Where to Begin?
1. Determine your Daily Energy Requirement
See How much energy do you use? to find out how. Please contact any ALLSOLAR branch if you need assistance with this. We could even come out to your house and do a full energy audit for you.
2. Become Energy Wise
The cost of a solar electric system is DIRECTLY dependent on the amount of energy you use on a daily basis.
Reducing your energy use by becoming energy efficient will lower the cost of a solar system. See the page How to save electricity.
3. Contact your ALLSOLAR Branch for a Budget Costing
When we know your daily energy need, we will be able to design a system to suit you. Solar systems should be designed to fit your unique requirements. A package deal is just not the answer and will rarely suit your specific needs.
We will ask you a few questions about your site specifics and how you use electricity to establish the type of solution you will require. This information will enable us to give you a good ball park estimation of the potential investment amount.
4. Obtain a Quotation
If the Step 3 budget costing is within your means and you want to go ahead, we will provide you with a detailed quotation. We might schedule a site visit to establish final installation requirements.
5. Schedule your Installation Date
Installation time will depend on system size but will typically take 1 – 3 days. Impact on your daily life will be minimal.
6. Turn on your Free Energy from the SUN!
Once your system has been installed, it will be tested and commissioned by us. We will spend a substantial amount of time briefing and training you on the operation and functionality of your new solar system. We will also show you how to monitor and interpret data provided by the various components.
7. After-sales Service - So Important!
Our ALLSOLAR engineers are always just a phone call or email away. Should you have any questions or issues, or you just simply want to tell us how great it is to generate your own energy, any of our branches countrywide will be there for you.
A Detailed PV System Design Package
We can provide you with our PV system design package which will include the following:
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PV system design summary containing energy requirement, technical parameters, component specifications and a detailed budget costing.
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Component specification sheets.
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Installation diagram.
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Detailed daily energy yield predictions for every month of the year, based on available sunlight for your location.
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Photographs of similar installations.
Our design package will contain all the information required by any solar installer to execute the installation.
A refundable design fee will apply. Should you purchase the components or commission a turnkey system, this design fee will be deducted from your investment amount.
Why do we charge for the design?
When you commission an architect to design a house, he will not only give you an aesthetic design that pleases you. He will provide you with a full set of working drawings that will contain all the necessary technical information to build the house. Any builder could use the drawings to construct the building. The design package we provide can be viewed in exactly the same way.
Installing a professional solar system is not just a matter of putting up a few panels and adding a few batteries. There are many factors and calculations involved to ensure that the system will deliver what is required and promised. Factors such as resource availability at the physical location of the site, positioning of the solar array and realistic efficiency losses will all play a role in designing an adequate system.. At ALLSOLAR we have professional system designers with many years of experience and we use exclusive software to generate a detailed design package. We have solar systems on our own homes, so we practice what we preach!
ALLSOLAR guarantees their system designs if used within design parameters!
Just like any other professional consultant, we will share knowledge, experience, time and hard-won resources with you, which will save you time and money through avoiding costly mistakes. Knowing that your guaranteed system design was done by professionals AND the fact that our designs comply with recognized installation standards will give both you and your insurance/ financing company peace of mind.
Be aware of these factors when asking any solar company for a quotation. The quality, efficiency and warranties of solar components can vary widely between reputable brands and cheap eastern imports. Make sure the company you are dealing with is an established company with a good reputation, proven products and can provide the correct advice and service backup. If you are not sure, get a second quotation/opinion.