FAQ

The cost of installing solar has been reducing over the past five years and will continue to become cheaper. However, the cost of waiting for further reductions is the increasingly expensive electricity bill that you pay your energy retailer. Right now, you are effectively ‘renting’ your electricity and in five years you will have nothing to show for the thousands of dollars you have parted with. Should you then decide to purchase a solar system, the system price may be cheaper but when you add your aggregated energy bills you have paid to this price you find it very expensive indeed!

If you invest in solar now you become an energy ‘mortgagee’. You now own a big share of the electricity you consume, and your savings start immediately to pay off your investment cost. In five years or so, your power savings have now paid off the cost of your investment. You now own your energy production outright and with a top tier solar system you will continue to make savings for a further 25 years at least.

Right now, the power companies have secured the right to increase their rates by 25% annually over the next three years. Based on this rate your power bill is tipped to double! With the arrival of solar battery storage now is the time to start investing in solar and take control over your power bills.

Solar power is also a great way to bring clean energy to your home and reduce your family’s carbon footprint.

The amount of money your household will save on power bills by going solar is affected by a number of factors, including:

• Your energy consumption and the size of your solar power system – if you use more power than your system is capable of producing, your savings will be reduced. It’s important to choose the right-sized system for your needs.
• Your feed-in tariff – this is the amount your electricity retailer pays you for any excess power your solar panels generate.
• Your usage patterns – solar panels can only generate electricity while the sun is shining. This means that households that use a lot of power during the day will attract greater savings than those that consume most of their power at night.

Apex Solar will provide a site-specific estimate of your system’s energy generation, and in consultation with you, tailor your system to suit your energy demands.

The range of panels we use fit with many roof types.

The easiest surface to install solar onto are tin roofs, either conventional up to 25 degrees or flat.

Tiled roofs are absolutely fine, albeit a bit trickier, as long as the tiles are not too old and fragile. If you have a tiled roof, you will be asked to make sure you have some spare tiles to hand so we can replace any breakages during the installation.

Naturally, single storey homes are easier to access than double storey, but we can install systems at most heights.

Trees close to the roof which cause overshadowing and debris can reduce the potential output of your panels. We will assess your individual situation and recommend panel optimisers or micro inverters as necessary to help mitigate shading issues.

Modern solar systems generally don’t require scheduled services due to advanced online monitoring and error messaging etc. so any issues are dealt with as they arise.

• Review your tariffs on an annual basis and shop around for a better plan, you can save a lot by changing your retailer regularly. Use the comparison sites to check for the best deals. https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/
• Use power during the day when the sun is shining and your system is at peak production, get into the habit of running your dishwasher and washing machine during the day, be organised and use the pre-program functions on your appliances.
• Avoid running high energy appliances at night especially air conditioning and underfloor heating. Heat and cool your house during the day to get the house comfortable to turn things off at night!
• Avoid running high energy appliances on rainy days where possible.
• Use your app to monitor consumption and production.
• Check items that are drawing too much power.

• Send us a copy of your bill/NMI number.
• We will then submit your application for solar to Essential Energy and wait for them to come back with your export limit. This can take anywhere between 1-4 weeks.
• Once we have your solar approval from Essential Energy and we have received your equipment, we will be in touch to schedule your solar installation. Due to uncontrollable factors such as stock delivery times and the weather, we generally only schedule our installations a week or two in advance.
• On the day of your installation, our team will usually arrive at site any time between 8-9:30AM. Depending on the size and complexity of your installation, your installation can take up to three days, but are usually complete within one day.
• Once your solar installation is complete, we will send out your invoice. Your invoice is due in full on the day of installation.
• If you have a Fronius system and it’s connected to the internet, we will send you an invitation to setup your online monitoring account (Solar.web) in the days following your installation. Once you receive this email (make sure to keep an eye on your junk folder), please click the link and setup your account. Once your account is setup, you can then accept the invitation and will have access to your monitoring.
• If you have a Sungrow system and it’s connected to the internet, Sungrow will automatically send you an email with the online monitoring link (iSolarCloud) and your username and password. Please keep an eye on your junk folder. If your inverter is connected to the internet and you never received your login details from Sungrow, please contact us and we will follow up with Sungrow directly.
• In the next 2-4 weeks following your installation, we will send out your solar system documentation. Make sure to keep these in a safe place for your records.

In the event of bad weather, we will need to postpone your installation as it’s not safe for our installers to be on a roof in the rain or wind. If this is the case, we will have a look at our schedule and book you in for the next available date.
As we confirm our schedule in advance, you may have to wait another week or two for your installation. We appreciate your patience in that instance.

If you have a tile roof make sure you have some spare tiles ready for the installation day – if you don’t have any to hand then source some from a local supplier.

Make sure there is clear access around the house and at the inverter location.

The average time that power will need to be turned off for standard grid connect systems is about 30 mins.
For battery/hybrid systems the average time is about 1-3 hrs.

