Frequently Asked Questions
Pedley’s founder did not understand how to work out his costs and had sold 70 systems before realizing that he would lose money on every install. The salespeople did not receive their commissions, and the founder took off to Thailand and hid. Later, one of Pedley’s electricians approached The Solar Broker about working for us. This young electrician had dreams of starting his own business and had taken some of Pedley’s people and started selling. However, our CEO showed him that he was selling below cost, and the young electrician was so ignorant of how business worked that he thought it was about cash flow. Our CEO had to explain the basics of profit and that he was better off flushing $100 bills down the toilet.
Our records show many site inspections of Pedley’s installs with major non-compliance issues. Additionally, Pedley’s was guilty of having no qualified installers onsite, and the Clean Energy Council found that the installer signing off the jobs was overseas. At The Solar Broker, we take pride in our commitment to customer service and reputation, and we ensure that all of our installers are qualified and committed to excellence.
The Arise and Sunboost branches of Bell Corporation, who were being promoted by Alan Border, have been found guilty of fraudulently signing off on 140 solar panel installations conducted by someone overseas. (https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/one-of-australias-largest-solar-installers-fights-to-retain-operating-licence)
This incident has resulted in a push by the CEC to combat this type of fraudulent activity by requiring the responsible installer to sign off on the job and be photographed with a geolocator during CEC paperwork, providing proof of a qualified person being present on-site.
If you decide to go with Pedley’s for your solar panel installation, be prepared for the consequences of a cheaper price. While they may have been fast and efficient during the initial installation process, their customer service is lacking in organization and communication. This is reflected in some negative reviews of their service, such as one where the reviewer was not surprised that they eventually went out of business. Additionally, an inverter rating of 2 out of 5 stars indicates a lack of quality in their products.
Do Not Spend Money Here
In a final attempt to hold Pedley’s Solar accountable for their promises, I am writing this review to detail the failures my family has experienced since installing a solar system with a ten-year warranty for over $10,000. Despite reaching out numerous times via phone and email for the past three years, only one call was returned with a promise of assistance, which was made two years ago. Unfortunately, Pedley’s Solar has left a trail of debts and unsatisfied customers with defective systems and no assistance or support.
During my search for a new position, a manager from a low-cost solar provider approached me with a job opportunity. I inquired about their plans to provide follow-up service and warranties at their pricing level, to which the manager responded with laughter and said, “we have left a trail of destruction, our business plan is to shut down and phoenix every three years.” For those unaware, phoenixing is the process of shutting down a company and restarting the next week while leaving behind a trail of unpaid debts.
My friend was working for a solar company that was accepting $2,000.00 dollar deposits for systems that had not been installed after three months, causing financial strain for him and his family. Despite my warning that the pricing structure made no sense and that the price he was selling at was below cost for the product, he continued to work in the hope of getting paid the commissions owed to him.
As an example, a company that went from Acme Power to Acme Energy over the weekend engaged in a deliberate fraud known as phoenixing, leaving their customers without their deposits and sales team without compensation after months of traveling the country. An Indian-owned company also collected deposits from a group of pensioners in Northern NSW with no intention of installing any solar systems, leaving them with nothing after six months. Fortunately, The Solar Broker was able to install systems for them and deducted the lost deposit from the cost of the solar system.
In another solar scam, a major national builder (who will remain unnamed) gave small, useless solar systems for free with their homes in the estate, only for every inverter in the estate to fail after two years. Customers were unable to get their warranties processed, and even attempts to find and contact the inverter and building company were unsuccessful. The Solar Broker had to remove many of those systems as a result.
The moral of the story is twofold.
1. Be wary of the cheapies and the corners they are cutting.
2. The Solar system is a long term investment. Go with a company that has been around a long time that will be there to support you.
3. DO NOT pay a deposit. At The Solar Broker we do not ask for a deposit unless it is for a commercial system with an inverter bigger than 30 kWh.
4. Be wary of free solar systems from builders.
In an effort to keep costs low, many companies have opted to use cheaper services and products. As a result, the quality of installation is usually lower than desired. To make matters worse, one of the leading electrical retailers has made installers bid for each job which creates an environment of competing prices at the expense of quality, This means that they may cut corners to save money, such as using non-compliant, cheaper wiring, etc. They won’t be experts in what is required for a solar system, so if anything goes wrong in the future, you could be on your own.
It wasn’t until I did a search on them that I realised ACME-(not real name) actually installed. The only thing I thought they did was defraud people of their deposits. On the other hand, judging by a site inspection by the Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator, it would have been better if they hadn’t (see below).
