Harrisons Solar vs Other?

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Ultimate Geek
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#2865584 11-Feb-2022 17:26

Krullos:

...

I'm looking to upgrade the panels to get Harrisons' 405W LG panels which would bump me up to just over 6KW of panels.

The garage is detached and about 10M from the house at the front of our property, so I'm not sure how easily we could add panels to the house and feed them into the Powerwall, etc. that will be located in the garage (power from the street comes through the main board in the garage and the house is on a sub-board). I'd be open to increasing the capacity of panels onto our house too, if that's easy to do?

The main desire for the Powerwall/Battery is short-term power supply in a power outage (in such case I'd be powering down non-essential services with smart relays as you suggest), and maybe some clever battery filling during off-peak times to use during peak times (not too sure how clever we can get with scheduling that yet). We have special EV-owner rates from the power company so get extra cheap power after 11pm.

The LG panels are nice and should perform a bit better than the JA ones, though possibly if you can get a second inverter and more panels on the house that might be a better option.

I'm not sure if it's possible with a subboard, but it may be worth asking Harrison's about the possibility of adding a second smaller inverter on the house with some panels, even a couple of KW's there would help offset your house usage and leave more power for charging the battery. With the tigo's you would have remote shutdown so it's possible that the second inverter may not need to be directly linked to the battery (especially considering it's a AC battery).

The other thing to ask Harrisons would be about the larger 144cell panels that are usually used in commercial/industry installations they tend to be in the 450-550W range. I see JA solar has some 455W and 550W, 144cell panels that are about 2.2m long and slightly wider (verse 1.7 for the normal 120 cell panels), while LG has some larger 450W ones as well. Depending on your roof you may be able to get the same number or a very similar number of 144cell (say 14x450W or 14x550W) panels which could give you between 6.7-8.2kw of panels on the roof.

Quinny

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#2868731 15-Feb-2022 15:18

I went with Harrisons 36k for Powerwall, 18 LG Neon2 panels and a SolarEdge (by request). This was installed July 2020. I love my system and built it to be with 3% loss max in 10 years time.

I used the Westpac 10k interest free for 5 years to cover some of it. I was very disappointed with the 2 other quotes/options. Nothing touched the powerwall (7k peak load, 5k sustained) and the quality of teh Neon 2. The Solaredge app is very good as well https://monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=Quinny&locale=en_US#/dashboard

Super busy home with about 20-25kw use a day and we are off grid most of the year and I pay $5 a week to stay in credit. Had GV raised 40k to cover which they did no issues and make sure to get specified on insurance as both are fitted and need sign off from underwriter.

uppynz

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Master Geek
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#2872626 22-Feb-2022 12:59

Quinny:

I went with Harrisons 36k for Powerwall, 18 LG Neon2 panels and a SolarEdge (by request). This was installed July 2020. I love my system and built it to be with 3% loss max in 10 years time.

I used the Westpac 10k interest free for 5 years to cover some of it. I was very disappointed with the 2 other quotes/options. Nothing touched the powerwall (7k peak load, 5k sustained) and the quality of teh Neon 2. The Solaredge app is very good as well https://monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=Quinny&locale=en_US#/dashboard

Super busy home with about 20-25kw use a day and we are off grid most of the year and I pay $5 a week to stay in credit. Had GV raised 40k to cover which they did no issues and make sure to get specified on insurance as both are fitted and need sign off from underwriter.

We're in this predicament at the moment, trying to decide on if we go down this path or not. Your situation seems identical to ours at a glance. What benefit does Solaredge give you on top of the tesla app? My concern was the benefit in the winter months.

Quinny

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#2872634 22-Feb-2022 13:11

uppynz:

Quinny:

I went with Harrisons 36k for Powerwall, 18 LG Neon2 panels and a SolarEdge (by request). This was installed July 2020. I love my system and built it to be with 3% loss max in 10 years time.

I used the Westpac 10k interest free for 5 years to cover some of it. I was very disappointed with the 2 other quotes/options. Nothing touched the powerwall (7k peak load, 5k sustained) and the quality of teh Neon 2. The Solaredge app is very good as well https://monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=Quinny&locale=en_US#/dashboard

Super busy home with about 20-25kw use a day and we are off grid most of the year and I pay $5 a week to stay in credit. Had GV raised 40k to cover which they did no issues and make sure to get specified on insurance as both are fitted and need sign off from underwriter.

