Solar Service Group Questions & Answers

Honestly, I do not believe that a 3.5kWh system will be anywhere near to eliminate grid usage. I am running a 4.5kWh system with a 6kWh battery and have only been able to reduce grid usage down to about a third. I own a 210sqm house and we are three adults. The cost per kWh is $0.262026 plus a daily service fee of $0.9393 per day. My average daily use over 12 months is about $2.00.(2019 and 20 my power bills amounted to to $860.00 and 780.00 respectively; disclosure: I qualify for a daily age pensioner government discount of $0.8330). Without my current system my costs would have been $1,700.00 and $2,00.00 respectively. Less in summer month and higher during the winter. These figures will give you some idea of the panel array you need to install beyond 3.5 kWh. The battery system is expensive and will cost around $8,000.00 to cover a nominal 6 kWh. Nominal in this case means that only about 90% of stored capacity is ever available. So do your math by starting with the actual daily usage whether from panels or from the grid needs to be replaced by panels and storage.

Additionally I don't think that you will be permitted to separate from the grid and operate stand alone in an area where there is grid supply. You will need to make enquiries. I hope this helps.

2.9 kWh is nowhere near enough. Maybe only a third of what you need. I have a 2.9 kWh alpha ESS battery ( paid over $6,000) with new solar panels that are 6.6 and it is not enough to not rely on the grid. Now I know instead of getting a battery, it is better to upgrade your solar panels to the maximum. That will reduce your bills and it is cheaper than getting a battery.

That is the only number they have. Not surprised that you don't get an answer. It usually goes to a message bank & then they don't return your call anyway. You can try emailing them... technicalresolutions@solarservicegroup.com.au support@solarservicegroup.com.au Good luck!

Hi Naomi,

Could you please provide me with your mobile number and order number so I may review your case?

Battery size depends on the battery you buy, mine is approx 400mm H x 200mm W x 20mm Wide. How many batteries depends on how many panels you have and how much power you want to store. the one I got allows me to add more panels, but the panels I have are capable of filling the battery. I found in summer the battery is still half charged in the morning from the day before. In winter, I only had to draw off the grid after continuous days of rainy black clouds, my electric bill is a quarter of what it use to be. My battery is attached to the houses outside wall and is hidden down the side of the back of the house, out of the way. somewhere were none of my guest ever go or even see. Cost will also come down to the model you purchase.

Hi Ian, thanks for your question. Batteries will vary in size depending on various household factors such as the size of the rooftop panel system, amount of solar production, household consumption and other installation factors. As a result, different households can experience benefits from a wide variety of battery sizes as long as they are able to store enough energy to be used throughout the evening, allowing you to draw less energy from the grid.

We have sent you a private message to discuss options and pricing, if you would like to get in touch with us in the meantime feel free to contact us at hello(at)solarservicegroup.com.au.

650mm high x 620mm wide x 235mm deep

Got called n the day this was posted and was informed my installation will be December. Wow so much for the promise of installing within 8 weeks? By time install date planned arrives I will have been waiting 13 weeks!! Not a great start. Wishing I had not signed up now

Beware! have had Abysmal service and left with power outlets in 3 rooms in my house not working, solar panels not working and switchboard left with cover not screwed on. Will be getting a reliable company to rectify the shockingly incompetent work.

You will always have the service to property charges. But it seems that the battery is providing most of the floating power required. I am thinking that if I switch on the oven I may be drawing partially from the grid.

Hi Maz26, as Karl says you will have supply or property charges from your electricity retailers, however we have been able to see our customers charge their solar battery during the day and still cover daytime electricity usage with their solar. Then cover their night time electricity usage with the electricity stored in their battery.

No. After technicians came to rectify a problem I was left with power outlets in 3 rooms in my house not working, solar panels not working and switchboard left with cover not screwed on. Will be getting a reliable company to rectify the shockingly incompetent work.

I found Consumer Affairs had very helpful advice and are following up my complaint.

