Chromagen Reviews
About
Chromagen is an international company supplying solar solutions in Australia through its office in Melbourne. The company says that its designers and installers are CEC accredited. They also say that their modules come with a 25 year performance warranty, and their inverters carry a five year warranty. There is a 10 year warranty on roof mounting framing and a one year warranty on installation.
Customer reviews for Chromagen are available, and include the following:
"Chromagen were very prompt in sending a a sales person around to see me. He was very helpful and answered all the questions I asked. He was clear about the costs; eg extra cost for electrician. Installation was only about four weeks after I accepted the quote. The electrician that is contracted to them was also very helpful and gave me some very useful tips when dealing with the slowness of ACL. I'm now up and running with solar."
" I previously had a solar h/w system made by Chromagen installed and I am very happy with the efficiency of the system. As this is our third solar h/w system I feel I am qualified to compare systems."
12 customers reviewed Chromagen and rated the company highly for value for money, system quality, installation and customer service.
Panels, inverter, battery and EV charger brands
Inverter brands previously installed
The views expressed by reviewers are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Peacock Media Group, which makes no representations as to the accuracy of the reviews. For our full disclaimer and further information, see our Terms of Use and our Review Guidelines.
Chromagen Reviews (40)
Show Most Recent reviews from All time across Australia
Average Scores
2.9/5
Value for money
2.7/5
Quality of System
3.2/5
Installation
2.4/5
Customer Service
- 5 star 2
- 4 star 13
- 3 star 4
- 2 star 5
- 1 star 16
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21 April 2023
13 May 2021
Worst customer service in service department
Worst customer service in service department, product is filthy, breaking again. Worst experience with product and customer service. BewareMy product is 3 years old, issue was there for 6 months, been advised even it’s a 2 months over 3 years, we will look into waiving off services fees, but after arranging the letter from builder, other consultant backed away on that offer, behaved badly, hang the phone. This is not a truly value of a good company, very bad experience.
09 May 2020
Do NOT use this company
Do yourself a favour and stay away from this company....failed within the warranty period which they replaced but charged for labour to change it.....it now has had more issues just 9mths later and have charged a service fee AGAIN to repair it....They do not back up their product and make every excuse to be able to charge you over and over...Stay Clear05 February 2020
Had a solar hot water system put in on a new build the system burnt out les than 24 hrs after moving in. Now the system repeatedly dumps hot water.
Solar hot water system burnt out less than 24hrs after moving in to a new build.Now after having it serviced and told all good this year it repeatedly dumps the stored hot water. Service people said that’s how it works. Said climb on roof and cover it up with a cloth.
30 April 2019
They installed the frame for the system 4 months late, then never came back to install the panels. Company will not return phone calls or reply to emails. After waiting another 3 months for the job to be finished, I have contacted my bank for a charge back on my creditcard. Definatly do not pay cash or bank transfer to these people. Atleast if you pay by card, you can do a chargeback if something goes wrong.
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08 April 2019
What ever do don't buy one these I find the people you dealing with are even worse than the product here in Perth
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28 February 2019
My system is just over 1 yr old. On 2 occasions it has been faulty. The anti freeze valve, solar panel & unit, resulting in pipes to burst & water entering the home via the ceiling. over 500 lts of water damaging our home.
Many thousands of $$$$$.
Should have read the reviews before allowing this product to be supplied by the builder to our new home.
This supplier should NOT exist !!!
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Many thousands of $$$$$.
Should have read the reviews before allowing this product to be supplied by the builder to our new home.
This supplier should NOT exist !!!
21 November 2018
customer service is below par, local service people not fully trained, plumbers , not trained technician
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21 November 2018
BE WARNED. Please stay away from this brand. Their warranty is misleading and labour is charged additional for items failing not fit for duty under the warranty period.
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19 September 2018
Original Review on 26-12-2017:
Use this company all the time for work so have a good relationship. Despite some very poor reviews they were very good. The installer was excellent and highly recommended.the connection procedure ran very smoothly and the equipment all carries 10 year warranties. I am expecting to get back my initial outlay in 3 years. The only complaint i have is that the paperwork is abysmal. I have had not one scrap of paper from the company that is specifically job related.
