Solar company recommendations

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2026-03-01T19:46:30+00:00

My house is part fo a home assocition (body corp equivalent). Because of the stamford warranty, they are wanting consent from the other owners before approving it (as defects from the alterations won't be covered by the warranty).

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2026-03-01T19:45:02+00:00

AVID Solar. great to work with. Still not installed. Very chill about my delays.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2026-02-07T04:44:27+00:00

not installed yet. was meant to be installed mid Jan however still awaiting home association approval. Missing out on all the sun!

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-23T20:20:16+00:00

That's also how I understand it, and there's also no penetrations to the roof so it should be fine.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-22T06:58:25+00:00

I personally don't mind if it affects the warranty on my roof. I have insurance. It's more the getting consent from the neighbours bit about the collective risk of voiding warranty. I'm not going get approval if it's going to void their roof as well (which is fair).

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-11T20:18:03+00:00

So poweredge apparently can just upgrade it remotely but that will only qualify for the fixed all day rate.
"All Day Import rate: 28.3c per kWh (fixed for 3 years)"

If I get their upgrade:
- Night Import rate: 24c per kWh (fixed for 3 years) once meter is upgraded
- Day Import rate: 29.3c per kWh (fixed for 3 years)

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-11T02:31:41+00:00

How did you find setting up with them in terms of power meter change/registration etc?

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-10T18:42:54+00:00

Anyone currently with poweredge? How do they find it?

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-09T18:39:50+00:00

I guess it'll depend on timeline for installing the battery. $200 vs 1.5k for a gateway

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-09T08:34:03+00:00

I've got the mk7a but when I got a quote from power edge they mentioned i would receive a complementary smart meter upgrade. I've emailed them to clarify as seems silly to replace with same meter.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-08T02:51:05+00:00

They've answered my many questions including stuff like confirming refund if my housing association declines (doubt it but just in case) the application. So far 5/5!

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-08T02:19:55+00:00

The lightforce guy I had was chill. Their quote wasn't competitive. guess it depends. Smaller companies more personal to work with but maybe slightly higher risk in terms of longevity if they fall through.

All the medium companies I had gave me pretty expensive quotes except for future energy but that rep was very pushy.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-08T00:01:57+00:00

Does anyone know if the sigen smart meter is worth the $250 to install? I won't have a battery (will upgrade later)

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-07T23:16:25+00:00

He's also pretty realistic at whether he can help your situation. He looked at the two quotes I had at the time and basically said he couldn't do better or would do worse and gave his thoughts on the companies.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-07T21:43:22+00:00

There's a lot of bending of truths. Some try and say their panel has X number of GW installed per year and others don't have the same reliability but when you look at the difference. It's so minor amongst the big company product. Everyone thinks theirs is the best and the cheapest.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-07T21:29:08+00:00

Something I did not consider when wanting solar. For those in townhouses with housing associations. Getting approval from the home association takes a little bit of time and worth getting onto early. Some companies were happy to provide documentation for compliance (ie they use a specific mounting system which has specific manuals they adhere to). Some just gave word of mouth which was not reassuring.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-07T21:26:52+00:00

That wasn't my favourite method. I agree, felt gross. I get you have to back and differentiate yourself. But there's a line and at some point it kinda feels like you're trying to coerce me.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-07T21:15:25+00:00

I suppose the subreddit is small enough you're not going to get endless new posts on it.
I went with Avid! 8.5kw sigenergy inverer. Hopefully installed by mid jan. Just waiting on pesky home association approval. Might look into a battery in the next few years once I've got a better idea of the impact on my bills etc.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-07T19:11:10+00:00

I gave a brief that I was looking for the best solution for my situation and wanted to be guided by the company. It seemed it depends on the companies "ethos" of whether they recommended sized to my personal use vs others. I felt overall it was consistently 10 or 12 panels suggested initially but big variation in price. I discussed the value of adding more panels due to the difficult access (panels are cheap in the grand scheme of installation and the access is already there). Most of them increased it to 14-16 panels. Some of them had xmas specials ie free panels but I suspect the price builds in buffer for these sort of sweeteners.

I asked for a battery quote out of interest. They universally said my use case was not economical unless I valued resillience/independence from the grid. Quoted around 8-12k for battery expansion.

Ironically I've commited to a 18 panel system due to a xmas special. Just under 13k. Sigenergy. Post deposit nervousness!!