Hi have 2 batteries. I was told that would be sufficient to cover our energy needs day and night. It doesn't. Sales will tell anything to sell their products and lie to get you signed on

Hi Chossy, currently we are not CEC approved, however all of our installers and products are approved by the CEC. We have been investigating the process to become an approved retailer however there is an extensive waiting list at the moment. We do have another company which is CEC approved to be able to participate in Government Rebates, if you would like us to refer you to them or to learn more about our business feel free to give us a call on 1300 40 41 42.

Thanks

I have said nothing negative

Hi Jim, thank you for your question. We work very hard to ensure that all our installations meet high standards through a thorough scoping and installation process. We currently install a wide range of products, each with their own distinctive purposes. If you would like to discuss any products that we install, please do not hesitate to contact us on 1300 40 41 42.

You still, seem to have a lot of negative responses. Even if you are trying very hard. Jim

Hi Jim, we're very focused on providing the best possible service to all our customers. Unfortunately sometimes, like anything else, unexpected issues may arise with some installations or products that require extensive technical assistance, from both product manufacturer and our team.

We've recently revised our customer technical support approach to ensure that if an installation or service requires technical support; that our team are ready and able to assist in an efficient manner. If you would like to learn more about us, please do not hesitate to visit our website- external link  or call us on 1300 40 41 42.

I received a letter today from those guys, addressed to the Solar System Homeowner. The type of addressing is pretty fishy to start with - a quick google research brought me to: external link  I guess that says it all - no more addl. comment required.

Cheers, Peter

Hi Chris, thank you for your question. Our Head Office is located in Box Hill and we have installed and serviced systems all over Melbourne and greater Victoria. The team is backed by over 30 years' combined solar industry experience, and all our Technicians are accredited by the Clean Energy Council for all the work that they do installing solar products. We hope this clarifies some of your above queries, if you would like to learn more about our experience in solar, please do not hesitate to contact our team on 1300 40 41 42 or feel free to visit us at our Head Office at a time suitable for you.

Around $6,500 from memory

Hi Eddie, thank you for your question. The cost for an installation will vary depending on your individual installation, as not all solar systems are the same. We'd be happy to give you a quick quote, we've just sent you a private message, so at your earliest convenience, we'd love to hear back from you.

I have a 5.1 kw solar system with a 1.2 kw battery(gov subsidised)The bigger the battery the better unfortunately they are expensive now but they will get cheaper. only 2 of us in house.We use average of 9.4 kw hrs per day so we are virtually self sufficient.

With a quality inverter (very important) this system should cost 10-12 thousand dollars.

the amount of panels varies due to size.ie small=27 panels/large=18 panels.

Now the real savings come with how you use your appliances ie avoid overuse of ones that involve heat

ie fan heaters/ovens/electric jugs/clothes dryers/dishwashers.Use cold water in wash m/c and turn off power at power points (during day and overnight)

You can easily halve your power usage by doing the above.

Because most systems come with monitoring(laptop/phone)you can see exactly how much power you are using and this will teach you how to use them more effectively.

hope this answers your question

I'm sorry that I don't have answer to your question. You may need to contact the company directly. Sorry!

Hi .I too am unable to answer your question.The staff at Solarr Group are very helpful and will answer all your questions.

Hi Kah, we're sorry to hear that you will be cancelling your order with us. If you could please private message us your relevant order details, a member of staff can contact you to discuss your request.

Hi Greg I have a 2kw 8 panels solar sistem ,I have installed a 1.2 battery from Solar Sevice Group .I live by my self .It is working . And I use my old solar system . But like I said I am by my self .

Thanks Hendrick

Are you saving on power usage and what was the cost with installation.

Hi Greg, thanks for your question! Yes, we do provide solar battery storage solutions for smaller residential solar PV installations but can also help you in upgrading your system to 5kW with storage if that is something you would like to also consider. With all installations being different, retrofitting to your existing system may mean that there are less costs involved in your installation than others so we're very happy to give you a personalised quote on both solutions to give you an accurate idea on the costs involved in your specific installation. For further information, please don't hesitate to contact us on 1300 40 41 42.

