Talking Solar with Mr Bill Shorten
I had an interesting call today. My industry friend Pat from Supply Partners has a grand opening of his new Solar wholesale warehouse in Brisbane tomorrow. “Hey Mark, this is last minute, but we have Bill Shorten coming to our grand opening tomorrow morning. I’m inviting a few people in the industry to come and […]
Sunny Boy Storage Review
SMA are back! The inverter giant SMA is just about to be the third inverter manufacturer to harness the momentum created by the coveted Tesla Powerwall. The Sunny Boy Storage will position itself uniquely as the only battery inverter that will link to the Tesla Powerwall by utilizing your existing solar inverter. It’s a huge […]
The new Tesla PowerWall – Version 2
It’s been a little over 12 months since I first heard of the Tesla Powerwall. It was April 30, 2015. Gee Wiz, Mr. Musk made quite a stir. Without even delivering a single battery to Australia in 2015, Elon captivated us with his vision. Then came the naysayers. We want the battery now! And if we […]
SMA Sunny Boy inverter review
SMA Sunny Boy has a new model string inverter. At last, the world’s most renowned inverter manufacturer is back in the game. The archaic SMA Sunny Boy will be brought into the second half of the ridiculously accelerating solar decade. First – as if to test the market – the 1.5 and 2.5 Sunny Boy is […]
Has Samil Power gone bust?
Samil Power are not answering their phones. The solar industry believes they have closed down – but there is no information that Samil has gone into receivership or administration. So what’s going on? Update, May 2018. Samil power has exited Australia. If the company you originally purchased your solar system off is still […]
Sonnenbatterie review
Recently I heard the news that sonnenBatterie were joining Australia’s emerging Solar storage market, so I contacted Sonnen’s new Australian managing director Chris Parratt to get the scoop. The reason for my interest is that the “sonnenBatterie eco” is an AC coupled battery. This means we can connect it to any solar system – old or new. Enphase has […]
Solar Rail. Why we Choose to Pay for Radiant. Part 1 – Tile Roofs
Radiant VS. The Solar Racking World Regularly I’ll get a sales call from a solar product supplier asking “what rail do you use?” “Radiant” I say, knowing it is a conversation stopper. They know too well they won’t convince an installer who is committed to quality to be swayed by price. However, late last […]
Enphase AC Battery Review
I’ve been so itching to write an Enphase battery review. The AC coupled Enphase battery seems to be gaining significant interest although its release date still three months away. It’s a revolutionary concept: a battery that can be fitted to any solar system – any inverter. Imagine that. Any solar system in Australia. You don’t […]
Fronius Smart Meter now supports Export Limitation
As Fronius Service Partners, we have been privileged to work with Fronius over the last few months on Beta testing the new “zero export” and “export limitation” function of the Fronius Smart Meter. I just received confirmation from Fronius that they have finalized the Beta testing that they have been performing on our office inverter. The Fronius Smart […]
Redback Hybrid Inverter Review
Redback Technologies have now entered the solar inverter market. I first heard about Redback inverters last year and wrote a not so glowing review about the Brisbane-based product. James from Redback read my review and invited me to meet him at Redback’s HQ to see if he could change my mind, and my blog. I jumped […]
