Solar Central Pty Ltd - Company Review Notice Solar Central Pty Ltd - Company Review Notice
Solar Central Pty Ltd

Solar Central Pty Ltd Reviews

4.6

Based on 102 ratings

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About

Solar Central is your #1 choice for Solar Power.  We are a registered Solar Retailer specialising in the supply and installation of solar for Homes and businesses.  We are located in Bendigo and been in business since 2010.  We service Bendigo and all surrounding areas including Melbourne.  Our approach focusses on installing systems to the highest quality and best value for money while making the switch simple for our customers.  We offer Grid connect systems, battery back up systems, Offgrid systems, commercial and industrial solar, Heat pump hot water systems, split system air conditioning, switchboard upgrades and any other electrical work you need done.

 
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The views expressed by reviewers are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of SolarQuotes Home Electrification Pty Ltd, which makes no representations as to the accuracy of the reviews. For our full disclaimer and further information, see our Terms of Use and our Review Guidelines.

Solar Central Pty Ltd Reviews (102)

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Average Scores

4.5/5

Value for money

4.6/5

Quality of System

4.7/5

Installation

4.7/5

Customer Service

  • 5 star 46
  • 4 star 51
  • 3 star 4
  • 2 star 1
  • 1 star 0

Seemed great at first, but damage to our roof is costing us a fortune

The sales and quoting process was good. The installation seemed fine in the beginning. We were very happy initially, but we didn't know what to look for.

The brackets which attach the solar panels were not installed properly. Roof tiles were left broken leaving holes and tiles were not seated properly near the brackets. They should have shaved the underside of the tiles so that they sat flush. This fault would have been glaringly evident to a professional at the time. Once I knew what to look for I was ashamed at having been conned so badly. The owner inspected it and just walked away without saying anything. Now we have to replace the roof. Solar Central are not answering calls or emails. To make matters worse, I looked at their ABN history and discovered that they have been operating with multiple trading names changing at 1-2 year intervals. They have created a second ABN for this business name and created a Discretionary Trading Trust associated with the ABN for the business I engaged for the installation.

I don't know whether this company has done the same thing to other customers, but engaging Solar Central to install our system has been devastating in our case. We are not wealthy and this could break us. BUYER BEWARE. VERY AWARE. A 10-year warranty for workmanship means nothing if the business doesn't respond or exist anymore.

I am bothering to provide this review because I have heard this is a common trap for unsuspecting purchasers. People don't know how to inspect their system installation. You trust that safety inspections would provide protection. I have since heard of cases of other companies corner cutting on panel installation causing serious roof damage.
Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 4/5
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Chased them

I was impressed with the knowledge and advice from the sales consultant. We were booked in for Nov but had to wait till March for installation. We then were mucked around with dates, no shows and numerous calls trying to follow up. It's now Sept and although our set up is completed we are still being ghosted on a follow up on how to use our home kit & smart meter. Very disappointed, as I like to support a local business but the lack of communication I won't be recommending them.
Inverter rating: 1/5
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Excellence in service

The crew at Solar Central were phenomenal in every facet. From quotation through to completion of the install. They went out of their way, to make sure, that satisfaction was guaranteed. I would highly recommend Solar Central to anyone seeking Solar systems for either home or business.
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Great service and installation

Very happy with Solar Central from the first enquiry to the excellent communication and good quality installation.
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Helpful and informative

From quote and installation of our system every team member was obliging and happy to answer our questions. We were informed at every stage of the process and installation was arranged around our requirements, the installers were helpful very professional and tidy. Many thanks to the team at Solar Central.
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Highly Recommend

Solar Central were in contact within 2hours of the request for quote through Solar Quotes and quote submitted following day.
Quick and efficient from quoting to installation.
After installation area was left neat & clean. No rubbish.
They organised everything, including the grid connection.
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Highly recommended

I approached Solar Central as they had been recommended to me by a friend. My sales enquiry was followed up promptly and professionally by Chantal who answered all questions and helped me gain a good understanding of solar energy. This was followed up with a site visit from Matt who gave me a high degree of confidence that the proposed equipment and installation plan would be appropriate for our needs.

