Solar Installation

Imagine a beautiful Perth morning—the sun is out, you’re sipping your coffee, and instead of worrying about your ever-increasing energy bill, you’re basking in the glory of free, clean solar energy. If this sounds like a dream, the great news is it could be your reality. But first, you might be wondering, “Is my home even suitable for solar panel installation?”

Worry not! Below, we’ll explore key factors that determine your home’s suitability, peppered with real-life stories and testimonials from Perth locals who’ve made the transition.

Factor 1: Sun Exposure and Roof Orientation

If you’re in Perth, the first box—sun exposure—is pretty much ticked. But roof orientation is equally important. A north-facing roof is ideal for capturing maximum sunlight.

Client Testimonial:

“I wasn’t sure if my East-West facing roof would work for solar, but Westsun Energy explained how they could still set up an effective system. A year on, and the savings are incredible!” —Sarah, Cottesloe

Factor 2: Roof Condition and Space

Solar panels are lighter than most people think, but you still need a roof in good structural condition. Additionally, you’ll need about 15-25 square meters of space for a typical home installation.

Client Testimonial:

“Our house is nearly 20 years old, so I was concerned about the roof. Westsun Energy did a thorough assessment and even helped us understand what minor repairs would make it solar-ready. We felt in safe hands.” —Dave, Fremantle

When considering solar power for your new home, you want to get it right from the start. A new home build allows you to optimise your set-up, but you want to ensure you have done your homework. You can do this by providing you have consulted with your builder, architect and solar expert during the planning process. This will allow you to avoid common installation issues or roadblocks. Westsun Energy is here to help!  

Below are Westsun Energy’s tips for navigating to a sunny future in your new home.

Roof Design 

First, you will need to check with your home builder that your roof has enough space to fit solar panels on it. Surprisingly, even in this day and age with an all-electric future upon us, there are still developers and home builders getting away with ‘slender roof houses’ without provision to support solar resources. 

The good news is that if your new home needs roof modifications during the planning stage, it can easily be included as a build contract variation which usually costs a few hundred dollars. 

Moreover, another great thing to discuss with your solar experts and architect is tailoring the design to your roof. They can help identify possible shading issues from neighbouring properties and solutions for optimal placement of skylights, ventilation, antennas etc., on other areas of your roof line. 

Westsun Energy suggests supporting your roof space with panels so North, East, West and South. This means you’re not limited to the system size you can have installed. A 13kW system can fit 32 solar panels, which will help you produce more electricity in cooler months whilst charging your battery and electric vehicle. 

Pre-Wiring 

At Westsun Energy, we advise pre-installing your solar system wiring whilst your home is under construction. We can pre-wire the house for solar, meeting all solar CEC standards, before the walls have been gyprock. This is much simpler and more cost-effective to do at the beginning of the build rather than after; it also ensures there are no visible cables in your home. 

Here are a few things you should be aware of: 

• The solar cable can run up to 600V DC in your home and are live at all times, except for when you switch your solar panels off or the sun goes down, and a safety switch or circuit breaker can’t protect them
• Due to this, strict regulations are implemented on how and where to run solar cables, and specific heavy-duty solar conduits must protect them. It is important to note that not all electricians or builders are across these industry standards as they are not necessarily ‘solar experts.’
• Westsun Energy recommends engaging a CEC-approved electrician to do your pre-wiring. By doing so, you can ensure it’s compliant, avoiding any extra costs that can crop up when mistakes are made.
• It helps to know which solar system you plan on installing on your home before wiring; it ensures correct cables are laid. 

Information for Industry – Distributed Photovoltaic Management 

New requirements will apply to new and upgraded rooftop solar installations from Monday, 14th February 2022. 

From this date, all new and upgraded solar PV with an inverter capacity of 5kW or less will need to be capable of being remotely turned down or off in emergencies. 

On 28th September 2021, AEMO released its Renewable Energy Integration – SWIS Update report. The report highlights the substantial acceleration of DPV uptake in recent years and identifies priority actions needed to manage the power system. 

The requirements will be outlined in Western Power’s Embedded Generator Connection Technical Requirements. 

There are multiple ways that this requirement can be met to allow the lowest cost outcome for consumers. In the first instance, the methods available are direct communication to the inverter via API control (requires household internet) or wiring up the system to be disconnected at the meter (a dual element meter). 

In the future, there will also be the option of installing a ‘gateway’ box to send instructions to an inverter. 

Synergy will have a crucial role in supporting installers by providing information on the options and how to meet these requirements. Installers must register with Synergy to receive updates and details for information sessions and workshops. 

A Household Fact Sheet is available to provide to clients, showing the policy changes.  Read More

The difference between quality and dodgy installs has become a significant talking point within the solar industry. At Westsun Energy, we take pride in identifying our customer’s solar needs, helping them every step of the way, including design and installation.

This article goes through critical points that separate an excellent install from a bad one, including whether your solar installer has added value to your home, not just a future headache for you.

Licensing

All solar work is legally required to be installed by a licensed electrician with an attached CEC-accredited license. Firstly, you should check that the company that is completing your solar installation is both insured and licensed – this will protect you and your home in the event of anything going wrong and prevent you from being added to the list of casualties who have been caught out by using unlicensed tradespeople to install solar on their home.

Anything with solar requires a Clean Energy Council Accreditation; this ensures that the electricians installing your system have completed the required courses and are adequately educated regarding the correct installation procedures.

Finding a licensed installer will help prevent any future headaches and can be found here:

https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/consumers/buying-solar/find-an-installer

Signage

Appropriate labelling and identification should always be on the inverter, isolating switches and switchboards. Acceptable forms of signage should include some of the stickers pictured below. Read More