Solar Man

Solar Man Reviews

4.3

Based on 24 ratings

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About

The Original SOLAR-MAN® is a small family owned business that has been providing energy management solutions to South Australians for over 15 years. 

In 2016, The Original SOLAR-MAN® became the first exclusively South Australian ‘Clean Energy Council Approved Solar Retailer’.

Director, Paul Staska is passionate about renewable energy, the environment, high standards and integrity. He has been involved in the energy efficiency sector for over two decades conducting energy audits, 5-Star building assessments and specialising in solar energy since 2005. You can count on Paul’s technical knowledge and expertise to be involved in every project undertaken.

The Original SOLAR-MAN® designs and installs a wide range of installations including: high performance grid connect, remote off-grid systems, large scale commercial projects, energy storage and complex sites.

We pride ourselves on meeting the needs of discerning customers and exceeding expectations, giving the customer the peace of mind they deserve. Our focus is always on delivering industry best service (before and after sale), quality equipment from reputable suppliers and best practice workmanship.

We will help you with the right solution to manage the complex energy market and rising energy costs – WE GUARANTEE IT!

Panels, inverter, battery and EV charger brands

Panel brands currently installed

Panel brands previously installed

Inverter brands currently installed

Inverter brands previously installed

Battery brands currently installed

Battery brands previously installed

The views expressed by reviewers are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of SolarQuotes Home Electrification Pty Ltd, 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.

Solar Man Reviews (24)

Show Most Recent reviews from All timeacross Australia

Average Scores

4.1/5

Value for money

4.5/5

Quality of System

4.5/5

Installation

4.1/5

Customer Service

  • 5 star 7
  • 4 star 10
  • 3 star 7
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 0

Beyond expectations

Service from Solar Man, from initial contact, quote, installation and follow up, has been fantastic. Yes, could have paid less money elsewhere, but did that last time and as a result have needed to replace as other products stop working. Solar Man installed panels, inverter and battery. The team who undertook the installation were easy to deal with, conscientious and did a great job.

Have paid for quality, expect this will last. Performance of the system itself is better than expected, again buying a quality product pays off in the long run and can already see significant benefits of this system.

Follow up service was again better than expected, it's nice to be surprised. Highly recommend.

Panel rating: 5/5
Inverter rating: 5/5
Battery rating: 5/5
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Good System, very bad after Sales Support

Like many others have said, the system itself is great, but I’m extremely disappointed with the aftercare service.

Once the sale was complete, they became unresponsive to my calls, voicemails, texts, and emails. They were quick to respond before the sale, but now they are unreachable and have been for over 2 months.

If you anticipate needing post-installation support, I recommend considering someone else. The initial interaction was positive, but the lack of after-sales support is unacceptable. I do not recommend this seller.

Supplier Reply:

Hi Alex,
I am astonished to read your nasty feedback in the Solar Quotes review. Especially given that you are aware of the recent personal tragedy in my family, and my long planned overseas travel.
Checking my records I missed one email from you only, and I responded same day (19/07) to your voicemail message.
Are you aware that I have had extensive conversations and email exchanges with your wife post installation? She was much easier to contact and our dealings always friendly and positive.
After installation I contacted you to check on metering progress to find you had not followed my instructions. Despite this, I took it upon myself to fix the situation.
So, please explain exactly where, why and how you consider our after sales support to be so poor? Your system is working beautifully. We have completed everything promised in our contract, and I did additional work, made necessary as you did not follow specific instructions.
It seems you are not aware of the numerous emails & dealings I had with your wife during this time. A time when I am supposed to have been ‘unresponsive’.
I am aware of your unresolved request for assistance with your power bills. I am always happy to help with these types of requests, but they are ultimately the realm of your energy retailer, not your solar company.
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Fantastic installer,went beyond to help me understand some aspects of the panels

All of the above great service,installation went well,they organised all aspects of the solar process.my friend has organised to install solar with solar man thanks
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A terrific experience

