Scratching your head? Lost down the rabbit-hole? Skip all the boring complexity anytime and find out exactly what all your best options are, unique to your specific needs and circumstances with one of our helpful experts.
It takes less than 5 mins to get most of the answers you could need. It costs nothing to look and you’ll go right through to a team member or receive a call back a few minutes later between business hours of 10am-5:30pm.
Go Sunny employs and partners with only qualified, experienced and trusted CEC Accredited designers and installers and their respective apprentices, tradesmen, roof labourers and technical offsiders. As Go Sunny is responsible for workmanship on all installations, we only engage tradesmen that have a large body of proven high quality work, an impeccable reputation and/or are trained internally to the highest standards.
A high degree of scrutiny is exercised, with installations routinely audited by senior members or colleagues to maintain the highest standard of compliance and quality control. Installers are required to photograph the home before commencing as well as each area of the completed install as proof of their workmanship being completed. Our installers even photograph themselves at the installation, to match paperwork and all components used are marked and recorded with individual parts and serial numbers, system wide.
You can view our major partners and installers here.
We aim to have all systems installed in less than 30 days.*
The majority of our customers choose a system under the no outlay ANYTIME Solar Plan, which means they aren’t expected to begin any payment until 30 days after installation is completed.
From the day of purchase**, the average*** turnaround time is:
* That don’t require specialist work or equipment and within 120km of Adelaide.
** With a successful approval and all documents required submitted or completed
*** Median
Yes, from the day your solar solution is fully installed AND connected to the grid with a compatible meter with your elected energy retailer, your solar system will be providing free energy to your home during daylight hours.
If your energy retailer has a mobile app, you will be able to view your energy usage and estimated bills as a smart meter is a minimum requirement for all properties with a new or upgraded solar installation (however there can often be a 24-48 hour delay on you seeing app updates). Your usage of electricity from external sources/grid should reduce dramatically if not completely for daylight periods, effective immediately.
Depending on the billing cycle and the installation date, your first bill since installing solar is unlikely to include a full 91 days (if billed quarterly) or a full 30 days (if billed monthly), so full savings potential will not be evident on the first bill as you would have been paying for all electricity for a portion of the recorded billing period.
Customers who are installed mid billing cycle at the beginning of Winter report the lowest saving for their first bill due to these factors. Conversely, customers who are installed at the very beginning of the Summer billing cycle, perceive their savings to be extremely impressive on their first bill. The reality is often no substantial difference except for the timing of the system’s connection to the grid and its proximity to the start or end of the measured billing cycle.
Installations and the following commencement of a system as fully operational, can take anywhere from 14 days, to 6 months from when a system is first selected.
Even the average is 3-6 weeks from hello to handover. So delaying or deferring a solar purchase for the purposes of trying to time an installation can often mean missing out on the period to be installed by not preparing and starting earlier.
We recommend for example; for new builds or new homes being purchased, you begin a consultation and purchase of a solution immediately after purchase and not after settlement or worse, after already living in the house until after the first bill cycle has been completed (like many do at great cost or missed opportunity).
Yes and no. You will see the dollar value of your bills be significantly less and you will see some credits for your excess energy sold to the grid (‘feed-in tariff credits’), but this is NOT what you have saved. Your bill will have a huge portion of “invisible savings” because all the power you used to use and pay for, can no longer be recorded or charged to you, because it came free from your panels and not from the grid, during daylight. Energy companies can’t charge you for what you didn’t use from the grid, so this won’t appear on your bill (but certainly would have been there if you didn’t have panels.
You can use a combination of your system’s monitoring app or inverter readings, combined with your home’s usage or bills, to calculate a more exact savings amount manually. Alternatively, full consumption monitoring features are available to purchase as additional features and may or may not be included for those who discuss this as an important requirement for their home.
If you need help, your consultant or operations can help calculate or crunch the numbers for you, as it can get a bit tricky or overwhelming with all the different numbers. We can also use all this data to audit the health of your system, map its results against other systems in similar areas for comparison. We also from time to time assist in recommending best saving tips or tailored energy plans, that best suit the households usage profile and energy volume. End of the day, the more we can help you save and show you how much you have benefited, the happier we will both be, so don’t be afraid to ask.