9 months later we asked Dan: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
System performs very well and has exceeded my expectations particularly in these winter months. I strongly recommend this reasonable outlay and quick return on investment. Do not buy rubbish, buy everything with a 10 year guarantee from a reasonable company but no need to pay double for gimmicks like individual panel control as this does not give corresponding return on investment. The next best step will be battery back up but like LED lighting we are waiting for technology and demand to reduce the price to about 20% of the current price22 August 2018
I had my original system fitted in 2015. It was replaced in 2017 as it was a faulty one after a long time of hit and miss hot water supply. Now I have no hot water. I called my local electrician around who told me there was a fault with the Chromagen unit itself and suggested I called them as it shouldn't be happening at this age. Chromagen told me although I have a 5 year warranty that only covers the tank and panels. This was fitted March 2017 and its now August 2018. Already it has burnt out and they honestly dont want to know. I thought Chromagen sold themselves as value for money. Well honestly if their idea of value for money is hot water for a year for $3k its not the same as mine. As soon as I made the initial call this morning it was blatantly obvious that they had no intention of helping fix this, provide any customer service or ensure customer satisfaction without taking more money from me. Knowing my history of already having had issues with the first system you would think they would want to prove to me that they genuinely want to keep my business. I think this is a complete joke.
I dont often leave reviews but sometimes enough is enough.
Be warned!
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I dont often leave reviews but sometimes enough is enough.
Be warned!
07 August 2018
My hot water system was installed in April 2018 and ever since I have had it the gas keeps igniting to produce hot water. I had the beeping issue but that was fixed (we hope).
I rang the builder, I rang Chromagen and the Chromagen rep keeps bouncing it back to the builder and doesn't return my calls. I rang the call centre who said they would put in a service request but I've had to ring another six times too see what's going on.
In my previous house I had a gas instantaneous and a gas cook top. I have used MORE gas in the last 4 months than what I used in a year in my previous home next door. I live alone with my son, so my consumption usually quite low.
In my house before that I had a solarhart system and the booster would only need to be switched on 4 times a year.
I implore anyone who is looking at this product to stay away from it and go with a reputable, proven product like Solarhart. I wish my builder had.
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I rang the builder, I rang Chromagen and the Chromagen rep keeps bouncing it back to the builder and doesn't return my calls. I rang the call centre who said they would put in a service request but I've had to ring another six times too see what's going on.
In my previous house I had a gas instantaneous and a gas cook top. I have used MORE gas in the last 4 months than what I used in a year in my previous home next door. I live alone with my son, so my consumption usually quite low.
In my house before that I had a solarhart system and the booster would only need to be switched on 4 times a year.
I implore anyone who is looking at this product to stay away from it and go with a reputable, proven product like Solarhart. I wish my builder had.
28 June 2018
I/we received fantastic service and customer care from the Adelaide Warehouse Manager, Brett.
He was informative, his product knowledge was excellent as was his customer care and focus
When to busy to take a phone call he always called back later as available.
He responded to all Emails and Text messages sent also as available plus forwarded Product Technical information when requested.
Later Brett also took time to make a follow-up phone call a few days later to see that we'd received our product (that he delivered to a Courier/Transport Service which he'd squeezed in for us at last moment late in the day).
We haven't received service like this from other Suppliers for a long time.
Brett certainly is a credit to his Profession as well as to his Employer. His telephone manner plus his Customer Care and Focus does deserves to be recognized being bought to the attention of Company Senior Management as well as his peers.
Please pass on our thanks and appreciation to him from myself, James Lee in Port Augusta as well Butlers Mechanical Services. Well done Brett, thankyou.
Cheers and all best.
Kind regards, V. James Lee.
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He was informative, his product knowledge was excellent as was his customer care and focus
When to busy to take a phone call he always called back later as available.
He responded to all Emails and Text messages sent also as available plus forwarded Product Technical information when requested.
Later Brett also took time to make a follow-up phone call a few days later to see that we'd received our product (that he delivered to a Courier/Transport Service which he'd squeezed in for us at last moment late in the day).
We haven't received service like this from other Suppliers for a long time.
Brett certainly is a credit to his Profession as well as to his Employer. His telephone manner plus his Customer Care and Focus does deserves to be recognized being bought to the attention of Company Senior Management as well as his peers.
Please pass on our thanks and appreciation to him from myself, James Lee in Port Augusta as well Butlers Mechanical Services. Well done Brett, thankyou.
Cheers and all best.
Kind regards, V. James Lee.
08 May 2018
The Chromagen 300L solar hot water system installed in our home is pathetic. It is 5 years old and has cost far more than it is worth already. Parts that were replaced 18 months ago need replacing again and Chromagen does not want to know anything about it. Their service provider where I live have left leaks and removed parts from our system and Chromogen will not accept any responsibility for the team they have sent to conduct maintenance. Rude and disgusting customer service every time I have had to deal with them over the past 2 years.