No grid installation
Totally off grid system
All people involved in the project were terrific
Was done in a great time frame
With all aspects hassle free

Inverter rating: 5/5
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As a newbie i was learning as i went along { your pages helped greatly } From the outset it has been a good experience ,the install was yesterday now waiting for smart meter hookup.

quoting process sat and explained the what and how, the install all of the above nothing left behind hooked up ready to go, waiting for our smart meter and yes have organised for the meter to be fitted. This is still ongoing at this time install was yesterday 25th
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Easy as

Quoting was friendly and thorough, I felt like I knew what I was making a decision about quite easily. Install was quick and stress free.
Inverter rating: 5/5
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Installation comments

I asked for 3 quotations. All three replied with quotes, after looking at photos or our roof. 2 or the 3 visited the house,, and one spent some time on the roof, assessing the problems with shading - from trees and tall chimneys.
Prices were similar from all three, and all supplied details of their systems, which were very helpful in comparing them.
I finally chose the most expensive of the three, after being convinced that it would perform best with our shading problems. One of the other companies asked for reasons why I had not chosen them, which led to some discussion between him, me and the successful tenderer. This was also helpful.

The followup from the successful tenderer was very good.

We decided not to get a battery at this stage, but to get a system that would allow for a battery to be installed at a later date with minimum difficulty or expense in the installation.
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Even better second time around

The Original Solar Man installed Solar Panels on my new home in 2010 and did a great job. Come 2022 and now living in a seafront apartment group, Paul and his team installed six systems in a eleven year old 4 story apartment building with aplomb. Careful inspection provided for rock solid quotes for the owners. This was followed by great time management and communication across all owners as the systems were installed. Attention to detail and problem solving as issues arose was first class. All owners are extremely happy with their outcome, who would have thought that apartment installations could be this seamless?
Battery rating: 5/5
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Great quality product

Great advice and top quality products. Paul is extremely knowledgable and explained some of the technical aspects well. He was thoughtful and considered in his recommendations.
Some of the communication wasn’t as easy as might be expected with some difficulties getting in touch and back and forth emails. The installers were very friendly and a pleasure to deal with. Their workmanship also seems of a very high standard.
After installation communication again was not great from the company. We have only received an email with some vague ‘next steps’ that lacked details and timelines which lead to unnecessary frustrations. This could have been avoided with a simple phone call accompanying the email, but no one has spoken to us since. This has left us a bit disappointed from that end.
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Good quality products and great service

The quoting and design process went really well - they answered all questions I had and gave me suitable time to consider options they presented.

The installation went really well - electrician and trade assistant very professional. Came as promised and got the job done efficiently.

After-instal process went well - they submitted paperwork to the retailer for me. They emailed me an after-service pack for future reference.

Once new meter was installed and system switched on, she's been apples.

Overall, a good experience.
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Original Review on 08-05-2018:

I hummed and haa’d for a while and got stuck in the weeds picking Uber quality over moderate price.
In the end I shot for upper middle of the road and “The solar Man” aka Paul made it easy once I made my choice.

6.6kw, 22x Jinko 300w panels, Fronius Primo inverter , 2 banks and 3 strings and 1 day install.
Original ratings

Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 5/5

Value for money: 4/5
Quality of System: 4/5
Installation: 5/5
Customer Service: 4/5

8 months later we asked John: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