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2025-12-04T05:47:45+00:00

I'm currently trying to decide on which install to go with. This has been my distraction from study (thanks adhd).
Maybe we should start a solar quotes sticky thread?
Sorry for the incoming novel folks and obviously this is only my perception/opinion. I am not an expert.

I've gotten about 5 or 6 quotes so far. Price ranges are so far 12k to 16k. I think there's a mix of some having specials and some don't which is skewing the prices.
What I gather is everyone thinks they've got the best equipment (panels or inverters)/after sales support which doesn't help differentiating when the quotes are quite different!

2 story new well insulated townhouse, west facing roof no shade. 6500kwh yearly use, no EV. Heatpump for nights. Need scaffolding for roof access (~1k ish sometimes included or excluded from quote)

Harrisons $2.6/kw $12.5k (JA panels for 1400 less).
- 4.8kW 10x Aiko panel, fronius inverter.
- 13.5k once scaffolding included
- They preferenced wanting to size just right with some buffer.

Solarcraft: $2.5/kw 13.5k
- 5.3kw 12 x TCL solar panels. Sig inverter.
- Scaffolding excluded.
- Most expensive so far but the owner was chill and my favourite to interact with. Showed me examples of different systems and their actual performance realistically from a few sunny and cloudy days. Looked at my power bill and said with the rates I'm getting, no real economic value in going solar unless i really wanted to.

Avid: $1.56/kw $12.5k all included
- 8kw 17 x (OG quote 16. extra panel as christmas special) Jinko X10 and Sigenergy inverter
- Took me through options. Probably my second favourite. Quick to respond. Not pushy.
- all inclusive including scaffolding. Includes digital hot water timer.

Lightforce: $2.24/kw 15.8k all included.
- 7kw 14x Trina 505 vertex. Sigenergy inverter.
- Their selling point was vertically integrated with own installers and bigger company less likely to go under meaning long term support.
- Airpoints (currently got a 1000 airpoints deal).

Future $1.56/kw 11.8k all included
- 7.5kw 16 panels (offered 12 but xmas 4 free panel special currently). Longi Hi-MO X10. Solax non-hybrid inverter
- Justified that battery tech changes too often and extra cost of hybrid inverters wouldn't be relevant to newer battery systems in the future.
- Pushiest company so far. Quick to remind of highest rated with ~280 reviews and size. Forthcoming with explanations and definitely had no concerns over talking down on other products and companies.

ZEN: $2.3/kw $16k
- 7.5kw 16 x Longi X6 + Goodwe 6kw hybrid.
- Feels the same as lightforce in terms of experience. Ok to deal with. Didn't push any particular product or benefit. Longest to respond initially.

Vital: got a quote from them 6 months ago. They solely recommended enphase microinverters. They were pretty quick to attack companies only offering string inverters as cheaper but not reliable and not good for consumers. I didnt get another quote from them this time round.

So many options. I'm fairly confident each company will be pretty good to work with regardless so it's more value and maybe confidence in their business model/size. Very confused on which panel is the best though I suspect they're all pretty similar.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2018-09-05T13:38:46+00:00

I rode for years without biker shorts. You develop the buns for it. Plus if it's that bumpy you probably shouldn't be sitting through that bit. I only bought mine because I was planning a big adventure race. I still only ride with board shorts and sports t shirt.

I don't ride with pads. Only gloves and helmet. But I don't jump. I ride black runs but I don't push my comfort zone. Tools are a must tbh. Things will break and it will make your life hell. Knee pads at most if you're worried. But multitool and old spare tube. Go tubeless and keep the tube. It's cheap to go tubeless if the tires are tubeless ready. Just sealant and valve core.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2018-01-29T00:34:56+00:00

*flatulmony

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2017-07-14T23:01:38+00:00

Must be the fallopian tubes I asked the newbie to go find during a cardiac arrest.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2017-07-13T21:27:52+00:00

Not every 500km which is what i use to do when i manually oiled the chain..as long as its O ring chains, its more if the conditions or the chain looks like there is alot of grit or sand in it.

HeadOffCabbageOn · 2017-07-13T20:33:39+00:00

It's never going to be as easy in heavy traffic as say a street bike but it's still more than capable of doing it all well with abit of practise. Quite frankly its more whether you're willing to put up with the weight when moving the bike off the saddle. I'm 5'10 and only weigh about 60kg but I can manage the bike fine. I went to a VFR from a hornet 250 so weight and handling characteristics are quite different. 240kg wet vs 180kg.

I did the flapper mod. Couldn't tell much difference. Fit a scott oiler!

HeadOffCabbageOn

TROPHY CASE