Thinking about going solar

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Sballguy

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#306629 8-Aug-2023 19:18

We have got Harrison’s coming on Friday to give us a quote for a solar install. At this we aren’t looking at getting a battery.

We have gas hot water and cooking and also have a spa pool.
There is generally always someone at home working or studying and our electricity usage is reasonably consistent…

If we decide to go ahead, we’d look to go onto genesis plan with the 9pm - midnight free power or electric kiwi half price off peak plan.

Is 12 x 415w panels likely to be enough to run the house during the day and would there likely be any residual power left to go back into the grid.

Thanks

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#3113513 8-Aug-2023 20:05

Harrisons should give you an estimate of how much you will save and how those costs are calculated, based on your usage and projected generation. Having people at home or high power usage throughout the day allows you to make the most of solar without a battery - an unnecessary expense IMO.

Based on the limited information provided, it looks like you will generate sufficient electricity to more than cover your daytime usage - on a good day. Keep in mind that both usage and generation are variable, so you will still end up buying some power during this time, even if you export a large amount. If you use electric heating for hot water, I suggest adding a timer so you can switch the cylinder on during daylight hours, or install a device to dump excess energy to the hot water cylinder in preference to exporting.

You may also consider adding a couple more panels, just to maximise the potential of the system.

Quinny

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#3113706 9-Aug-2023 13:55

I did the whole thing - solar and powerwall with Harrisons. We use about 25kwh per day. I have gas heating and hot water also. Big house full of electronics and TVs. I have 3 years of data here (South of chch). I have a SolarEdge inverter and a LG Neon 2 panels. Love my system. We are off grind in Summer and Winter its good too (right now I am exporting as powerwall is full).

https://monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=Quinny&locale=en_US#/dashboard

Shindig

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#3114407 11-Aug-2023 06:59

There is another Solar thread going, https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=300644, but I'll post here as well.

Is Harrisons the go to people for hardware provider and installation etc.

Also, is a battery completely unnecessary, especially if having an EV car to charge and then feed back to the grid?

Could we list out the go to parts that people are opting for please?

cheers

The little things make the biggest difference.

SATTV

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#3114410 11-Aug-2023 07:38

I am getting the same system installed as the OP, This is overkill for us but we have electric hot water.

This will be more than enough for running the house during the day, put in a hot water bypass to heat your spa pool during daylight hours.

Our next vehicle will be an EV so fingers crossed I will be able to charge the car over the weekend and run during the week.

When the price of battery's come down we will install one.

John

I know enough to be dangerous

eonsim

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#3114821 11-Aug-2023 20:04

Harrisons do an okay job but seem to be at the more premium end of the market. There are other big groups like likeforce which maybe a bit cheaper, and plenty of smaller players that will typically be a bit cheaper but may not have access to the same components as Harrisons or Lightforce.

neb

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#3115023 12-Aug-2023 16:18

Shindig:
Is Harrisons the go to people for hardware provider and installation etc.

It's a franchise so you get reviews saying they did a good job and other saying they'd never use them again. The guy that came round here to quote barely listened to what we were after and then launched into a sales pitch for their preferred system, which wasn't going to do the job. It seems to depend heavily on who you get.

SATTV

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#3115050 12-Aug-2023 18:03

I asked for three companies to come out and quote, one would not quote unless I decided on the inverter over the phone, another just took google earth pictures and gave me a price, Harrisons came to me, listened to what I wanted and he said that it would would work but overkill, we could reduce the number of panels, keep the larger inverter and then add more panels if needed.

Harrisons then jumped on the roof and said that the roof is not suitable for solar. ( the roof was close to end of life )

We were about to reroof when something happened to my wife, the covid hit and price of roofing iron went through the roof ( no pun intended )

When we got the new house we just went straight to Harrisons.

Our guy said all Harrisons franchises uses the same contractors and they are vetted by Harrisons head office.

Our install is still a couple of months away.

Fingers crossed all goes smoothly.

John

I know enough to be dangerous

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jpwise

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#3116196 15-Aug-2023 14:21

SATTV:

I asked for three companies to come out and quote, one would not quote unless I decided on the inverter over the phone, another just took google earth pictures and gave me a price, Harrisons came to me, listened to what I wanted and he said that it would would work but overkill, we could reduce the number of panels, keep the larger inverter and then add more panels if needed.

Harrisons then jumped on the roof and said that the roof is not suitable for solar. ( the roof was close to end of life )

Hey John, if you don't mind me asking, any chance you could share the quotes you got? I'm doing a bit of a deep dive on pricing solar at the moment. Still doing a bunch of research, and may also have to cross the bridge on whether the roof condition is up to it or not as well, but mostly working out what sort of price range I'm looking at for what, and with which installer.