Speak to the team HERE if you need to speak to us directly.
Your energy plan will be more important or relevant to your savings if you:
Otherwise, the time you use your power (or don’t use it), how much and on which tariff, will influence your savings more significantly than your energy plan.
If you want to save far more money from your solar system, “load-shifting” and “strategic energy usage” can save you 2-500% more than finding a slightly better energy plan. To learn more about it, and take control of your energy savings, check out our blogs and cheat sheets.
Energy plans are sophisticated and intentionally complex, to make it difficult for the average consumer to adequately compare the real end costs between the different plans.
Adding solar makes it even more difficult to navigate, but there is benefit to getting the right plan.
Don’t stress, it's not the end of the world, you’re not locked in and can always change if needed or if you choose. There is only a difference of approximately $100 per year in savings between the best five energy plans available to us. However, the best five and the worst five plans, now that can be hundreds of dollars lost between best and worse.
Overall, many of our customers just want a couple recommendations that will set them up with a low risk of failure and not too much time fuss. However if you would like to analyse all the variables on a bill and in an energy plan, check out our bills and tariffs section of the FAQ .
If you experience an increase in your electricity bills after your solar installation, the first thing you should do is check your usage. Are you using most of your electricity at night time? Or are you using even more electricity than before?
Other things to consider are that your solar system may have only been on during a portion of your billing period, or consider reviewing your solar electricity plan with your energy provider after your meter has been upgraded.
If everything appears to be normal, the next step is to contact us at Go Sunny. We will be able to check the performance of your system and determine if there is a problem. In most cases, any issues with the system will be covered by your array of warranties, but its likely something that can be resolved over the phone.
Nope. You are not locked in to any plan except free power from panels. We have no current affiliation or exclusive partnership with any energy retailers. Our team are free to recommend retailers based on experience. You have your normal electricity account with an energy retailer.
While solar panels stay put for decades, installations involve a lot of moving parts. We are confident that we have the systems and networks fine-tuned on our end to deliver some of the best if not THE best possible results the industry has to offer within the boundaries we can manoeuvre within.
Unfortunately, some contributing factors to an installations’ success or speed are not within our control. Installations can be subject to many potential complications, that we may be constrained by (despite best efforts) or are entirely dependent on the effectiveness and co-operation of 3rd parties.
These include (but are not limited to):
Apart from providing any further documents, images and being available for a brief follow up call or two, there is not much else you need to do. Other than wait a short while, we do everything for you in the background.
After your initial consultation, our operations, installers and compliance team will analyse your property and recommended design to double and triple check all necessary compliance requirements as well as identify any potential issues early in the process and communicate any necessary details or changes before install.
Most installations (93%) are completed on the day they begin, or the following business day (5%).
Installation time can vary significantly from one job to the next - depending on the system size, design complexity, level of difficulty, components involved and how many tradesmen are carrying out the job. Extra electrical infrastructure work or software integration required, can extend the required time in some cases.
Absolutely! They would actually prefer to meet you, discuss all your needs and expectations that they might be able to accommodate for, as well as explain the work they need to do and why it is important for regulations or to achieve the best results.
All Go Sunny install teams are locals, with a years of experience. We are committed to a high level of professionalism, as well as respect for the home owner and their property. We aim to feel welcome, we’ve learnt over the years its best to adopt a positive attitude and patient communication style, so you can feel completely at ease.
A member of the household may need to take partial time off to allow for access to the property to commence the installation, as well as be present to discuss any important work to be undertaken, share important details or personal preferences where applicable.
It is also important to have someone present at the end of the install for a brief walkthrough of the system. Most of the work will be done on the roof or external walls, apart from a potential bathroom break or access to drinking water, the process is largely intrusive. Where required, the team may need to use your bin/s to make sure the place is tidy and as they found it.
Most of the work can be carried out separately to your home's power, with everything setup, panels (and/or battery) secured, attached and wired up together. Towards the end, your home will be without power for approximately 30-45 minutes, while the tradesmen connect the new equipment to your home’s meter or switchboard, as well as run tests.
