What people ask before they go solar

A 6.6 kW system starts from around $5,500 installed and usually lands between $5,500 and $7,500, depending on the panels, the inverter and your roof. That is after STCs, which come off the price at the point of sale. Shade equipment such as microinverters, a tiled or steep roof, or switchboard work can add to it. You get a fixed written price before you agree to anything.

It depends on how much power you use during the day, your tariff and your feed-in rate, so we will not promise a dollar figure. Feed-in rates in Victoria are now very low, which means the power you use yourself is what pays. A house with people home in the day does much better than an empty one. Send us a bill and we will work out an estimate for your house and show you the sums.

Often yes, but the design matters. With a standard string system, shade on one panel can pull down the output of the whole string. We use microinverters or panel-level optimisers so each panel works on its own, and we keep panels off the worst-shaded sections. If a roof is too shaded to make sense, we will tell you before you spend anything.

Most houses are installed within two to four weeks of saying yes, once the distributor has approved the connection. A 6.6 kW system usually takes one day to install. After that your electricity retailer updates the meter for solar, which can take a couple of weeks more. We tell you where things are up to at each stage.

Yes. Systems are designed and installed by SAA-accredited installers, and the electrical work is done by A-Grade electricians. The work is checked by an independent licensed electrical inspector and you receive a Certificate of Electrical Safety. We carry public liability insurance. Accreditation details and a certificate of currency are available on request.

You get a 5-year workmanship warranty from us in writing, covering the installation itself. On top of that are the manufacturers' warranties, which vary by brand: typically 25 years on panels and around 10 years on inverters and batteries. Your quote lists the exact warranty for each part. If something fails, ring us first and we deal with the manufacturer.

We are based in Northcote and work across Thornbury, Fairfield, Preston, Brunswick East, Ivanhoe, Heidelberg and Reservoir. If you are a suburb or two outside that, ring and ask. We would sooner say yes to a nearby job than send you to someone who has never seen a terrace roof.

A standard solar system shuts down in a blackout. That is a safety rule to protect the people working on the lines. To keep power on you need a battery with backup, wired to the circuits you choose, such as the fridge, lights and internet. Not every battery does this, so tell us if backup matters to you and we will quote one that can.