Once I made the decision to go with Solar Central the paperwork and rebate application was smooth and install took place within the agreed timeframe. Despite several days of poor weather Matt and his team completed the job with no hiccups. All of the team members on site and in the office were friendly and courteous and took the time to keep me updated on their progress.

The electrical inspection took place within a week and the system is working well.
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Excellent Installation

From the outset we were impressed with the knowledge of the sales contact, well done Chantel, With 3 quotes supplied of different costs, comparisons were easier to make, and deciding which system to choose, was made a lot easier.
The installers arrived on time and despite poor weather, worked late on the last day to complete the instal. After completion, the worksite was cleaned and a full explanation of how to operate the system was given and a contact number if there were any further questions.
Solar Quotes arranged the electrical inspection and advised the electicity provider of the instal.
Overall we are very impressed by the Solar Quotes team
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Reccomended

I am very careful who I would recommend as I am a tradie too, but I have no issue with saying I found them to be 100% professional, from their admin to all the tradies and the follow up. Outstanding company.

They responded immediately to give me a quote, they kept me updated on start time, they turned up and worked hard.

Use them.
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Fantastic in every way

Wonderful people to deal with, from the office to the installers, they were all wonderful, helpful, truthful and competent.
They were right on time with the install. I would recommend Solar Central to anybody.
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Great customer service

There was a delay mainly due to COVID-19 in getting the solar panels but the company was very helpful in attaining what I needed to complete my job. I had great customer service from Chantal helping with the solar rebate to Andre keeping in touch with the progress of my job. The installers were very polite and completed the job within the day and I now have my solar up and running.

Thanks you to Solar Central
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Original Review on 23-04-2019:

Solar Central provided a very competitive quote and was able to install 4 days after I signed up with them. I am very happy with my system, it's performing as expected, the Solar Central team has been very professional, I highly recommend them. Original ratings

Panel rating: 5/5
Inverter rating: 5/5

Value for money: 5/5
Quality of System: 5/5
Installation: 5/5
Customer Service: 5/5

8 months later we asked Colin: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

Installed in March 2019, we're now really reaping the benefits this summer, power bills have gone to zero, expecting credit on the next. System is meeting expectations.
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Fantastic

Solar central were great to deal with, Chantal took care of everything for us and all the installers were great
Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 4/5
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Solar central bendigo review

great company to deal with, no sales talk just good advice. system works perfectly. They also did the energy efficient hot water conversion. amazing!
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Excellent Company to deal with

I can't believe how helpful, effecient and obliging Matt, Chantal and the installers were in the whole process of applying for the rebates & installing Solar to our property. I'm very happy with the System that we chose from the 4 options given, and would not hesitate in recommending Solar Central. I researched Solar Central in reviews before asking for their quote so it wasn't necessary for me to get quotes from other installers.
Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 4/5
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Original Review on 29-10-2018:

Solar Central was very helpful and quick to respond to emails. We received installation within three weeks of signing the contracts and paying the deposit. The cost of the system represented excellent value and it was great to see that worker safety was taken very seriously on the day the system was installed. All in all, the entire process was low fuss and friends and family have been handed a Solar Central business card so that they too can have solar installed. Original ratings

Panel rating: 5/5
Inverter rating: 5/5

Value for money: 5/5
Quality of System: 5/5
Installation: 4/5
Customer Service: 4/5

8 months later we asked Ryan: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

Yes, it has been producing great return on investment for us.
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Great Price, great advice .. nice clean installation, great service!

Big thumbs up to Matt, Chantal and the installers as they all did a fantastic job. Chantal in the office is very responsive and answered my queries virtually instantly. Matt came onsite to check with me about the position of the panels to get the best result as well as the best position for the Inverter. The install guys were very friendly and left a perfectly clean site. Very happy with our system - it was much more cost effective than any other system and I'm stoked about the result.
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Excellent local company.