We're in this predicament at the moment, trying to decide on if we go down this path or not. Your situation seems identical to ours at a glance. What benefit does Solaredge give you on top of the tesla app? My concern was the benefit in the winter months.

Your winter generation will be affected by shadows, angle and alignment for afternoon sun. I am 5 deg off perfect with very good winter sun (2 big trees across road cause some issues). Solaedge vs another for inverter is about choice. The Tesla app is wonderful for checking what is happening now/today or downloading stats. Did we export, how much, how much is coming down eg 5kw and using 1kw atm. The Solaredge app is only about production totals and amount at any point during the day. Then thinking was it sunny, how was the generation vs last year vs last month that sort of thing.

uppynz

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Master Geek
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#2872709 22-Feb-2022 13:53

Nice, thanks for the info. Harrisons think we will have an excellent roof based on direction etc, so it's useful to compare other peoples experience. The Auckland north branch of Harrisons have been pretty hopeless with customer service so far, which is what concerns me. Did you ever work out a return on investment?

FineWine

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#2872774 22-Feb-2022 15:14

Have you had a read of:

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Solar Power Energy Solutions

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Solar power options/opinions 2021

Our Power bills have been approx $0.0 to $35 the last 3 months. We also have solar buddies.

We do not have a PowerWall but will look at one plus an EV in 5 to 7 yrs when my partner retires.

EDIT: I should add that we have been very happy with the BoP Harrison's Rep - nothing but good news here. My BnL is just awaiting his install (electricity only - not hot water) over in Cambridge.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

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insane

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#2872775 22-Feb-2022 15:15

Quinny:

....I pay $5 a week to stay in credit. Had GV raised 40k to cover which they did no issues and make sure to get specified on insurance as both are fitted and need sign off from underwriter.

Can you please explain what this means? What credit does this relate to, and what is GV in this context?

Quinny

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#2873101 23-Feb-2022 09:59

insane:

Quinny:

....I pay $5 a week to stay in credit. Had GV raised 40k to cover which they did no issues and make sure to get specified on insurance as both are fitted and need sign off from underwriter.

Can you please explain what this means? What credit does this relate to, and what is GV in this context?

Total for the entire year of power used (after credits for power sent to Genesis) is just short of neutral. So by sending them $5 a week I never have to pay a bill. Each person is YMMV (your mileage may vary) but if done right you can be close to zero cost power bills.

Insurance - you may have to specify the solar/powerwall. It is fixed to the house. Just reminding people to talk with insurance before the fire/earthquake and finding out you should have told them and it is not covered.

QV or Rateable value is the amount the govt pays if you are written off. About 25/30% of your rates is affected by house value the rest is normally standard costs. Many people will not fill in the form to show you added to the house value to save on rates. I live in Chch. I was a full rebuild after the quakes. I am 100% going to keep mine up to date but again YMMV.

insane

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#2878377 3-Mar-2022 15:31

So I spoke with Harrisons this week - Interesting development. Apparently LG is getting out of the Solar Panel market altogether... so they are shifting to some German brand, think it was Q Cells? That's in addition to JA and Rec Alpha that they also seem to offer for the low and top ends of town.

Anyone heard of Q Cell? Looks like their warranty is only 12 years vs the 25 from LG.

*Edit* the QCells does also have a 25yr product & performance warranty.

uppynz

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Master Geek
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#2878390 3-Mar-2022 16:06

That is interesting! I wonder what their motivation is for that!?

Klathman

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Ultimate Geek
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#2878394 3-Mar-2022 16:10

insane:

So I spoke with Harrisons this week - Interesting development. Apparently LG is getting out of the Solar Panel market altogether... so they are shifting to some German brand, think it was Q Cells? That's in addition to JA and Rec Alpha that they also seem to offer for the low and top ends of town.

Anyone heard of Q Cell? Looks like their warranty is only 12 years vs the 25 from LG.

We've just signed up with Harrisons for the REC panels and Fronius inverter. I looked up about Q Cells and they're a fairly large producer that was originally German but was bought by a Korean business. They're listed on the Bloomberg solar list for being a stable company.

We ended up going for the REC panel due to the additional warranty as well as the high production warranty, which the Q Cells didn't have. We will still likely have the house in 20 years and if it produces more at that time then that was worth the additional outlay. We did seriously consider the Q Cell though and almost went that way.

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Chris00

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#2878405 3-Mar-2022 16:51

We just had harrison solar installed, we are very happy with them, I wanted the LG solar panels, they they are the leading solar panels harrison is the only company deal with LG panels, So it is really depending what you want.