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05 March 2018
Use something else.
Just purchased a property very close to the beach & the hot water solar panels/cells are rusting away. I would not recommend using any panel whatsoever from Chromagen. In fact, I have just spoken to them & when questioned about the manufacturing/warranty etc. They chose to hang up, rather than try to assist.
My extremely strong recommendation is to use someone else as a supplier.
Pat.
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Just purchased a property very close to the beach & the hot water solar panels/cells are rusting away. I would not recommend using any panel whatsoever from Chromagen. In fact, I have just spoken to them & when questioned about the manufacturing/warranty etc. They chose to hang up, rather than try to assist.
My extremely strong recommendation is to use someone else as a supplier.
Pat.
13 February 2018
JFY Inverter failed after only 2yrs. Took 2 months and me calling JFY directly for warranty replacement to arrive. Electrician fitted replacement (a 2nd hand reconditioned inverter) and it was also faulty. Ring Chromagen and they hungup on me after trying to fob me off to JFY. 7 of 12 Solar Panels are also cracked. AVOID CHROMAGEN
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08 February 2018
Plantation Homes built the house with Chromagen hot water and Chromagen solar energy systems, and BOTH have FAILED MISERABLY
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13 September 2017
07 May 2017
On the 16/5/16 i bought and paid for a 5 kW solar system from Chromagen and had it installed the following Wednesday , what i did not know is before a company installs a system bigger than 4.5 kW they must have a letter of approval from the electricity company, in this case it was sp ausnet, , Chromagen did not have this approval before they installed my solar system which means sp ausnet refused to switch my system onto the grid. so they got my money upfront and then forgot about me. No amount of emails or phone calls from me would get any response, I wrote a letter to ACCC who contacted Chromagen but they took no notice, it was only when I started to talk about v-cat they got of there and made it happen. 289 days I earned nothing from my $6000.00 investment with no offer of compensation from this company , no apology , nothing so anybody out there thinking of getting a solar system on their roof please go to a reputable company and save yourself a lot of drama - TOZE.
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10 February 2017
If there is rating worse than awful I will use it! I have never experienced a service worse than Chromogen hot water in Melbourne Australia.
My product was faulty just one year old. I called their service centre to take a look. Two guys showed up and said $210 dollars rather than initial quote of $150. I gave him $250, he said he does not change and just leave it.
And he said he needs to access the panel through outside the house coz we have a flat roof. And I checked with him if it is okay to leave coz I was going to work, and he said it was fine.
Two hours later I got a call from the company and asked me literally: (1) Why did I short pay his staff? And (2) Why I just “drove offâ€. As you would understand, how I angry I became. I ended the conversation and called them back asking for the manager. He is not any better, he said to me: take your money back and I will never return to your house! At the time I was fine with it because I don’t want people like this to come back! And then I called the builder, he said if they never return and I get someone else to do the job, they can avoid the warranty all together! I will take the matter to the Consumer Affairs, even Media! They don’t treat their customers with respect, professionalism and honesty, they don’t deserve to be on the market!!!
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My product was faulty just one year old. I called their service centre to take a look. Two guys showed up and said $210 dollars rather than initial quote of $150. I gave him $250, he said he does not change and just leave it.
And he said he needs to access the panel through outside the house coz we have a flat roof. And I checked with him if it is okay to leave coz I was going to work, and he said it was fine.
Two hours later I got a call from the company and asked me literally: (1) Why did I short pay his staff? And (2) Why I just “drove offâ€. As you would understand, how I angry I became. I ended the conversation and called them back asking for the manager. He is not any better, he said to me: take your money back and I will never return to your house! At the time I was fine with it because I don’t want people like this to come back! And then I called the builder, he said if they never return and I get someone else to do the job, they can avoid the warranty all together! I will take the matter to the Consumer Affairs, even Media! They don’t treat their customers with respect, professionalism and honesty, they don’t deserve to be on the market!!!
03 June 2016
JFY will not call you back they will avoid calling customers. They have not replied to my email even though they give you a service record number its been months and they will just not answer the phone, if they do I can't understand them - not professional.
Inverter rating: 1/5
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Inverter rating: 1/5
18 May 2016
I did write to Chromagen not once but several times. I called them 4 times but I get directed to JFY which is worse than Chromagen. I spent over 5000.00 dollars and now am in my own to repair the system that they should be repairing. I was told a manager from Chromagen will call me - still waiting. Don't buy from such companies that's all I can say.
