 4 months now. A few software quibbles were sorted out very quickly and they've been very helpful when I've had questions post install. Show additional information