I'm still crunching numbers, but probably looking in the ~5.5kw panel capacity, with potentially similar ~5+kw battery capacity for evening usage. Also with a strong inclination to support grid isolation and black start/ups mode if the grid goes out (wellington, earthquakes/disaster, etc).

Thx.

Jp.

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Stu1

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#3116325 15-Aug-2023 16:40

jpwise:

SATTV:

I asked for three companies to come out and quote, one would not quote unless I decided on the inverter over the phone, another just took google earth pictures and gave me a price, Harrisons came to me, listened to what I wanted and he said that it would would work but overkill, we could reduce the number of panels, keep the larger inverter and then add more panels if needed.

Harrisons then jumped on the roof and said that the roof is not suitable for solar. ( the roof was close to end of life )

Hey John, if you don't mind me asking, any chance you could share the quotes you got? I'm doing a bit of a deep dive on pricing solar at the moment. Still doing a bunch of research, and may also have to cross the bridge on whether the roof condition is up to it or not as well, but mostly working out what sort of price range I'm looking at for what, and with which installer.

I'm still crunching numbers, but probably looking in the ~5.5kw panel capacity, with potentially similar ~5+kw battery capacity for evening usage. Also with a strong inclination to support grid isolation and black start/ups mode if the grid goes out (wellington, earthquakes/disaster, etc).

Thx.

have you considered Solarman ? I have a quote from November. Tony who runs it is really good

Jp.

jpwise

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#3116425 15-Aug-2023 19:48

@Stu1 - thanks for that. Yeah, i'm in that position that I'm probably asking questions beyond the usual 'how much' type price, and getting more into the specific implementation as well. I'd also like to do what I can to keep the costs down as well. So a smaller installer that isn't necessarily franchised might be a better option. I'll check them out.

If you don't mind me asking what were the details of your quote? Once I've got enough stuff together I may look at a thread similar to the other solar one to see what feedback people have on specific inverters and implementations.

Thx.

Jp.

Working for Service Plus - www.serviceplus.co.nz

Authorised Service Agent for Apple, BenQ, Sony, and Toshiba - warranty & non-warranty repairs.

Stu1

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#3116438 15-Aug-2023 21:04

jpwise:
@Stu1 - thanks for that. Yeah, i'm in that position that I'm probably asking questions beyond the usual 'how much' type price, and getting more into the specific implementation as well. I'd also like to do what I can to keep the costs down as well. So a smaller installer that isn't necessarily franchised might be a better option. I'll check them out.

If you don't mind me asking what were the details of your quote? Once I've got enough stuff together I may look at a thread similar to the other solar one to see what feedback people have on specific inverters and implementations.

Thx.

Jp.

We knew Tony from another industry , very honest and really does the best for his customers. I found Harrison’s not that great more get a quick sale. Worth having a chat with him as not a big franchise.

This was last quote for 105sqm we have added another 60 on since then so Solar has been put on the back burner for a while

Solar Power Quote for a 8.1kWp Solar System

Supply and Installation
Flush Mounted System on a Decramastic Tile Roof
20 x Jinko 405W Premium Panels
1 x Huawei 6kw Hybrid Inverter
1 x Huawei Energy Meter (Generation & Consumption monitoring) Inspection Fee Included
Network Lines Application Included
Import/Export Meter Fee (we credit you this cost)

Cost 17,995.00

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Goosey

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#3116527 16-Aug-2023 06:41

What happens in a hail storm or heavy winds which cause damage to panels?
normal contents insurance I suppose? Or is there some decent lengthy warranty on the panels to cover this?

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3116529 16-Aug-2023 06:46

Goosey:

What happens in a hail storm or heavy winds which cause damage to panels?
normal contents insurance I suppose? Or is there some decent lengthy warranty on the panels to cover this?

This is one concern I have for our system. The panels on the market seem to be changing constantly. I highly doubt there are many spare parts floating around. The warranty doesn't mean much if you can't get a replacement.

billgates

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#3116535 16-Aug-2023 07:19

Our home and contents insurance covers our Solar PV system to full value. We did not have to pay anything extra as the existing policies had ample cover in there. Our panels on the roof survived Gabrielle so heavy winds should not be an issue at least.

Do whatever you want to do man.

Shindig

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#3116576 16-Aug-2023 09:25

Who are the go to installers for Auckland? All the decent installers appear to service outside of this area!

The little things make the biggest difference.

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