Essential Solar Reviews
About Essential Solar
At Essential Solar we regard each customer as an important part of our business. We pride ourselves on providing advice, support and service where and when it’s needed. Most importantly the installation quality of our Solar PV products is managed by experienced electrical technicians and engineers.
Workmanship Warranty
10
All Reviews
Is this Insulation performance how it should be?
Installer Comments
The sales person was good to deal with. The install of the heat pump happened on time and was uneventful!
Heat Pump - iStore
The Installation was fine, and the iStore 270L seems to be delivering the savings as advertised... except... At the same time as the Heat Pump was installed we had Solar Panels fitted, along with a Fronius Inverter. The Fronius Inverter now allows me to get a very good idea of how/when electricity is being used. Checking on the Heat Pump has shown me that when we are here all the time the Heat Pump runs every day - it's winter, so it runs for about 2+ hours. Fair enough. But when we are not here (ie away on holiday or similar), it still runs every other day, and for a not much shorter period. I am really surprised that when NO hot water is used, that it still runs every other day. ie Heat loss through tank insulation causes running every other day. I've asked iStore about tank insulation, but never got a reply.
Very happy from Start to Finish!
Installer Comments
Very happy from Start to Finish! The overall process was flawless, absolutely thrilled with the final installation. After looking at different options, I decided to go with the premium options - 19x SunPower P series panels coupled to a Fronius GEN24 Primo 6 and consumption monitoring. The communication was great and the team arrived on time as promised. The installers worked really well. They explained the process and showed me where everything would be installed, then got to work. They cleaned everything up and left things neat and tidy, safe to say I'm thrilled with the final result. It's battery ready too (as I couldn't afford to get a battery at this stage), however, I opted for the PV point (which provides power from a dedicated power point next to the inverter in a grid fail) which works when the sun is shining. Thanks again to the Essential Solar team!
Solar Panel - SunPower
After doing some research, there are many brands however I opted for SunPower. I like the look and there are many great reviews. Whilst there are cheaper alternatives, I would rather pay a bit more for peace of mind and I'm glad I did as they look amazing on the roof!
Solar Inverter - Fronius
Love the app, have been looking at it the last couple days! Very informative and with the consumption meter, I'm constantly looking at ways to reduce buying from the grid. I know a few people that have had Fronius installed for a few years now and cannot fault them, plus Fronius has been around for a long time, so I feel comfortable in making the right decision. I really like the look of the GEN24 too!
Installation Photos
The installation went smoothly
Installer Comments
The installation went smoothly, they showed up on time and spent a whole day installing it. They did tidy up afterwards and installation look nice and neat. I purchased extra roof tiles before installation, however the installers did stand on my roof ridge cap and broke quite a few, which caused leakage afterwards and I had to call in the roof specialist to get them fixed.
Solar Panel - Trina
So far I think the panels are running fine but lots of problems with Fronius GEN24 Primo 5.0 inverter.
Solar Inverter - Fronius
I did thorough research online and went with Fronius GEN24 inverter and one of the recommended solar installers Essential Solar. My solar system got install in July 2023. The inverter ran for less than a week then it stopped working totally. I reported to the installer immediately, Essential solar couldn't find the problem; then reported it to Fronius; Fronius Australia couldn't find the problem; then reported to Fronius International. The whole "kicking the ball" process took them 2 whole weeks 14 days! During this period, none of the companies bother send their technician to come to my house to give an actual diagnoses for the problem. After two week, they eventually showed up with an electrician and find a tiny issue that could be solved immediate onsite! 7 months on, here comes my 2nd bad experience - again the Fronius GEN24 inverter stopped working on Tuesday 13th Feb. at 15:31 immediately after the catastrophic weather conditions in Melbourne. I live only 9km from city so we didn't experience power outrage or anything too serious in the whole area. I reported it to Essential Solar on Wednesday morning 14th. The whole "kicking the ball" process starts again! The technical from Essential Solar can not diagnose the issue remotely, it was then passed to Fronius Australia, and now I was told it has been escalated to Fronius International. I am still waiting... no one has come to my house to even have a look, all done remotely! I have been paying my electricity bill since the inverter broke down, and we have experience few hot days and today will be another 38C but I can't use my solar energy! I won't recommend Fronius to anyone as their service is the worst! Don't expect to get problem solved quickly as their technicians are not capable to doing so quickly.
From the beginning I received prompt and...
Installer Comments
From the beginning I received prompt and helpful service from office and tech staff at Essential. Technical advice leading to a final system selection proved accurate and appropriate and work commenced quickly even though happening during December/ January when many tradesmen take holidays. The system is installed, commissioned and running and there has been no need for technical support.
Solar Panel - JA Solar
The system is north facing and is producing at or close to its rated output every sunny day and a good amount of power on cloudy days. This is meeting best expectations.
Solar Inverter - Fronius
The Fronius Gen 24 inverter has a fan which comes on and off but is unobtrusive and quiet even though it is close to the door to our living area. I have read comments relating to earlier series inverters and noise but we have not experienced that and you need to be close to hear the fan. The supplied Solar.web app works well and reports on immediate power generation and also daily, monthly and yearly generation. It has worked faultlessly.
Installer Comments
Prompt assessment in person rather than just on line. Friendly advice. When initially quoted product not available, upgraded product supplied at no extra cost. Highly professional designer/installer who turned up as per appointment. Prompt follow up to connect to grid
