Barmianderson
Member
I am looking at installing a 5KW system and got a quote for 27 X 190W ZNSHINE monocrystalline solar panels and a Growatt GW5000 inverter.
I have been told that I can get 20 X 250W and the Growatt inverted for a similar price.
Does anyone have any options on the panels and inverter that I can purchase?
nigel
Member
Hi,
The 250w panels are a better choice that's for sure as it will have more m2 and less brackets and less panels that can stuff up in the future. I'm new to the solar industry but i've been told the growatt is a good inverter from china. One of the best from china was what i was told.
The best advice I can give is to make sure whoever you make the purchase from is a good company and that is going to be around for 25 years. that's how long your warranty is on all panels. if they aren't around anymore and the panels come from china and the manufacturer have no office here in aus. what the heck would you do then? scary thought hey!
who has quoted you so far and what price?
Inevitable
Member
ok, just to clarify regarding the Growatt.
It is a mid range quality inverter and has had some issues of late. This may be a bad batch but some forum searching will give you some idea. It's reasonable but not even close to being the best from China. It's cheap, does its job (so far) and ok looking, hence it's popularity.
The warranty for Solar panels.
What you should check is who offers the 3rd party warranty on the panels.
If its a Chinese insurer or someone you've never heard of then I'd give it a miss.
If your panel fails in 24 years time then I'd say that the installation company won't be waiting for your call. It's important to check this.
As for ZNShine, I'm sure they are up to average but for 27 panels, I'd stick something else on my roof.
Inevitable
Member
for whats in current supply here I'd recommend SMA or Xantrex. Can't got wrong with these.
As for panels, there are loads of good ones. Anything with an above average warranty with a 3rd party backer will do the job. If you want a premium you can go Conergy or Sunpower. Not too cheap though. Many installers will have ready access to Suntech which is always good value for money. Canadian is also ok but I've had some dodge feedback on the latest batch in Melbourne. Kyocera isn't bad either but sometimes a bit pricey. It would be remiss of me not to recommend Inevitable as well 
But these are fairly limited in Aus.
franks
Member
There must be scores on CEC approved list, monocrystal 190watt PVs, even the wholesalers change brands with new stock turnover, I understand only 3 factorys in china that make the OEM silicon wafers and few more make the glass and framing, so its really 100 clones of the same panel?
Inevitable
Member
It's a good call Franks. It really depends because there is a lot of variation of the stuff that comes out of those factories and even then there are many manufacturers in neighbouring countries.
Aside from this there is the all important production line. The whole weakest link theory stands true. A panel manufacturer might go 99% quality and skip on one thing and the panel is crap. Also many people don't realise but there is a huge percentage of these things still being hand made. As part of one my tours I was allowed to solder a cell strip for a panel, apart from enjoying the experience I thought 'some poor git is going to get that panel'. goes without saying, we didn't buy from there!
The CEC can't grade panels as they are supposed to be independent and the industry here doesn't really have an objective testing force who can comment with any authority.
I'm gracious enough to recommend another distributors product because i've heard so much crap that if one of us can't put the record straight then we will all slowly sink beneath the sales chat and the facts will be left far far behind.
My favourite one today was 'every single panel is approved for shipping by the german owners' I thought, 'yeah, its called an invoice'
Barmianderson
Member
Hi Nigel,
Thans for your comments. The quote was from a company called Enviromate. They are based in Victoria and their sales rep came to Canberra to talk about the quote. The price for the 5KW system is now $15300, with the specs that I mentioned in my earlier posting on this forum. I am a bit concerned that I got a number of phone calls from the sales rep, following up and letting me know that he can answer questions on site on the weekend. I asked him about comparing the Growatt to the SMA inverted but he was not able to answer my question.
I also got some quotes comparing 5KW eg from Todae with the SMA inverter and Suntech panels and other products provided by other companies, these quotes were all $18500 and above. So I have a few alarm bells about the cheaper quote from Enviromate.
Any other things that I should look at?
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