Very happy that we went with Solar Central a local Bendigo company. Matt and the boys did an excellent job on our awkward roof in a couple of days....the site was left clean after each visit. Matt was very responsive to calls and enquiries...Chantal in the office was also very helpful
I would not hesitate in recommending them to anyone at all.
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What can we say, my Husband is a Vietnam Veteran & I am a Pensioner, we cannot speak highly enough of this Company, from Chantal in the Office through to Matt & the lads who installed for us. As Bendigo locals, it is a pleasure to be able to give our Business to a local Company, & then rate that Company A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You would never use anyone else after dealing with Solar Central. To our surprise, the rebate scheme has now closed until July and we are so pleased that we chose to use Solar Central. Another unnamed (local) Company gave us incorrect information, and we would have missed out on our rebate!!!! Hope too many people didn't do this and are now out of pocket.

Thanks Chantal, Matt and all at Solar Central, we will continue to recommend you & sing your praises to all and sundry.

Joy & Richmond
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Mat and Chantel very professional with my dealings would highly recommend to anyone interested in installing solar
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Fast turn around. Good communication. Inspected in person and got on the roof.
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The staff at Solar are fantastic to deal with. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they are always pleasant. I cant recommend them enough.
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Original Review on 18-07-2018:

With regard to the quality of the components, I am not in a position to judge. I hope that the hardware is good, Solar Central matched the materials quoted by another installer and beat the price quoted by that installer. At no time did they say that the selected components installed were not a good choice, so we will live in hope that we have made a good choice. I have stated above that solar central were great to deal with and everything went as promised. We will see in due course if the system fulfills our expectations. Original ratings

Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 4/5

Value for money: 4/5
Quality of System: 4/5
Installation: 4/5
Customer Service: 4/5

8 months later we asked Peter: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

Yes, but with some reservations !
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We are extremely impressed with Matt and the team at Solar Central and are writing this review in appreciation of the exceptional job they did for us recently. We wanted a 13kw system on three phase power, 10kw inverter, spanning three different rooflines, and with tilts on some to maximise production, all while taking account of early morning and late afternoon shading. So, not a run of the mill installation. We value good advice, and local service, and of the three company's we spoke with, Matt was by far the most helpful in designing a system that met what we were trying to achieve. We also appreciated the opportunity to discuss some of the more complex elements of our design directly with Matt as the owner of the business, and also on the tools. When dealing with Matt, and Chantal in the office, there was no hard sales pitch, and no putting down other companies (which we did experience with another unscrupulous local company). They were able to offer a range of panels, and did not push the most expensive. We were especially keen to use the Longi 300w panels which we consider to be at a great price point for the performance.

Pricing was disclosed upfront, and was very sharp compared to the competition. For a very similar system (Fronius 3 phase inverter, mid tier panels, tilts etc), the nearest competitor was just under 50% more expensive, which is a considerable amount of money on a 13KW system. Approximate timeframe given to start our job was two weeks, and it was even completed within that time. Communication with Chantal in the office, and Matt on the job was excellent, and we were kept up to date at each stage.

Matt and the boys were on site when agreed, and didn’t have any problem when we asked to make a last minute adjustment to the panel configuration. The installation is to a high standard, and once done everything was left tidy. Matt stepped through the inverter setup and connectivity, and discussed next steps. A couple of days later we got a text from Matt with a thumbs up because the system made 82kw in the day.

We will be recommending Matt and the team at Solar Central to everyone we know. They went above and beyond with our installation, and made the experience a very pleasant one. If you value using local tradespeople, excellent service, flexibility, on-the-job expertise, and reasonable pricing for solid products, we would highly recommend speaking with Solar Central. We are very pleased we did.
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Very happy with Matt and all the team at Solar Central. Everything was explained clearly and discussed logically about best place for panels etc. The use of the app to track solar input also explained clearly and Matt helped to set that up as well. The site was left clear of any rubbish and packaging when they left, and they all seemed to work well as a team and were all friendly and approachable. Installation was all signed off without any drama and whilst we are not experts we are pleased with how it all looks. As for "back office" support Chantal was very efficient is replying to any e-mails and was also helpful with questions we had. We have only received a couple of power bills so far but can already see the benefits of solar. I have no hesitation in recommending Solar Central.
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Solar Central, and in particular Chantelle and Matt are fantastic, BUT... we are still in holding mode following installation as the power supply is at 254 volts and this has sent the inverter [Fronius] off the planet..It is still not working properly after 2 weeks..Powercor take there time and have virtually told us that 254 volts is ok?? What a nonsense .. We are not confident ..
Is this over voltage an issue elsewhere?? We never contemplated such a problem..

