Solar installers in Brisbane:

Solar panels are growing leaps and bounds in Australia due to the rebates offered and the benefits it has as a product. Seeing is you may want to get one for your residence, and you may have ordered one! Today we are here to discuss the next step after ordering, that is how will your solar installers in Brisbane install your solar panels?

If you are curious to know this, and haven’t ordered a system yet, we will also discuss how your system generally costs. This is to give you an idea to expect this kind of costing, if your installer charges more, you can debate with him on this.

Things to consider before buying a system

No matter if you are here after ordering your solar system from your preferred solar installers, or you are yet to come up with a decision. A solar system is a big financial investment that requires complete research before making up a decision.

Here we will discuss the most crucial things which you need to consider before getting yourself a solar system. If you have however ordered a system, you can still read to cross check all the points.

1. Roof Condition: This is the biggest thing that you need to consider that we see many people going wrong with. This is your roof condition, and making sure it is strong enough to handle the panels on itself.

The first thing you have to consider is the age of your roof. Whether it is old or new? If you had a recently constructed property then you can be assured that it will be up for your solar panels. But if you have a house made 30 years ago, then it can stand a problem, because roofs in Australia tend to degrade early due to Australian weather. Hence, to counter this make sure you have a professional do a quick checkup of your property’s roof to make sure it can handle the upcoming infrastructure for well over 20 years.

Another thing you should consider while getting a new solar system is the shape of your roof. This is because the solar panels require much space on your roof so you should be sure that they will fit in when you install them.

Another thing related to roofs is the amount of weight that they can handle.  This is of much importance because you don’t want last minute damages on your roof, done due to the weight of your solar panels. If you think your roof is old enough, then you can opt in for roof repairs before the installation process has initiated. This is because once your solar panels are installed on your roof and you encounter a problem, there will be a much increased cost of dismantling and reinstalling the panels. If you have ordered your panels, make sure you have checked your roof with a professional until your panels arrive.

2. Make sure you get the best deal: The next thing that you will check after making sure that your roof has ample strength to accommodate your solar panels, is checking if you got the most value for money deal. If the contractor you have chosen is the only one you have talked to, then think again before settling on it because there may be a chance that a great deal may be waiting on the shelf.

Before settling on one, you should at least speak to three contractors to get a general idea of the market rate and facilities. This way you will be able to make a well informed decision for your solar investment.

Also, when you are at the verge of signing the contract with your preferred solar installers in Brisbane, make sure you check a few things in there.

Things like Complete finance included in the system must be mentioned in the contract, maintenance period and terms of service must be mentioned there, Performance guarantees must be mentioned there. If any of these isn’t present in your solar contract then you can ask some counter questions to clear all of this.

3. Warranty: The important or we can say the most important part of a solar system is the amount of warranty offered on different components. This is because this will decide the life of the solar system, and it also offers the satisfaction that any problem will be resolved without any extra finances involved.

If you tend to choose the inferior panels, you may get them for cheap but they will offer less efficiency and even less warranties. This way you will end up spending more than what you would spend on a decent solar panel because you have to bear the charges of repair once the short warranty period ends.

There are different types of warranties, which you should consider while buying the solar system. These include:

Installation Warranty: If there is a problem with the installation of the products, this can result in the damage of the costly components installed. In the installation warranty the solar installers in Brisbane ensure you of solving any problem, which can occur in the process of installing the solar system. This will include stuff like roof damage while installing, product damage while installing or installing defective products and more.

Solar Panels Warranty: When installing the solar panels, you must check if they offer a good period of warranty or not. If we talk about the industry standards then the solar panels which are covered under warranty for above 25 years are considered as a great buy. But any panels which give less than that are considered inferior to the industry standard, and you should avoid buying them until budget makes up a great deal. Even then you should not buy anything under 15 to 20 years of warranty.

In this warranty the solar panels efficiency and manufacturing defect replacement is included. This means that the solar panels will work at, say 90% of the rated output till the period of warranty ends, and if they don’t the customer will get full panel replacement.

