What should homeowners around Sydney's Northern Beaches look out for when they're buying solar?
Synopsis
Solarpro is a company that specializes in solar energy, solar batteries, solar pool heating, and car charging. They offer a range of energy-efficient solutions that are targeted towards saving energy. The right solar system for anyone depends on three things, how much roof space they have, how much energy they want to generate, and how much they want to spend on it. Solarpro uses LG panels, which are highly efficient, have a long lifespan, and are safe to install even near the ocean. Their team of electricians and roofers install the systems that they sell, and they offer a 25-year full system warranty on some of the systems they use.
It is important to choose a quality solar system that will last long and provide a good financial outcome. Solarpro does not sell solar systems based on kilowatts, but rather they sell them by the panel and design them to suit the customer's needs. They focus on educating their customers and designing the system around them, not what suits their company. When choosing a solar company, it is important to look for one that employs their own electricians and not a sales company that subcontracts installations. Solar equipment manufacturers come and go, so it is important to go with big brands and big companies that have a big revenue base to ensure that the warranty is secure.
Video Transcript
- My name is David Veal, I run Solarpro. We specialise in solar energy, solar batteries, solar pool heating. We do car charging, we do hot water, so we do a whole range of energy efficiency and whatever we put in is targeted around saving energy. If it runs on the sun, we can install it for you. The right designs are got a lot to do with three things, the right solar system for anyone depends on three things we say, how much roof space you have, how much energy you wanna generate and how much money you wanna spend on it. And well, when we find the right balance in all of those, we've got the right system for you.
So, a system design is all based around the roof. We've got tight roofs that we need to get a lot of solar panels on, so we need to make sure that we maximize any aspects and the shade and the constraints within the system that we're designing as well. I would say 30% of our solar systems we install are within 500 meters from the beach, being here on the Northern Beaches.
So, it's really, really important that these people buy a solar panel and equipment that is able to be that close to the ocean. There aren't many solar panels around that will actually let you install within 300 meters. We use LG. LG, you can install on a boat, so they're very safe to install around the sea. The wind loading on the LG panel is twice the industry standard. Being here on the Northern Beaches, we get a lot of sea breezes and a lot of ocean winds, so the soil degradation and the wind loadings are the best that they can be. It's really important to get a highly efficient panel on your roof, because roof real estate is more valuable than you probably realize. Why that's important is, we need to generate as much power as we can off the roof because as we're moving forward, we're using a lot more energy.
With the sun, that energy is yours, and once you put those solar panels on, it's costing you nothing. we're putting electric appliances in like, electric hot water, we're heating swimming pools with electric heat pumps, we're now driving cars that use electricity, so we need as much roof space as possible. So to use a highly efficient panel means we're using less in footprint. We wanna also ensure that that solar panel has got a long, long life in it as well. We're looking at really getting a 25-30 year life out of a solar panel. There's only a few solar panels around that will do that and that's why we use the LG panel, because they are a highly efficient panel and we can guarantee that they're gonna be around for 25 years.
A lot of solar companies are selling what they wanna sell people, in the form of say a, five kilowatts system, a 6.6 or a seven. We sell solar systems by the panel, so we look at exactly what you need and we design it around that, we mold it to suit you, not what suits us and that's why it's really important to have someone sitting down with you at the table, because if you're not being educated, you're being sold what someone else wants to sell you, not what you need.
What a home owner should look for, number one, is does the company that you are buying your system from have employed electricians that are working for them or is it a sales company. A lot of people go down the road of being fooled on price and utilizing a company that is a sales company that sub-contract out all of their installations. We don't do that, we have got a team of electricians and a team of roofers that install the systems for us. Solar equipment manufacturers come and go, we've seen plenty of them over the years, there's been over a 100 solar panel manufacturers come and go, and what we're finding is people are being left with products with no warranty, so it's really important that you go with big brands, with big companies that have got a big revenue pace, to look after your warranty. Choosing a quality solar system is all about longevity and about how long that system is gonna last.
The systems we use, we've got a 25 year full system warranty we can offer on some of the systems we use. The solar panel we use, the LG, has got a 25 year product warranty and that is a full warranty. A full warranty where they cover the panel as well as the labor.
- Solarpro, with David Veal and his crew, look after us in the wider Sydney area. David has been in the business for over 5 years with regards to LG panels. We've seen many systems, he focuses on quality. He will give you a good financial long-term outcome, I can highly recommend him.