aaaand they dont work with powerwall yet...

And another one.... Solar Group in liquidation: Kiwibank among creditors owed more than $3 million

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/solar-group-in-liquidation-kiwibank-among-creditors-owed-more-than-3-million/LQO5EZZ7UZCLXP377MANOXQNYE/

VeNoMouSNZ:

 

And another one.... Solar Group in liquidation: Kiwibank among creditors owed more than $3 million

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/solar-group-in-liquidation-kiwibank-among-creditors-owed-more-than-3-million/LQO5EZZ7UZCLXP377MANOXQNYE/

 

Yes - sad to hear.  I have a an AlphaESS Smile T10-HV 3-phase system with 16kWh of batteries supplied by Solar Group, and on the whole I'm very happy with it.  The Alpha app is adequate for casual monitoring and control, and a Home Assistant Modbus integration is the icing on the cake for everything else.

Hopefully someone else will pick up the agency for local sales and support.  The kit is popular in Australia and the UK but clearly Solar Group couldn't make sufficient sales locally to cover their overheads.  Hope the staff I was dealing with aren't out of pocket and can find some new roles in what should be a sunrise industry.  Domestic and commercial solar penetration is woeful in NZ as there are no Government incentives.  Compare that to Australia and elsewhere overseas where solar is racing ahead. 

I wonder if other solar installers are also feeling pressure.  With the demise of Solar Zero and now Solar Group it doesn't look promising. 

SteveXNZ:

 

....

 

I wonder if other solar installers are also feeling pressure.  With the demise of Solar Zero and now Solar Group it doesn't look promising. 

 

The amount of positive info circulating on solar currently by the likes of TV and online coverage of Mike Casey and Rewiring Aotearoa are stimulating uptake but are their too many nooby installers trying to get their share of the PV pie as a result? 

Sure NZ needs economic stimulus to promote domestic solar uptake but to give this as part of the reason for a company's failure doesn't really cut it in terms of knowing the market you are supplying. 

So, the Tradedepot solar offerings are getting ever greater.  They now a few solar batteries from DAH Solar, which look like a whitelabel offering as DAH Solar make panels not batteries as far as i can see.  Anyway the price rivals direct imports from China which is seriously tempting. E.g. 5kWh $1599, 10kWh $2999, 14kWh $3999.  If i had a 48V hybrid inverter i'd have already pulled the trigger.  No one had any dealings with TradeDepots solar gear yet?

Battery OEM looks to be Dyness, who make their own batteries