Congratulations on your new solar install! Here at Island Energy we are committed to providing you with the best customer experience throughout your installation process and moving forwards. We hope you have had a wonderful experience with the installation team, and now that it's all installed and has been commissioned here is what happens next….
Post installation the electrician assigned to your install will lodge a certificate of electrical safety. This information is then assigned to a local independent electrical inspector who will come by the property to inspect your new system. They may or may not contact you depending on access requirements. We aim to have your system
inspected within 5-10 business days however please note as they are not employed by Island Energy this is just a guideline.
Once we receive the Certificate of Electrical Safety back from the inspector we will then process your connection application on your behalf and send it to your retailer. We will copy you into this email so you have an electronic copy of your connection paperwork.
Once your retailer receives the connection application paperwork they advise it can take approximately 20-30 working days for the application to be verified and processed, you can call your retailer for further
information/timeline.
The energy distributor and your preferred retailer will work together to get your application processed (unfortunately we cannot speed this process up as we are not the account holder). Once this step of the process is complete they will advise you that your smart meter is re-configured to start calculating your solar export.
For all domestic installations you will receive correspondence from your retailer entering you into a feed in tariff agreement, this will ensure you are being paid for any energy you transport back into the grid.
You’re all set to start generating power so here are some tips to ensure you are getting the most from you solar system.
During daylight hours come rain or shine your system will always be generating power, to make the most of this we recommend you run as many of your appliances during the day (washing machine, dishwasher etc) to avoid buying energy from your supplier. With this in mind and because we don’t have perfect weather everyday where possible try to stagger your appliances run times (timers are perfect for ensuring your only running one high consumption appliance at a time).
Always try to make sure you heat or cool your house to an optimum temperature during these operational hours to reduce your energy costs as this is the majority of your home energy usage. Where possible try to use as much hot water during these hours and you will be well on your way to a fully sustainable home!
If you are operating with a single inverter which the majority of solar systems are, you will only be generating as much power as your dirtiest panel which makes panel cleaning a priority. During testing at the National Renewable Energy laboratory they recorded losses of productivity as high as 25%. Bearing this in mind we recommend cleaning your panels at least every 6 months with certain areas requiring a more regular cleaning schedule due external factors (excessive atmospheric dust, panels with minimal or no tilt, areas affected by excessive bird droppings, lichen etc).
A solar service should be conducted on an bi annual basis and consists of various elements including checks to ensure performance is optimal focusing on connections, terminals, isolators, wiring and system history this will be followed by a thorough panel clean and a service report provided to the customer. This is a great tool for measuring your systems performance over the years and a well serviced system will ensure you are receiving optimum performance well into the future. *We recommend all cleaning and servicing is conducted by a fully qualified CEC accredited electrician. Please get in touch for more information about our services.
Here at Island Energy we pride ourselves on being with you every step of the way, please do not hesitate to get in touch by giving us a ring or contact us via our facebook page or website.
Check out our other services below for more information.
Free, no obligation consultation. You can either give us a call, or complete the form if you prefer email.