Hi Kenny, thanks for reaching out to us and apologies for the website not allowing you to enter your interest, our team are investigating this issue now and apologies for any inconvenience it may have caused. Yes, we'd love to contact and discuss the program with you, if you could please contact us on 1300 40 41 42 we'd be able to speak with you.

Yes ther is a cooling off period. Does your system need an inspection (should be done every 3 to 5 years)? If yes they provided an excellent service.

Hi Wendy, yes we can offer cooling off periods with refund, for more information please contact the team on 1300 40 41 42.

This was not our case. When we decided to not go ahead within 24 hours of placing deposit, Solar Service Group informed us that there was no cooling off period and that $450 out of the $542 paid would be kept.

Hi Bea, I am sorry to learn of this, if you could please private message us the order details we can investigate why this has occurred.

Hi Andy, thank you for submitting your question. Solar Service Group installs various products and perform different services this requires varied levels of skills and training, as you can imagine depending on the product our Technician is installing would factor in how much training is required for the installation to be completed to high standards.

Like any other industry involved in home works, non-metropolitan customers can be found to experience slight delays due to the distance of the actual site to the Technician's area. You will find that we have recently trained and brought on many Technicians to ensure that customers do not experience delays in their service.

In terms of your quoted $5289, for us to accurately give you information on the products included in the price we will need to have a quick phone discussion as there are various campaign bundles at the moment. Please don’t hesitate to contact us on 1300 40 41 42 for a no-obligation quote/discussion. Thanks, Donna

Customer Service

Hi James

Thanks for your enquiry. I have sent your email address on to our sales team. Someone will be in contact with you shortly. Alternatively, you can call us on 1300 40 41 42 anytime.

Hi there Thank you for raising your concerns. Please see the link below to our website with further information about the letter you received. external link  The main reason we don't disclose our prices for this is because only a select number of homes have received this letters, and not everybody is eligible to participate. Because we are heavily subsidising our standard list price for participants in the program (in turn for participants providing feedback and information on their energy consumption), hence we cannot disclose the price to the general public.

Please feel free to call us on 1300 40 41 42 and one of our Solar Specialists will be able to provide you with more information and a no obligations quote if your are eligible.

Kind regards

Megan

Solar Service Group

Customer Service

Rang them today to get an idea of which batteries and size they were offering - both Enphase (come in 1.2V packs so can be expanded aas required) and LG Chem 6.5V. I I'have a 5kW PV panel system and over the last 2 years since installation I have been monitoring solar PV output, consumption and export to the grid so and how much could potentially store. While if I had a battery system, in the sunnier months possibly not need to draw from the grid, but not so in winter. Remember that a battery warranty is only for 10 year and the storage capacity diminishes to around 65% over that period. However my calculation suggests that based on current power costs and FIT it would take nearly 20 years to cover the cost of the battery. The 6.5 V LG Chem batttery was being offered at $11.75 installed which was even greater than that for a Tesla Powerwall 2 (13.8V) for which another company quoted $11.5K installed.Therefore I might have been interested SSG offer if the cost was around $6.5K

Hi, Has anyone gone ahead with this offer? Has it been worth it? I have a 3kw system which faces west and the are saying with 5 yrs of maintenance included and a battery it is 5,000. So I would need to save $1000 a year to pay itself off in that time?

Thoughts?

James D.,

Good luck saving $1,000 a year.

I agree - total scam trying to sell you a 'discounted' solar battery which was initially doubled in price to make it look like a good deal. Eg I can install a 6.5 kW battery for $7,700. They said a 1.2 kW battery cost $10-15k but I could have a 'heavily discounted' one for $5000! I called them on it and declined to participate. Do you homework people!

Good to know that my wary senses were working correctly.

I received a letter like this today. Will check it out but am also wary, i think solar usage research data could be acquired via easier/cheaper means for the vendor.

Sounds like a sales tactic.

Hi Deb, Thanks for your enquiry. Each household is different, as it depends on how much energy your panels are producing and what your household energy consumption is. If you could please call us on

1300 40 41 42 with your latest electricity bill, one of our solar specialist will be able to run a bill analysis and inform you on the best battery system for you.

Kind regards

Megan

Solar Service Group

Customer Service