It is worth noting that installations can be quite noisy, we do not recommend having young children, shift workers or those in care (sensitive to noisy environments) present on the day of installation. Most common work from home efforts would be somewhat disturbed.
Our experienced team will turn the solar system on to test and demonstrate that everything works and is ready for use, and can demonstrate a shut-down or reboot procedure. You can now have peace of mind that everything is working and you're getting a solar feed.
At the end of an install, our solar experts will require your WIFI network and password to connect your system to the phone app for monitoring, so that you can be updated on your system and so that Go Sunny can assist in monitoring for faults and ongoing maintenance services.
It is a regulatory compliance that all new installations and properties have a fixed internet source for both the new smart meter and the system’s inverters. If you do not have a home WIFI service or signal, we must provide you with at least a WIFI dongle with a data plan (optional extra cost if no WIFI).
At Go Sunny Solar Adelaide, we pride ourselves on our expert knowledge and experienced workmanship when it comes to installing a solar system. When it comes to installing solar, we are dedicated to providing our customers with the perfect system for their needs and the best possible customer service.
If it were ever to let you down, you shouldn’t be left stranded, it should be our job to swoop in and pick up the pieces for you. We take any concerns seriously and are accountable for making your journey a successful one wherever possible.
Yes! Every Solar Adelaide installation team has at least one fully qualified CEC accredited designer, solar installer and electrician.
They complete all the sophisticated wiring and critical tasks, sign off on the job, staking their reputation and licence on the work they have completed. They can often be supported by experienced solar roof labourers, who assist in placement of panels and rails, but aren’t involved with the electrical side.
It is also common for senior electricians who are adding solar qualifications under-supervision or apprentice electricians who hope to move into solar or renewables, to make up other members of a team.
Yes, you can earn up to $500 (depending on the system size) for each referral. The team puts a lot of hard work and careful thought into delivering solutions that have great results people are truly happy from start to finish.
We do whatever we can to tear down the barriers holding people back from being able to afford and install the calibre of systems everyone really wants.
The risks associated with solar are generally low, however, there are a few things to be aware of.
The most common risk is that your solar system may not perform as well as expected. This can be due to factors like shading from trees or buildings, incorrect installation or faulty components. However, at Go Sunny, we are sure to take these factors into consideration and design the best system possible for your home’s needs and requirements.
Another risk to be aware of is that solar panels can be damaged by severe weather conditions. However, most solar panels are designed to withstand high winds and hail and are tested to international standards.
Finally, it’s important to remember that the average lifespan of a solar panel is 20 to 30 years, depending on the quality of the panels and the conditions they are exposed to. Our solar panels come with a performance warranty of 25 years, and beyond these years there is a possible chance that you will need to replace your solar panels.
Yes! Rest assured, Go Sunny as a company as well as each installer and designer is a Clean Energy Council accredited installer. This essentially means that we have paid for and completed all courses and training modules required to achieve accreditation.
This is often an extra year of study and experience on top of a general A-Class Electrician apprenticeship or qualification, and longer for emerging technologies like battery storage. Companies who have a poor reputation from numerous audits/reviews, or who perform unethical, dangerous and non-compliant workmanship, eventually lose their licence or accreditation.
The short answer is, greed.
Cheap panels, sold and installed by foreign workers and call centres, at dirt cheap overheads or margins can be done for as little as $4,000-$9,000, especially if you have no intention to be in business or honour concerns or warranties long-term. But that’s of course before the subsidy on panels. So you can still profit even of a $2000 system, if you’re willing to cut every corner to get there.
The subsidy is available based on the number of panels you get or the rated output of those panels. This means you only have to install the bare minimum, cheapest system, to claim the maximum government subsidy.
In other words, you get the same subsidy on cheap stuff as you do high quality equipment. So basically, the subsidy can either make already cheap equipment look VERY cheap, or it can make the good stuff affordable for the average household, who can’t afford to always be fixing things and seeing their bills return again.
The solar market as well as consumers have been plagued by “lowest prices guaranteed” solar providers for over a decade. Many of which are owned by the same foreign entities and were all previously known by different business names or under different ABNs, originally notorious for poor business practices.