The whole system exceeded expectations, credit in winter and credit spring. I have smashed the A/C this sumer and so far I am looking to still get a credit.
22 Jinko 300w panels 6.6kw , now I am just waiting for useable size batteries to lower in price.
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Most informative, no hard selling, uses higher quality components, not cheap but happy so far with Sunpower panels, Fronius inverter and online monitoring.
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I choose Paul at Solarman because he installed an excellent 3Kw system to my house 6 years ago.
The system has performed excellent and I have always had perfect response if I had any problems. (Fronius inverter replaced when I had problems with the incoming voltage from SA Networks.)
I have gone with the latest Sunpower Panels on my daughters house as their reviews are second to none.
She is paying a bit more than any of the other quotes but the quality and performance should win out in the end.
Past experience with Solarman assures me of an excellent professional installation and support.
To be installed next week. I will let you know if there are any complications etc.
Can I thank you for your assistance in my research and congratulate you on a very informative and helpful web site.
Keep up the good work.
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Very Happy with the system and installation, but the after sales service is very poor, wont get back to you, office phone disconnected, had a query about the performance of the system, suggested to trim trees, which we did immediately, next AGL bill showed no improvement, he sent out a person who stated to me, he didn't know what was happening, was sent a bill for $150 for that, I was 4 days late in paying, as we are pensioners, charged us $50 late fee on top. Not good enough

Supplier Reply:

unfortunately, there is occasionally a customer who increases energy use once solar is installed. when I reviewed this customer's system performance this is exactly what I found. We always get back to customers if they have concerns, however we are not responsible for their poor energy use habits. A non-warranty related call out is not free with any business. It is disappointing this customer has lost objectivity and has provided a poor rating due to their own ignorance.
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Very good system and installation,after sales service very poor and hard to get hold of.
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The person who came out to give the quote (Out of 7 quotes) was the most knowledgeable, no sales pitch just straight talking and facts. The most thorough inspection of the site with accurate measuring as to where the panels should be located. The only person to actually climb on the roof and inspect the roof as we have raked ceilings.
All staff from the initial inspection (Owner of the business), to office staff, panel installer and electrician were efficient, knowlegeable and friendly.
Installation was completed very professionally, a very neat job and site cleaned immaculately
Communication lines were excellent with us being kept informed at every point of the the process.
The system has been installed for 10 days and is performing just as was stated.
Highly recommend this company.
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Original Review on 01-04-2011:

I will update this review when the system is installed. Original ratings

Panel rating: 5/5
Inverter rating: 4/5

Value for money: 4/5
Quality of System: 5/5
Installation: N/A
Customer Service: 4/5

18 months later we asked Denis: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

Yes the system has been performing very well even on so called dull days.
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Original Review on 03-05-2011:

The installer has 3 installation units operating. His office is at O'Halloran Hill. Concentrates on country areas as city is too "cut throat". I did find other city installers heavily loaded their prices to go country. Original ratings

Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 4/5

Value for money: 3/5
Quality of System: 4/5
Installation: 4/5
Customer Service: 4/5

17 months later we asked Robin: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

YES
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Original Review on 26-06-2011:

The panels I chose (SunPower) are the most expensive, but they are also the best quality and the most efficient (18%, but the new model is 19%, and now the newest model is a world-record-breaking 20%. Wow, but darn, ha.), meaning I could put the biggest system possible on my roof. SunPower are the only panel I believe to have the metal gridlines on the back, not covering up the solar cells at all.

Paul also made a graph estimating power during different seasons of the year.
Original ratings

Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 4/5

Value for money: 4/5
Quality of System: 5/5
Installation: 5/5
Customer Service: 5/5

15 months later we asked Peter: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

Something I didn't know before: All solar systems will perform only at about 80% at best (except more when white clouds in sky, even above rating!)
But it certainly has produced the KWH per year predicted by installer.
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Original Review on 27-05-2010:

Original ratings

Panel rating: 4/5
Inverter rating: 2/5

Value for money: 4/5
Quality of System: 4/5
Installation: N/A
Customer Service: 5/5

28 months later we asked This person: "Are you happy with the performance of your system so far?"

Yes
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Paul is an excellent operator who is honest and provides excellent information. The tradesman that did the installation have been great. Everything went according to plan. The 2.4 kw system was supposed to produce 10.5kw/ day but has been producing on average 12 or more. Excellent product, excellent service, and excellent price.
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