Our inverter oscillates along with our power supplier.. We watch, wait and wonder..
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The team at Solar Central were a breath of fresh air to deal with. Everybody from the office staff to the workers fitting the panels were friendly and professional. It was a pleasure to do business with them.
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Starting with an apology for being late - there was a traffic jam in Bendigo that morning I was impressed with the way the team went about the installation - every one to their allotted task soon got the job underway. When completed I had a explanation of the system and my questions answered and the site was cleaned up before the team left.
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Matt and his team were responsive to our enquiries and discussed all the options to make sure we got the best solution for our needs.
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Very satisfied and have recommended to other people.
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Matt and the team did a excellent job all round, it is so hard to find a company now a days that does exactly as promised, we had a specific time limit to install and on the day it poured down rain and was rescheduled for two days later (still within the time we needed) they cleaned up after themselves were polite and courteous, they took our individual needs into account and installed the system we needed and the system does exactly as they said it would (we are yet to pay a electricity bill since installation and have received a credit every month for the last 6)

The price was marginally higher than another similar system we were quoted but from the get go you could tell this is a business that doesn't mess about and doesn't use fancy sales techniques (this was the primary reason we chose Matt) , so even if it was just a few hundred difference I was happy to pay the difference for the superior customer service and install I honestly couldn't rate them higher .
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The price for my off-the-grid system was the cheapest. Matt listened carefully to what I wanted and came up with an excellent system. Anthony the installer impressed me with his knowledge and enthusiasm for what he was doing. Highly recommended.
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Called to organise an installation date and it was all finalised, on the roof and operating within ten days and the guys all cleaned up after themselves and did a 1st class job.
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I've had the system installed for nearly a year now and it is faultless. The system Matt advised me to go for is, I believe, perfect for my property. Highest quality components and system design, and very professional installation team. Also, cost was thousands cheaper than the other quotes I got for a comparable system. Very happy, thanks Matt.
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Matt did a really good job at a competitive price. We already had 20 panels on a shed and I ordered a new system with 2 extra panels (to improve system performance) to be installed on our house and for connection to the second phase of our electric supply. The new panels are of a higher capacity than those originally installed. We should have got 20 panels but I thought there would be 22 panels. So as not to disappoint me Mat threw in 2 extra panels without charge which was over and above anything I expected.
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Original Review on 14-05-2018:

Did a good job took longer than expected due to issues with panel supplies but slight up grade in panel but slightly lower total output was end result. Didn’t do pre site inspection but I was okay with as I supplied photos. Overall I would recommend (already) have to other buyers. Cheers Mike Original ratings

Panel rating: 5/5
Inverter rating: 4/5

Value for money: 5/5
Quality of System: 5/5
Installation: 4/5
Customer Service: 4/5

8 months later we asked Mike: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

System has performed very well.
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They changed dates for installation three times with no prior notice
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These poor workers turned up and it was raining and miserable. They did such a great job. They had to come back to next day to finish as weather got just too bad.
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Solar Central was great. They patiently answered all my questions, including when I received conflicting information from another company.
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Great service and price, and it was great to support a local business. Very fast install and no hassles.
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Installation was as quick as can be expected in winter in Victoria, I wasn't home for installation however was a bit disappointed by the rubbish left behind - it was the cardboard corner protectors off the panels and there were about 10 blowing around my garden. Matt & Chantal were great and always friendly and both were always extremely helpful on the phone.
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I feel it was good value for money. We looked at other local suppliers but they were expensive.
Everything went smoothly, we didn't have to do anything. Our first electricity bill has arrived and we are in credit.
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