Finn and Ronald discuss changes to the Victorian Solar Homes rebate program, the smart use of solar by USC, Hyundai’s panel warranty boost, best and worst reviews, and more.
“Un-shitting” The Victorian Solar Rebate (Somewhat)
0:17 – Finn and Ronald rejoice in the announcement last week allocations for Victoria’s troubled solar rebate would be substantially increased.
“Yes, good news for Victorian solar businesses that haven’t gone bankrupt in the past few months.”
Finn thanked Solar Victoria for the change of heart.
“I feel like I’m saying thank you to someone because they’ve stopped hitting me.”
Perhaps not quite. Our vodcast was videoed on Friday and very soon after September’s initial allocation was released at 9am yesterday, the portal began experiencing difficulties and the release put on hold. When September’s allocation will continue is unknown at the time of publishing.
This current situation aside, Finn is also concerned what may happen if the program needs tweaking again.
“One thing the Victorian Government have proven is they don’t respond quickly to the real world implications of their policies.”
In related news, Finn mentions exclusion zones associated with systems installed under the Solar Homes program are subject to great scrutiny during inspections.
“So exclusion zones are generally a 200 millimeter zone around the edge of the roof and your solar panels are not allowed to be in that zone generally,” he says. “It depends on a few things, but that’s a general rule and I’ve seen people getting pinged because there are 190 millimeters away from the edge, which seems a bit mean.”
Ronald disagrees.
“There are roof standards. They’re there for a reason and people have to comply with them.”
Finn also points out a promotional image on Solar Victoria’s web site showing solar panels hanging over the gutter and improper clamping; an image that was deleted soon after Finn posted about it on Facebook group, Crap Solar.
“I just think it’s a good illustration of what happens when people that know very little about the solar industry are hoisted upon an industry and then start telling the industry how to do things.”
Hyundai Beefs Up Solar Panel Warranty
5:53 – Hyundai have increased the product warranty of their 300 watt 60-cell and 360 watt 72-cell panels in Australia; gaining them a place at the table of Ronald’s newly-formed “Premium Panels Club”.
Ronald says the longer the product warranty, the better the quality of the solar panel. The Hyundai solar panels are also competitively priced, with Finn stating these are the cheapest solar panels in Australia with a 25-year product warranty.
“I think the next cheapest are REC, but you only get the 25 years if you go through an installer they approve of, which is still good,” says Ronald.
Finn then demonstrates a cost comparison using the SolarQuotes solar panel comparison tool.
Worst And Best Reviews Of The Week
10:31 – As chosen by SQ team member Ned.
Worst review of the week – A reviewer relays an experience with a solar company (not a SolarQuotes client) that started out okay but as soon as a contract was signed, things went downhill from there – and in a big way.
The system was meant to be installed in January, but it wasn’t until August that the installation was carried out. The reviewer received independent advice indicating the system was completely unsuitable due to site conditions. Components then needed to be changed, but the problems haven’t stopped there. There are issues related to metering and the system isn’t feeding into the grid.
“.. this is a solar installer that according to the review hasn’t inspected the property, hasn’t done all the checks that they should have done before whacking the system on,” says Finn.
Best review of the week – Keen 2B Green, which mainly services the Brisbane and Gold Coast area, won high praise from a customer who said the firm provided a system featuring top quality LG solar panels and a Fronius inverter at a very competitive price. While there were a few issues during installation, they were sorted out promptly, the installation crew were great and cleaned up after completing the job.
USC Saving With Solar And Storage
15:26 – The University of the Sunshine Coast is set to save megabucks with its recently completed solar panel and “battery” rollout. The energy storage aspect of the project is particularly interesting, as it’s not lithium-ion or flow – it’s a “water battery”. A huge tank of water is cooled using electricity generated by the solar panels and that water is used for USC’s air conditioning system, which previously accounted for around 40% of the Sippy Downs Campus’s electricity costs.
Finn says it’s a very smart use of solar power.
“So they just have a big tank of water with some cooling system on it, which would be much, much cheaper, would last a lot longer, won’t degrade, and it would be pretty efficient because you’re missing out converting to chemical energy, and then back to electrical energy, and then the electrical energy into cooling energy.”
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