We’ve all seen the adverts on TV with used cricketers flogging cheap solar, but have you considered who’s boosting who?
Is it the retailer using the credibility of respected personalities; or are washed-up sports stars just getting their face on TV after retirement?
You get what you pay for. People who buy cheap always buy twice. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, or free electricity.
For years, SolarQuotes has preached long and loud about how expensive cheap solar really is.
To be honest, I’ve always found it a little bit disturbing that people are so willing that they actively set about getting the cheapest option when bolting something to their most expensive asset.
Nobody seems to care what the return on investment is on their couch, and yet they obsess about ROI for solar without apparent value for risk or the improved real value of their house.
Worst-case scenario is a fire. Before this company went bust, there used to be an industry adage: Zever = Never.
No Name Equipment Attracts No Name Installs
I’ve seen it time and time again where cheap gear has been banged on a house and the compliance certificates aren’t presented on the day of install, because the people signing them were never on the premises.
It doesn’t happen as often these days because STC incentives (the rebate) are claimed using an app that compels installers to take geotagged selfies at the start, middle and finish of the job. Plus images of serial numbers, switchboards and the front of the house.
However, the facts are that low-priced equipment attracts low-paid contractors and low standards of installation.
I’m surprised Solar River inverters lasted any length of time but most disturbingly this roof top isolator managed to burn a hole through the iron roof. Image credit: Crap Solar
Cheap Systems Come With No Support
If you have a look at the review pages on SolarQuotes I’ll urge you to sort for the one-star feedback.
While every retailer has some brilliant 5-star installs, I’m always a little suspicious about across-the-board perfect records. It’s not credible because there are always some disastrous oversights or accidental damage done somewhere, not to mention the occasional insane customer who simply can’t be pleased.
Hopefully they’re few and far between, but justified or not, the way retailers deal with irate customers is what sorts the cheap rubbish companies from those we recommend.
Be aware that some earn themselves a lot of one-star reviews, then manage to incentivise customers to remove them.
If they can get away with allegedly short-changing you, sadly they will, but this case gets worse…
Some companies are ideologically welded to the cult of cheap prices.
Cheap Companies Don’t Answer The Phone
Whether they realise it or not, any medium-sized solar company likely spends $100,000 per annum on warranty issues, call-outs, problem solving and staff time to answer questions, even if it’s just over the phone.
The cheap companies don’t answer the phone at all. They obfuscate, they lie, they don’t pay subcontractors, who rightfully enough don’t turn up. If you take them to court it will still likely cost you more in time and effort than it would to simply pay someone else.
And the laughable part is that when one of the biggest solar retailers in the country was threatened with suspension after being hauled into the courts for breaches of their electrical licence and STC incentive scheme, they argued they must keep trading because there were warranty obligations to honour.
Low-budget equipment naturally attracts blowflies that string conduits over the gutter and across the roof. Image credit Gary Opperman
I can hear the baby birds in this nest of conduit, “cheep cheep cheeeep.” There’s also a battery on the premises for good measure.
Someone tried pretty hard to get this right but what an ugly mess it ends up being. When there’s no budget for cable tray or AC wiring to get away from the switchboard, it becomes a pox on a new house.
Check The Reviews, But Watch For Fakes
Check the reviews — real ones. And beware the polished profiles: some of the worst offenders are masters at hiding the bodies.
The best advice I have is to check all the online feedback, and bear in mind that large companies may be able to game the system with large numbers of fake reviews.
The industry can be hostile toward those who find out the hard way they didn’t get a bargain.
At SolarQuotes all the reviews we host are eyeballed by a human before being uploaded to screen out fake reviews, and reviewers are verified by phone if we’re in doubt about the submission.
While there are plenty of great installers who don’t use our service and run excellent businesses, there are others who go through our vetting process and accept 1 lead per month, simply because they see our endorsement as carrying more weight.
While some installers have a pay-to-display blue badge, which offers zero additional consumer protection, customers using SolarQuotes get a third-party guarantee. We put our own skin in the game to make sure your installation goes well, or we pay to get it fixed.
For more on the high cost of cheap solar, read our guide on the strategies employed by dodgy solar companies.
About Anthony Bennett
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Well i didn’t give a rats ar$e about ROI when i installed my solar.
For me it was all about giving as little money as possible to the scum sucking pigs who had been gouging me for years for grid power. I didn’t care if my system never got “paid off” before it wore out.
But i still wanted the best system i could afford installed by a reputable provider, so I used the solar quotes service, and was very careful analysing the quotes provided. I ended up with a brilliant installer and a great system.
In line with Andrew, was on a good wicket with Re-amped until they had to drastically change. Then scraped around for the best deal I could find.
Once I was told my power rate was going from 20c / kWh to 32 I looked around desperately, one company told me I just need to use less power to stop my bills going up. That was in the same breath as a daily connection fee in excess of $2….
At that point I decided I am done with these pirates, they were not the lovable Jack Sparrow kind…..
Found Solar quotes, got educated, received some quotes, built several cost / benefit models in Excel, including the panel layouts they suggested.
In the end I came up with my own layout, 80/20 north /west facing.
Installer was not the cheapest but they described the work standard in high detail, used all quality components, stainless steel/aluminium most of it.
There were a few bumps in the road, but they are local and always answer the phone. You get what you pay for and verify thoroughly.
Wow , Its great to see this article finally outing the ” cricket promoters ” . We all know this has been going on within the inside of the “Solarcoaster ” for years . You forgot to add the original companies name , owned by the same family , and on public record that were liquidated and breached ACL for false and misleading advertising and creating false STC’s with their non-compliant “Australian Solar Panel”.
I confess I went in a little blindly and used the retired-cricketer-reliability-index. I have since installed a second system from a local well-regarded provider-installer. The second lot of panels are of a better regarded brand.
However the “Sun***” installation (the cheapie) has given me five years of hassle-free solar production with no issues. It was checked over since by my battery installer and the new system installer, and both said it was fine with no dodgy elements. Likewise the new expensive system has been excellent.
I guess I was lucky.
Hi Bill,
Glad it worked for you… there must be a few of them that do pass muster, but the heartache when it goes badly is just so distressing…
I have just cancelled a contract awarded to a Solar Quote recommended installer. They had my deposit for 13 weeks, chased me down to get the job then it all turned to shit. The initial sparky who came out and baulked at the job (too Hard) doesn’t work for them anymore. Despite many calls and giving them multiple chances to do the job, a more experienced sparky turns up and agrees job can proceed with a small switchboard re-wire. No more contact 3 weeks ago, now says sub mains 6mm cable has too much voltage drop and wants to put new panels on the house roof. NO other suggestions as to how to re-jig the shed job to make it work. Can’t speak to anyone else apart from sales. I would question the calculations as my calculations show it will just get under the radar for max voltage drop. If you manipulate the PF export to 1.0 unity it gets better. If you use 240V (actual at the main board) rather than 230V Nominal +10/-6%
it’s OK. What the installer wanted was a easy job. Not a cheap job.
Hi Brian,
If you’d like to get in touch with [email protected] we’d like to know what’s going on, and get you a different installer.
Please let us know.