As seen on Open Homes Australia Season 4 and Australia’s Best House Season 3
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As seen on Open Homes Australia Season 4 and Australia’s Best House Season 3
With rising electricity costs, solar energy isn’t just an alternative—it’s a smart choice. But selecting the right panels is only half the equation; the right installation company ensures your investment stands the test of time.
At MC Electrical, our knowledge is built on experience. Our panels? Handpicked after research, inspection and testing. Our team? Trained to ensure the best installations. We’ve been committed to these principles since 2009.
Explore the story behind Brisbane’s top-rated solar company and our secret to selecting the best solar panels and inverters.
14 x 465W Canadian Solar Panels
5kW Gen24 Inverter
From $8,200*
22 x 465W Canadian Solar Panels
8kW Gen24 Inverter
From $9,300
28 x 465W Canadian Solar Panels
10kW Gen24 Inverter
From $10,500
*Indicative solar price based on a standard install and with the STC solar rebate applied.(aka: Gov solar rebate)
A Green Loan can be used to finance the cost of
solar for your home.
Green Loan Features:
Take the next step today and call us on 3268 3836.
Not only have our customers voted us as the best solar company in Brisbane, we’re the all-time best solar company in Queensland. We’re also continually voted among the top 5 solar companies in Australia on SolarQuotes.
How did we become recognised as the best solar company in Brisbane? What do we do differently that inspires our customers to leave rave reviews? It was a journey. Here’s Mark’s story.
I started out in the industry at Energex as an apprentice electrician. It was an eye-opening role for a 16-year-old kid. After Energex, I took on residential and commercial electrical roles. But satisfaction grew cold as I realised I was adding to the grid problem instead of solving it. Then the solar revolution began. This was the change I had been waiting for.
From my very first solar install in 2009, I realised solar was a different game to general electrical work. You need to think structurally like a builder, consider water like a plumber, and work with tin and tile like a roofer. All while installing completely new solar technology. The learning curve was steep. We didn’t always get it right.
As we grew as a small business, I realised training electricians to be solar installers was going to be a huge challenge. But it takes more than training electricians, we had to find apprentices to help them with the roof work.
Installing solar panels in the hot Australian sun is rewarding, but requires a unique skill set. You need the endurance of a rock climber, the grit of a bricklayer, the finesse of a glacier, and the brain of an engineer. Finding great apprentices who thrive on the challenge of solar is hard. We learned we had the most success employing mature-age apprentices, with a background in carpentry, roofing, engineering, or rock climbing.
It wasn’t until our apprentices became tradesmen and had several years of training our second generation of apprentices that our installation standard reached a high quality. After 15 years, our installers are second to none. Retaining these electricians and passing the knowledge down was the first step to becoming the best solar company in Brisbane.
But it takes more.
It was pretty early on that I realised that nobody had a clue about which solar products were the best. We were all just pretending. The best solar panels were the panels with the best marketing team. The best inverters were the brands that took you out for a fancy dinner. There was no real information. No comparative testing. So I had to do it myself.
In 2012, I started purchasing and testing products myself on my warehouse roof and writing reviews. I called it “Mark’s Blog”. It was a unique approach at the time and I soon got the attention of the industry. This opened so many doors.
I was invited to solar panel and inverter factories to sit down with the engineers of these products and learn how their products worked minus the sales spin.
But what added to my education was the real-world experience. I had several teams installing over a thousand solar systems a year. And because my blog had opened up a larger network, I made friendships with many other installers around Australia who shared their data and experiences.
What have been my key learnings?
I can summarise what I discovered with these three points:
• Don’t use optimisers or microinverters. They are unnecessary and a weak point for reliability.
• Don’t judge a solar panel by the price tag. Judge it by the build quality as each container of panel lands. Judge it by its reputation for performance over time, and judge it by the company’s reputation for honouring their warranty.
• Not all inverters are created the same. Since 2015, we’ve installed 130 SolarEdge systems, 171 Sungrow inverters and over 5000 Fronius inverters. Even with our Fronius massive Fronius fleet – we have more failures with Sungrow and SolarEdge than with Fronius.
Shock horror. Even Fronius fails occasionally. That’s why you need support.
So we have the best team and we know how to pick the best products. But even the best solar panels and inverters can fail.
When you call our support team, you won’t get put through to a receptionist who fobs you off. Our support team consists of two electricians, Shane or Dane, and our first point of call, Kendall. They sit alongside another two solar electricians, myself and Ryan.
If you need help connecting your Wi-Fi or just want to understand your power bill, Kendall will help you out. If you think your system is underperforming, we won’t fob you off.
Some of my best learnings have been from underperforming systems in the field. Sungrow, Sunpower and Solaredge jump out as examples. But we have even found issues with our designs on our Fronius inverters.
The experience gained from lessons like these makes us better installers.
Solar design is a crucial part of a solar installation. And it starts with our solar consultants. Design is not about plonking panels on a map and letting the electricians sort it out in a day.
You have to think about stringing, shading, exclusion zones and clipping. Start-up voltages, parallel currents, export limiting, metering regulations, monitoring, battery sizing and location and so much more.
I’m not a sales guy, I’m a tech guy. But I’ve kept the role of “sales manager” because our team really need to keep on top of their game. I’m blessed to have a team that is committed to the end result, and above all ethical. They like doing things the MC way so they stick around. Most of my sales team have been with me for over 5 years. Check them out on our team page.
So that’s what it takes to be the best solar company in Brisbane. In the end, it means you, the customer can rely on the products we use. You’ll know your system was designed by an expert. You can bank the products we chose, and rely on us to be there if you have concerns in years to come.
If you want to do your homework before purchasing a solar panel system, Mark’s blog is one of the most valuable resources you’ll find. Mark reviews solar panels, solar batteries, solar inverters, solar optimisers, microinverters and solar installation methods. See why Mark and the team at MC Electrical are considered solar industry thought leaders.
Best Solar Panel of 2024
REC – The World’s Best Solar Panel
Fill out our free online quote form or give us a call.
Too easy.
Don’t worry, it’s no obligation and no hard sell.
It’s up to you. Our preference is to visit your home to understand your property and discuss your energy needs. But if you prefer, we can just provide a “desktop quote”. Our consultants are always happy to explain as much or as little as you’d like to know about solar.
A critical part of a high quality solar installation is sending an electrician out to “measure up” before install day to ensure everything runs smoothly. With a measure up, we guarantee you’ll get what you expected. No surprises. Just the best solar install possible.
What’s the most important aspect of any solar installation? The blokes on your roof. We don’t use subcontractors (meet our experienced, long term team on the “our team” page.) We’ll do a professional install, show you how it works, and clean up with a smile.
Visit our showroom in Eagle Farm, Brisbane and discover what’s possible for your property. Or click below to visit our showroom virtually.
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