Compare the best installers servicing Montmorency

We have used Primero Solar for two home solar installations. The first, in 2021, was a 10kW system without battery storage. The salesperson from Primero won my business over the other quotes I received by patiently walking me through the options of inverters and panels, answering all my curious questions.

For example, when I explained that I am an experienced software engineer and would prefer a system that I could integrate my home automation setup with, the salesperson directed me to a SolarEdge inverter, as it offered a developer API that I could use to monitor the system, e.g. to switch loads on and off in response to excess solar production.

The salesperson also made a site visit, where he climbed up on the roof with me to talk through the options to position the panels. I so appreciated the amount of time that was invested to give me confidence I was making a well-informed purchase decision.

The installation team were prompt, professional, and tidy.

We have contacted Primero again, to become a repeat customer.

This time, we bought a larger SolarEdge system with battery storage, and switched to Amber for wholesale rates and battery automation. Once again, Primero were great to deal with in the pre-sale phase, and the installation went smoothly.

Unfortunately, the added complexity of the battery, and its automation via Amber, meant that for the first time we needed to rely on Primero's technical support from time to time. We have had several occasions where the battery seemed to get stuck in "standby" mode (neither charging nor discharging), and in these instances, Primero's technical support were the weakest link in getting the issue resolved. I was often left without a call back or email response for weeks at a time, and only managed to progress things through repeated calls and emails. I soon noticed that I only ever heard from a single support agent, which makes me think that Primero's technical support team is a team of one. I eventually began contacting SolarEdge support directly, since Primero's support was so unresponsive and unreliable.

Recently, we have noticed that two of our panels stopped producing power more than 6 months ago. Although this hardware failure generated alerts in the SolarEdge monitoring platform, Primero did not notify us or take any other proactive steps to respond to this issue. Far from the proactive fault monitoring I was promised during the sales process, it seems Primero does not actively respond to issues with the sites it manages.

Having detected this issue myself more than 6 months after it occurred, I contacted Primero technical support, who over a period of weeks worked with SolarEdge support to confirm that two of our panel optimizers had failed. The good news: this was covered under my warranty. The bad news is that it took 2 months for Primero and SolarEdge to ship the replacement parts to me (I was told only after I received them that there had been a stock shortage that meant they could not be shipped sooner), and I have now been waiting 1 month for Primero to schedule someone to come and install the replacement optimizers. As a result, I have now been 9 months with two failed panels, with no remedy in sight.

In short, as other reviews here have reported, Primero has an excellent sales team and uses top-notch installers, but the after-sales support is just not there. For such a large investment, I would recommend trying to find a company that will stand by their work with a well-staffed support team.

The team (6 uniformed techs/installers) turned up on time and were well presented , friendly and totally professional
The team hit the ground running
No wasted energy and plenty of team work and positivity
Once completed Dillon ran through the Sems+ app for my 32kw battery unit
Site cleaned up as new and total experience a pleasure

Had KIK Electrics recommended through this site. Went with them despite being more expensive than I'd hoped - had found cheaper services previously didn't really have super outcomes so hoped if I spent a bit more this time I might be better off. Absolutely no problems with the system as far as I can tell - seems to be working really well and we are not drawing from the grid at all. Problem is, we can't feed into the grid because KIK have not sent on the proper documentation to the energy provider. This means that we can't provide any excess energy produced into the grid and our system shuts down if production exceeds use and the battery is already full, which is a massive waste. Company won't reply to me now - massive red flag!!! I have also found out that our VicSolar loan has not been able to commence because they haven't sent the paperwork to them either, so something seems to be going wrong at that end of the business. Will be interesting to see if I can ever get this system feeding into the grid and how it will operate when at full capacity. At the moment, although a 11+kW system, I have never had it produce more than around 4kW at any time, as I can't export the excess. So, fair to say my experience with them has not been great. Having said this, their installation was fast and tidy, so nothing wrong with that side of things.

Quoting process was informative and recommended solar system best suited our shady roof. Jodi in the office was fantastic with her communication. The install was brought forward twice which suited me. Shout out to Chris who was persistent in fixing the problem with the app. He visited 3 times. Problem was the router.
Altogether very pleased with the installation.

Gerard from Schumacher Solar and Electrical, was the only one to come out to the property and inspect/quote on site.
Explained the whole installation process and was punctual and professional. His quote seemed quite reasonable, compared to the others. I would highly recommended.

Christian and his team were brilliant. Clear communication, friendly and professional service throughout the whole process. Christian provided clear instructions and answered any questions we had promptly. Our solar and battery systems work flawlessly and we couldn't be happier with the results. Highly recommended!