Almost 30% of a Northern Beaches home’s electricity consumption goes into hot water heating. So, being a savvy fella and environmentally mindful, Dave Veal started the Solarpro business in 2009, first utilising solar energy to power hot water systems, and evolving from there to provide expertise for everything a home or business could possibly need that can be powered by the sun.
Dave, how has your capacity to harness the sun’s energy developed over the past 13 years?
Our goal at Solarpro is to maximise people’s self-consumption of power so it is not wasted by sending it to the grid. The early days of installing solar hot water systems was a perfect starting point. From this we embraced new technology to become experts in SolarEdge optimised systems. Further innovations have enhanced this technology to enable an ordinary electric hot water tank to run on excess solar power. Known as the ‘Smart Switch’ it can run air conditioners, pool heat pumps and EV chargers. We also now ensure that every customer’s SolarEdge system is up on the internet from the day it’s installed. This enables Solarpro to monitor the system 24/7 free of charge for any issues that might occur. Customers can immediately see on their phone and computer the power being generated, how each specific solar panel is performing, as well as how many trees they’re saving and the carbon footprint they’re not making.
What do customers say it feels like, generating their own power?
It’s like winning an arm wrestle! Generating your own energy is deeply empowering. Combining rooftop solar with a battery is even better, as a battery is configured with the solar inverter as the “brains” of the system and uses solar energy to best advantage day and night. The computer within the battery constantly evolves thanks to software updates. For instance, we installed NSW’s first Tesla Powerwall 2 battery in Frenchs Forest. That battery now has three vast improvements thanks to updates in its “brain”, making it a far superior battery at no extra cost. Batteries can connect to the Bureau of Meteorology, using the latest weather forecast to make changes in how best to harness solar energy. If the BOM predicts it’s going to rain tomorrow, thereby reducing sunlight, the battery will initiate buying the predicted shortfall energy from the grid at the cheapest price it can today to avoid having to buy at peak prices the next day. But the popular advantage of having a battery is in the event of a blackout, having the neighbours come knocking, cap in hand, begging to charge their phones from your home’s power. You’ve got volts to spare, a local Watt King in a time of darkness.
What are the key differences Tawny readers need to be aware of between solar marketing companies and solar installation companies?
A solar marketing company operates out of an office with salespeople on phones hunting down sales, only using out of house installation contractors. Many of these companies don’t have any inhouse electricians or service crews ready to respond if a problem arises. Solarpro employs its own Clean Energy Council accredited solar electricians who are battery endorsed. We’re committed to the industry with extensive infrastructure, including our Showroom and we have a Technical Service desk to offer help whenever needed. After all, we’re not installing a microwave oven, a solar system is a complex piece of technical equipment. We believe after sales service is as important as selling the equipment in the first place.
Solarpro is celebrating 13years of quality solar and over 5,000 installations. To learn more call 9453 1485, visit solarpro.com.au or pop into the Allambie Heights Showroom, Unit 9/252 Allambie Rd
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