Investing in a new solar system is a challenge. Read our latest article by Caroline Beshay – Key Account Manager, outlining the key considerations she outlines to her clients.

5 Key Considerations when investing in Solar

As businesses turn their attention to solar, many clients are faced with the challenge of where to start in terms of sourcing reputable solar providers and defining their project scope. In this case, the traditional approach of “getting three quotes” isn’t always the most effective.

So how do you make sure you partner with the right team?

Here we outline our top considerations

✔️ Analysing offers without a clearly defined scope

Suppliers submit offers with various specifications, materials and system sizes in an attempt to differentiate their offer. Analysing these offers quickly becomes a daunting task as clients are making comparisons without a baseline. It becomes difficult to not only know which system to choose, but also to discern if the providers tendering are truly independent, or if they have a bias towards a particular manufacturer.

✔️ Understanding the fine print in warranty and inclusions

Warranties vary from supplier to supplier. Generally, you have warranty on panels, the inverter and workmanship. These may differ in duration and some attract additional costs. Reading the fine print is essential to ensure your system is protected if something goes wrong during the install or once the system is commissioned. You’ll also need to consider what’s included in a supplier’s offer and what isn’t, for example who is responsible for onsite safety and waste removal.

✔️ Minimising onsite disruptions

Getting “3 quotes” means that you’re likely to end up with multiple suppliers coming onsite, often more than once causing interruptions to your normal site operations. Your SES Account Manager can help you minimise these disruptions by conducting an online solar assessment, including a range of system sizes, system design and payback periods. We assist you to define your project scope and request initial offers based on agreed parameters from up to 10 accredited suppliers.

✔️ Project management and maintaining safety

Businesses often underestimate how much time is required in managing the successful implementation of a large-scale solar project. Projects for solar systems above 99kW can be complex in terms of design and managing other aspects such as safety and timeframes are often overlooked.

✔️ Partnering with an independent solar expert

At Sustainable Energy Solutions, we take the complexity out of investing in solar. The process is simplified to just one site visit by our solar experts, to assess your requirements and define the project scope before going to market. We provide end-to-end expertise from defining the system size, requesting initial offers, scoring quotes independently against a set criteria, awarding the project and monitoring the implementation phase.

Initial and final offers are scored against several criteria including materials, price, warranties, deliverables and timeframes. You can assign a weighting to key criteria to meet your business goals. Upon completion, the system is audited to ensure it means the Clean Energy Council regulation and that it is operational.