Monday 15 September 2014

Solar Panels Decision Made

The price of solar panels have come down a lot in the last 5 years. My dad got a 1.5kW system about 6 years ago that cost him over $11,000.00. After a lot of research we have decided to purchase the only Australian manufactured panels. Tindo Solar are manufactured in South Australia and after a little haggling we managed to get a price that we were happy to pay. They are more expensive than a quality Chinese panel but we felt had some other advantages other than being Australian made. They have micro-inverters built into them, this means that each system is 'stand alone' and you can add further panels in the future without any integration problems. This also means that if there is shading on one panel, it will not impact the efficiency of the other panels. The panels will be visible so we wanted a 'neat' looking system and their long term warranty and efficiency over its life span is very good. I guess we will see. Just need to wait for the roof to be built now...and the walls.

Tuesday 2 September 2014

Sun, sun, sun..what we need are some solar panels!

While you would have no idea that it is sunny outside from our home. Our reno space is bathing in sunlight! We are busily pricing trusses and frames at the moment. Have also delved into the murky depths of solar panels. Sometimes it's difficult to tell an installer that we want a high quality, long lasting system, not just the cheapest around. We want to ensure that we have panels with micro-inverters as they are much more flexible to add on later. There are some panels that perform better than others when the roof temperature is high. So much to contemplate when there is such a big choice of product.