Inverter rating: 1/5
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Inverter rating: 1/5
17 April 2016
Appalling organisation to deal with. When they installed the solar power system 4 years ago it took me a month of daily phone calls to get them to finish and install the inverter. This should have warned me to whats ahead! Recently the inverter packed it in, OK have a 10 year warranty, got a quote from their service guy, $1500 to install. Reason they installed a transformer inverter, Aero sharp they no longer stock transformer inverters but transformer less inverters which they say meets their warranty requirements, replace like with like. Anyhow only limited co-operation from Chromagen. Ended up sourcing an inverter on Ebay.
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17 May 2014
The solar system worked well but the 'cheap' inverter failed within 3 years. Chromagen used every excuse possible to NOT honour the warranty. Their local (Busselton) agent had already terminated their agreement with Chromagen due to Chromagen's financial mismanagement. A second (nearly) local agent (Bunbury - 50 kms) was used however we were charged a call-out fee to simply have their technician come and verify that the inverter had failed. Several weeks later there was no sign of any replacement inverter despite repeated email and phone calls requesting service. We decided to extract ourselves from the Chromagen mess by getting an independent supplier to install a new inverter at our own cost. Chromagen have failed to provide anything like a satisfactory customer service and failed to honour their warranty. As a business they may have saved their money but have clearly lost their reputation and any future business from me or any friends of mine.
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10 October 2013
Received a $23,000 quote for an 8Kw system - over sold. The other two suppliers didn't turn up to the site inspection arranged.
I found your Checklist for comparing solar panels most helpful.
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I found your Checklist for comparing solar panels most helpful.
11 January 2013
I would like to thank you for giving me the start with the purchasing of my solar system. All the three companies that you provided to me gave me good quotes and the service was excellent. Your site is of great help in deciding which solar system to buy. Thank you!
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06 September 2012
Original Review on 20-12-2010:
The most difficult part of the whole process was dealing with the electricity supplier. (in my case AGL) They seem to go slow with the changeover and are not helpful at all. I was amazed when they told me that the agreement form that they were posting me would take several weeks as it was sent offshore then posted to me. How crazy is that! After much wrangling I convinced them to email it to me instead, so that made it all much faster. When I was ringing them daily to find out where the process was at I was able to tell them the date and time of the email that I sent with the signed form attached. That seemed to speed things up and they couldn't use the excuse that the paperwork hadn't arrived. Thank your for your fantastic service. The salesman from Solar Dynamics was very impressed when I was asking him the questions you had sent. He commented that I had obviously done my homework. I have recommended your site to several of my friends who are considering going solar. Thank you21 months later we asked Anne: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
Only suggestion I would make is to make sure the electrician the solar company is using puts good quality (not chinese) circuit breaker/RCD combinations. The chinese ones trip out all the time even when just turning on a light switch05 September 2012
Original Review on 12-08-2010:
25 months later we asked LORRAINE: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"
Faulty installations meant that 3 service calls were required to get it working properly.11 August 2012
24 April 2012
I went looking for system prices while awaiting your contact response which I felt took some time and no prices were given, where Chromagen & others that advertised in papers with prices led me to followup.
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14 July 2011
03 March 2011
Chromagen installed my solar hot water system in 2010 after going through the processes of finding a solar power installer I went with the company I previously used and had no problems and was happy with price and service. Thank you for the trouble of finding quotes in my area, all were comparable but in the end I went with a company I had good dealings with in the past.
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29 January 2011
11 January 2011
Different brand panels installed initially. No problem getting them changed to those quoted.
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06 January 2011
The Installers would need to be able to install the scaffold themselves without have to wait for the scaffolding installers which resulted in considerable delay in my case. The scaffold was also not removed several days after the completion of the installation, causing water leak through the roof during those heavy raining days.
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18 December 2010
I only got one quote $3600 because of the nearby asbestos nearby
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14 July 2010
05 July 2010
22 June 2010
I previously had a solar hot water system made by Chromagen installed & I am very happy with the efficiency of the system. As this is our 3rd solar hot water system I feel I am qualified to compare systems.
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28 May 2010
Chromagen, Braeside
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An absolute disgrace
Tank replaced 2017. Just found out that the pump was plugged direct into 240v power and not into the solar control unit. There was a short in the roof sensor. There was a short on the tank sensor. The control unit was not showing led faults and was corroded and damaged. Plus other faults. I complained to their service department and was met with arrogant and unproductive comments.So I replaced the whole unit with a new heat pump water heater, took the useless solar panels off the roof to the dump. I wrote a letter to the company which has seen to ignore me totally. Need Government intervention to control rubbish like this.
Inverter rating: 1/5