We will send an invoice in the coming days. Your invoice is due in full once your solar has been installed.
We will submit a meter upgrade request with your electricity retailer on your behalf.
Please note: some retailers will not accept a meter upgrade request from us and will require the account holder to contact them directly. If this is the case, we will liaise with you and let you know.
Once your retailer has reconfigured/upgraded your meter for solar, you will need to get in touch with them to ensure they move you onto a solar plan.
Your retailer has an obligation to carry out a meter upgrade within 15 business days of the request submission date. Speak with your retailer directly for an accurate ETA. Apex has no control over this part of the process.
Make sure that your inverter has been switched on after the retailer has upgraded your meter.

Monitor your app and enjoy all the energy your system is producing!

Some electricity retailers will charge an administration fee, others do not. Please contact your retailer directly to enquire about any fees and charges, your retailer will not talk to us on your behalf regarding anything to do with your account.

You will need your meter to be upgraded to a solar meter for your solar to work and for the solar production to be reflected on your bill.
If you do not want it to be a smart meter, you will need to have a discussion with your retailer directly to discuss alternatives.

Firstly, open your online inverter monitoring and compare the usage data on there with the usage data on your bills. You could be using more power than what you are producing.

Note: YOUR SOLAR DOES NOT WORK AT NIGHTTIME. It is a good idea to make smart use of your solar power – run dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, and air conditioners throughout the day while the sun is shining to ensure maximum benefit from your system. A long spell of bad weather will also affect the performance of your system so it has been raining for a month then you will definitely see this reflected in your electricity bills due to being more reliant on energy from the grid.

Your “solar feed-in” on your bill is excess power only that has not been used and gets sold back to the grid at a very minimal amount. This is usually a very low figure with a low dollar amount. Remember, the value in your solar system comes from the self-consumption NOT from selling back to your retailer.

Electricity prices are on the rise, and the dollar amount is not always an accurate reflection on your system performance. Always make sure to look at the kWh figures on your bill. These should reduce significantly post installation of your system and should remain at a fairly consistent level assuming your usage is consistent.

Here is a link to a NSW government comparison site: https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/
We recommend this as a guide to look for the best deal available across electricity retailers in NSW.

As a starting point, please make sure your inverter is on. In your meter box there will be a switch labelled “main switch inverter supply”, ensure this switch is up in the “on” position.

If you have made sure your inverter is on, and you have had a look at your usage vs. power generated and still believe there is a problem, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

If your system is online and we have access to your online monitoring, we may be able to diagnose the issue remotely. Sometimes all that’s needed to solve a glitch is to run a firmware update or reset the system.

If it is not something that can be solved remotely, we will send someone out on a service call. This will usually be covered by warranty unless it’s found to be an issue not related to your solar, in which case a service call will be charged.

Note: If your inverter has disconnected from your Wi-Fi, please contact us and we will email you instructions on how to reconnect your inverter to the internet.
Your inverter will still produce solar power, even if it’s not connected to the internet/monitoring, and Wi-Fi dropouts are not considered a system fault. If you need someone to come to site and reconnect your internet, it will attract our standard call-out fee.

Standard grid-connect systems/battery systems without backup – In a blackout the grid connected solar power system will automatically shut down and will cease generating solar power. This is required by law as the lines men working on the grid could be seriously injured if the solar power system would still produce 230V AC.

The solar power system will automatically reboot when it senses the grid connection is back. In a battery backed solar power system, the batteries will power your home till the grid connect comes back or the batteries run out of power.

Battery systems with backup – your power will go out for up to 60 seconds, and then your batteries will kick in.

If your inverter has disconnected from your Wi-Fi, please contact us and we will email you instructions on how to reconnect your inverter to the internet.
Your inverter will still produce solar power, even if it’s not connected to the internet/monitoring, and Wi-Fi dropouts are not considered a system fault. If you need someone to come to site and reconnect your internet, it will attract our standard call-out fee.

If you reconnect your Wi-Fi and dropouts continue to occur often, your system may require a firmware update. Otherwise, it may be that the Wi-Fi signal strength at your inverter location isn’t strong enough. The inverter requires very good signal strength to maintain internet connectivity. In this case, we would recommend getting a Wi-Fi booster.

Check that your batteries are switched on.
In our experience, most of the time for minor errors all that’s needed is a simple reset of the inverter.
Consult the shutdown procedure, that will be on or adjacent to your inverter.

NOTE: there is a specific order that the shutdown/startup procedure needs to follow, and it can vary depending on whether you have batteries or not. Please contact us before attempting this so we can ensure that the correct document is sent.

If you still don’t think your batteries are working, let us know and we will investigate and/or open a support ticket with the manufacturer.

For Fronius inverters, a green light on the inverter means that your system is fully operational and producing power.
For Sungrow inverters, a solid blue light (not flashing) on the inverter means that your system is fully operational and producing power.
If there is a fault, error, or red/orange lights on the inverter let us know and we will open a support ticket with the manufacturer.