Inverter Warranty: The inverter is the part which requires warranty the most, this is because the inverter works through the day in extreme heat and hence wear out more than any other component installed in the system. The industry standards for the inverter warranties are of 5 to 10 years and some good brands offer up to 12 years. If we talk about the micro inverters there warranty must lie between 20 to 25 years depending on the brand you choose.

Installing the Solar Panels

Now here is the part you have been waiting for, how the solar installers in Brisbane install your solar panels on your roof top. The solar installation process is not as easy as it may seem. This is because this can include months of paperwork and installation, before you get the system up and running on your rooftop. An average solar panel installation in Australia requires almost one to three months to get completed after the signing of contract. So, you should be prepared to wait for a significant period of time after signing the contract with the solar installers. Meanwhile, let’s discuss what goes into installing a solar system from scratch.

We can categorize the installation process of a solar system into four major categories. These are as follows:

1. Property Analysis

2. Documentation

3. Parts Ordering

4. Installation Day

Let’s talk about each of them in detail further in the article.

1. Property Analysis

The first step towards a successfully installed solar system is the property analysis which is done by an engineer appointed by the solar installer, with whom you signed your contract. As we discussed above there are a few things which need to be considered before getting solar panels on your roof. The things which we discussed above are checked by the engineer which is appointed by the solar installers.

The engineer’s first stop after entering the property is its roof because that is the one where all the heavy weighted solar panels will rest for the coming decades. The engineer will thoroughly check the roof for any kind of damage or leakage in it. He will make sure that the roof is structurally intact, so as to lift the solar panels for a long time. If he notices any kind of if and buts there, he will immediately report that to the appointing company, that are the solar installers in this case, which will guide you to fix it as soon as possible. Your solar panels could not get installed on a broken or structurally old roof because that can cause some serious consequences post install.

The next stop of the engineer would be your meter box. This is done to check if the installed meter box/energy box is capable of handling the amount of energy your solar panels will generate. Mostly the properties which were constructed more than a decade ago will have to upgrade their energy boxes to accommodate an average sized solar system. This is what your engineer will also suggest to you, and as you can guess this will incur extra charges to get replaced.

2. Documentation

The next step which comes in after all the quality checks have been done is completing the documentation. This part is mostly carried about the solar installers of your choice, but it is always better to have the knowledge of the papers you are signing, so that you can object if you don’t want to make some alterations.

The documents you will be applying for are as follows:

The first document is applying for STC’s (small scale technology certificates) or simply government rebates. These are of utmost importance in any solar install that’s why they are done first. Because these are the only things which will make your solar install affordable. Next step would be to apply for permits from state authorities. This will include the state Terms of service, because some states will allow you to fill your roof with panels, while others might obstruct it. It depends on your state and your solar installers will handle this.

3. Parts Ordering

The next step is ordering the infrastructure required to successfully complete the install. This step is initiated as soon as all of your documents are complete and up to date. This step will be carried out by your solar installers Brisbane because they will arrange the equipment you shortlisted from the manufacturer. Like if you have selected LONGi solar panels then the solar installers will contact LONGi to issue them some panels as your system requires.

4. Installation Day

The D Day has finally arrived, the day when the stars align for you and your system gets installed on your roof. Ok that’s too much, but yeah it’s a big day in any solar owner’s life.

The solar installers will show up early in the morning, to get your system installed on your roof. They will lay all the wires first on the roof to make a foundation for the panels. Then they will attach the racking and then mount the solar panels on top of them. Then the only step left after this is getting your solar inverters in line with your panels and your system is fully installed and ready to pump out some kiloWatts from the sun.

Then the only thing left is connecting the setup to the grid to finally run it for the first time. Connecting to the grid can also take some time depending upon your location. The grid will send an expert to cross check what your installer has done and see if there is anything left untied or missing. Once he approves the system your panels go live and start generating energy.