“After the system was installed by ACME Energy and inspected by the Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator, I received a four-page report assessing it as SUB STANDARD. There was no water ingress prevention done on the Isolator/Junction Box; these boxes are installed on composite materials; and there are 18 additional problems, most of which pose a threat to our home or result in injuries. Despite our best efforts, ACME Energy has not been able to correct the system faults. My payment was in cash, too. A FLY-BY NIGHTER?”
Solar hot water systems typically have a 10 year lifetime and a 10 year payback period, making them an unattractive investment. Utilizing the electricity from your solar system to heat your hot water is a more cost-effective solution. With the use of a hot water timer, it is possible to run the hot water only during times when solar production is at its peak which would be in the late morning and early afternoon hours. An average hot water system will consume roughly 3 to 4 kWh of energy per hour which converts to a daily price of 84 cents per day when running off of solar compared to $3.60 from grid electricity, resulting in an annual savings of $1,007.00 by using solar power to heat your hot water. Thus, utilising excess solar electricity for heating your hot water tends to be the most economical disposition for this renewable energy resource.
Solar energy is a sustainable and renewable energy source used to generate electricity. The amount of electricity generated by solar power varies depending on the region. In Queensland, single-phase residential properties typically have an export limit of 5 kWh per phase while three-phase properties have an export limit of 15 kWh per hour. Meanwhile, in New South Wales, the export limit for single-phase properties has been increased to 10 kWh. For those who want to use solar power for their homes, it is important to understand these regional differences and ensure that a proper system size can be installed.
Solar electricity is one of the most popular forms of renewable energy. The amount of power you can export from a solar panel system depends on the approval process involved and varies from area to area. Generally, in Ergon and Energex areas, each phase can typically generate about 10 kWh up to a total of 30kWh across three phases. However, due to certain circumstances larger-scale exports of about 100kWh are also possible for commercial solar setups.
There is much confusion surrounding the term “Tier 1 Panels” and what it means. With so much information available on the internet, it is easy to be misled by articles that are a hair short of total garbage or just totally misleading, such as those promoting a “Top 10 Panel” list that may have been paid for by a solar panel manufacturer.
So, what exactly is a Tier 1 Panel? A quick search for a definition of Tier 1 panel puts the following definition of “Tier 1” by Evergreen Electrical near the top. However, this definition is in total contradiction, or a blatant falsehood, in many ways to the company that originally established the term “Tier 1,” Bloomberg. It’s important to note that the definition of Tier 1 has nothing to do with the quality and reliability of the panel, despite many solar companies making a big deal about using Tier 1 panels.
The hilarious thing about the Evergreen Definition of Tier 1 is that they have a long article about their falsehoods, and at the top of it, they have their company motto, “powered with integrity.” Apparently, this isn’t the case when they are defining what “Tier 1” is. Although their article may look believable, it is more like used toilet paper, and it raises the question: if they lie about that, what else will they lie about?
The misleading and totally false definition of Tier 1 by Evergreen Electrical is as follows: “Tier 1 solar panels are built with higher standards (to last longer and produce abundant solar power) and have a highly regarded reputation within the solar industry for quality and service, so one can expect Tier 1 manufacturers to honor their product warranty compared to Tier 2 and Tier 3 manufacturers.”
On the other hand, Bloomberg, the company that actually devised the term Tier 1, defines it differently. They explain that “Bloomberg New Energy Finance has developed a tiering system for PV Modules banked on Bankability” and note that “this classification is purely a measure of industry acceptance, and there are many examples of quality issues or bankruptcy issues of Tier 1 manufacturers.”
In summary, the term “Tier 1 Panels” is often used by solar panel manufacturers to market their products as superior, but the definition of Tier 1 has nothing to do with the quality and reliability of the panel. Instead, it is a measure of the industry’s acceptance of the manufacturer’s products. Although the internet is a convenient and easy source of information, it is essential to verify the credibility and accuracy of the sources. As the author notes, many schools now allow students to use the internet to complete their assignments, which can lead to an oversimplification of complex topics and misinformation.
Solar energy is a sustainable and renewable energy source used to generate electricity. The amount of electricity generated by solar power varies depending on the region. In Queensland, single-phase residential properties typically have an export limit of 5 kWh per phase while three-phase properties have an export limit of 15 kWh per hour. Meanwhile, in New South Wales, the export limit for single-phase properties has been increased to 10 kWh. For those who want to use solar power for their homes, it is important to understand these regional differences and ensure that a proper system size can be installed.
Solar electricity is one of the most popular forms of renewable energy. The amount of power you can export from a solar panel system depends on the approval process involved and varies from area to area. Generally, in Ergon and Energex areas, each phase can typically generate about 10 kWh up to a total of 30kWh across three phases. However, due to certain circumstances larger-scale exports of about 100kWh are also possible for commercial solar setups.