We have 18 panels installed, I think it is a bit too much. I think you should be able to get away with 12 or 15 for a normal house of 3 to 4.

also that is a rule with power grid, you only can have 5KWH output at anyone time.

Battery: i have talked to a few solar installers (not the solar company, they are the contractor come to put the panel on your roof) they all said too over priced, personally We did not go for the battery at all, I have done some research online, Telsa battery, one usually is not enough to power your house at night, most of the time you will need 2 depending on how much power you use. that is also you need to remember the battery is the same as your cell phone battery, it has a life spam and they are just way over priced. so I think there are 2 options:

1 say just get however many panels you want to get sell the power back to the grid.

2 buy just enough panels cover your power during the day. E.g do your dishwashing washingmechine during the day, stager them with the time delay on your appliances, also Have your hot water to heat during the peak of the sun: 1100 to 1500

3 if you just out right rich, pick up 2 telsar batteries.

Selling power back to the grid: power company matters, you need to find out how much they are buying and how much they are selling back to you during off peak time. I found most of the company will charge you a stander rate all day, but that is not good if you have solar panels. I think trust power got a deal with Harrison solar with a 16c buy back for 2 year contract. I had a look at trust power price, that is not good, because you will be look at 16c buy back then they charge you I think around 22 c sell it back to you during off peak.

we use Flick eletric, they got peak and off peak price, which is great for solar on paper, on writing this form, we just had our generation metre installed today, so I can't really give you too much info just yet, but as far as i know flick charge 30c during peak and 12 to 13 c during off peak, their peak time is when the sun is up, which your solar should cover most of your power during the day during flick's peak charge 30c, if you make too much power during that, sell back to them, they also buy back at a higher price, and then at night during offpeak you buy the power back at 12 to 13c a unit.

finance deals : Harrison got some very good Deals, I know that most of the major banks offer some sort of deal, we are with westpac, they offer a winter warm up deal, 10k 5 years interest free. so go to talk to your bank about it.

lastly here is our power info in a day with 18 panels: we have our dishwasher washing machine, also hotwater stager from 1000 to 1500. also the hot water boosted at night during off peak time. By the way we also use aircon for cooling during the day too.

Quinny

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#2879482 5-Mar-2022 17:59

Hi Chris. Your generation and consumption look similar to mine. The battery lasts most nights in summer (we use about 20-25kw a day). I have the battery set to zero reserve. Tesla guarantee you 80% in 10 years. Our consumption is at night so for us the battery was worth it. I would love to have got 2 but 1 battery is working fine.

We are Genesis in Chch. You can go to 10KWH domestic and 50KWH commercial (I think its 2 years ago now) for sell back. I pay 30c down and get 12c up but have a very low daily charge with that. The new rates forcing us all to higher daily charges will be interesting for solar people.

Chris00

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Wannabe Geek
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#2886812 16-Mar-2022 01:55

Just a side note: now we have changed our metre, here is some numbers with flickeletric:
If you hav solar you want to stay with flick peak and off peak, during the day from 0700 to 2100 are peak, they charge 30c per unit, but also they buy back 18c around per unit. So if you do all your dish washing and washing mechine also your hot water during the day, you should not use much of grid power, also xtra power sell back to grid. We got 18 panels so we sell back more then enough for us to cover our night useage. At night 2100 to 0659 and weekend are off peak, they charge 12c per unit. So my thought was right, sell at a higher price and use on a lower price. Is much better option.
Last week, we did not get full week of sunny day, we paid for $5 of of power.

uppynz

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Master Geek
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#2886830 16-Mar-2022 07:14

Chris00: Just a side note: now we have changed our metre, here is some numbers with flickeletric:
If you hav solar you want to stay with flick peak and off peak, during the day from 0700 to 2100 are peak, they charge 30c per unit, but also they buy back 18c around per unit. So if you do all your dish washing and washing mechine also your hot water during the day, you should not use much of grid power, also xtra power sell back to grid. We got 18 panels so we sell back more then enough for us to cover our night useage. At night 2100 to 0659 and weekend are off peak, they charge 12c per unit. So my thought was right, sell at a higher price and use on a lower price. Is much better option.
Last week, we did not get full week of sunny day, we paid for $5 of of power.

Wow that's good!!!! I'm having to chase the Harrison's rep here in North Auckland. Hasn't been a good experience to date. Almost to the point we might just pre wire and worry about install at a later stage on our new build

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