Top 10 Solar Companies in Melbourne
From personal experience, industry knowledge and plenty of research - here is who we have found to be the top 10 best solar installers in Melbourne.
1. Advanced Energy Solutions
A boutique and relatively unknown solar company - Advanced Energy Solutions is run by a couple of youngish sparky's (Dan and Jim), who are based in Ballarat, but do installs all over the state.
Why we like them
The guys sell and install their own jobs. So throughout the entire process you're not stuck dealing with several different people. They have a very reasonable price point, provide their customers/followers with gifts (customised wine bottles, footy jumpers, system giveaways) and they are the only company that openly offers a savings guarantee. "If your system stops working any time within the estimated payback period or within 5 years of installation (whichever is shorter) from any fault of their own, we will pay you back the savings you missed out on".
What are their installs like?
Advanced Energy Solutions have incredibly straight and elegant installations, hide all their cabling and conduit internally, use inverter covers, and very impressively they use black duct to hide conduit outdoors (unnecessary and needs to be painted manually, but it looks good). They use top of the range inverters such as Fronius, but most of their installs have Sungrow inverters - which is the worlds most bankable inverter and offers the best ROI.
Advanced Energy Solutions Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (5/5 average)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Facebook (5/5 average)
2. Sky Energy
Sky Energy is run by another youngish lad duo who have been in the industry since they were pups, Sam and Ross. They have been one of the leading Melbourne solar companies for the past 5 years.
Why we like them
Sky Energy is more of a household name in the solar industry, and are one of the leading companies for hybrid and off-grid installations in Victoria (winners of the LG Chem Resu Top Installer award). Further into their off-grid expertise, Sky Energy now also manufactures Sky Boxes, which is an off-grid solution the guys have invented after years of installing off-grid.
What are their installs like?
The team at Sky Energy take pride in their work, and have internal monthly best install awards, to keep a high standard. As Sky Energy are specialists in battery systems, they have many OCD type battery installations (using a mix of Sungrow, SolarEdge or SMA inverters, usually paired with LG Batteries) that have a well thought-out placement, straight cabling, conduit and cable tray. Although this isn't everyone's cup of tea as battery systems can look a bit industrial, their Sky Boxes are very inoffensive to look at, and hide all the electrical components.
Sky Energy's Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (4.7/5 average)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Solar Quotes (4.6/5 average)
3. Green Line Solar
Green Line Solar is run by a couple of guys based in central Melbourne, Jake and Toby, who have been working together in the solar industry for over 5 years and built their business from the ground up over that time. Jake is the A grade electrician, responsible for all install’s and technical support. Toby will manage the design and consulting process to ensure you have the right solution for your individual property, budget and future plans.
Why we like them
Jake and Toby only take on a finite amount of work and their estimations for clients systems are very conservative and realistic. They believe that In an industry where people are too frequently taken advantage of, or sold underpriced bad installs, their mission statement is to ensure there are no ‘winners’ or ‘losers’, but that everyone knows what they are buying and pays the appropriate amount for a quality install, reliability and support long term. They offer peace of mind.
What are their installs like?
Green Line Solar has a high attention to detail and customer service, like many smaller companies where the bosses are on the tools. They will personally ensure every detail of the job is completed perfectly, and be with you for the entire installation journey. They back up their installations by offering a 10 year workmanship warranty, which is double the standard. When the responsibility is on the owner of the business to get the installation right, you can rest assured that you won’t be left high and dry. They install various products to meet customers needs for reliability vs ROI including Sungrow, Fronius and Enphase.
Green Line Solar's Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (5/5 average)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Solar Quotes (5/5 average)
4. Solar Flow
Solar Flow is another boutique sized solar installation company run by Tim and Alex, and specialise more in upmarket solar systems in Melbourne's high-end architectural homes and Melbourne’s inner suburbs.
Why we like them
Solar Flow have a small team of in-house electricians that often have some of the more difficult roofs to install on, in the blue chip areas including Toorak, South Yarra and Fitzroy. A lot of inner city houses are quite old, with steep roofs and thick walls, and were not exactly created with the intention of having solar installed on them 70 years later. Solar Flow focused on quality over quantity, and do not rush their work.
What are their installs like?
Due to working for high-end builders and in affluent areas - Solar Flow need to keep a high standard of quality installations. Which they do a very good job of, by keeping the panels very straight and symmetrical, while maxing out the roof space for optimal solar production. They quite often use the cream of the crop materials, including Fronius inverters and SunPower panels
Solar Flow's Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (5/5 average)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Solar Quotes (4.4/5 average)
5. RACV Solar
Formerly Gippsland Solar when it was started by Andy and Kelly McCarthy in their home, RACV Solar is now one of the biggest solar companies in the country.
Why we like them
RACV Solar have a big team of inhouse electricians and apprentices to do their many installs. Although with such a large company, the one-on-one customer service at domestic jobs would be very worker dependent - but, from all accounts they run a very tight ship and keep their customers happy. More impressively are their 100kw+ installs that are very aesthetically pleasing. If you see any large commercial solar systems installed throughout Gippsland, such as the Latrobe Regional Hospital, it was likely it was done by them.
What are their installs like?
While we can't say much for their domestic stuff, RACV Solar installs elite systems on schools, hotels, breweries - basically any commercial building. The outcome, are very impressive and large systems that are square on multiple roof spaces and looks very symmetrical. The panel lines are very straight, which is very tedious to get right when you have rows of 30. RACV Solar uses top shelf products including Fronius inverters and Tesla Powerwalls.
RACV Solar Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Solar Quotes (4.5/5 average)
6. Total Solar Solutions
Andrew Reece started up Total Solar Solutions to create a more dependable customer journey after experiencing the issues between solar sales companies and installers (something which is still a massive issue today). They have been a CEC Approved Retailer for over 7 years.
Why we like them
Considering the company was created to uphold integrity in the solar industry by having all departments under one roof, it is still a trait they focus heavy on today by aiming to have top customer service from first contact, to after sale care. Total Solar Solutions have also been recognised for their high quality installations, and won "The Most Quality LG Focused" award in Australia back in 2018.
What are their installs like?
Total Solar Solutions provide some good installations, with their hybrid inverter and battery systems having all cabling internal or using duct work to minimise the industrial look. They use high-end products including SolarEdge, Fronius, and Tesla.
Total Solar Solutions Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Facebook (5/5 average)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Solar Quotes (4.8/5 average)
7. Essential Solar
Essential Solar was founded by electrical engineer and solar guru, David Bruce. They have been operating for around 20 years, and have installed almost 5000 systems since 2012.
Why we like them
David, being an engineer, knows that it is in their best interest to supply customers only with high quality products and installed to high quality standards - to ensure that it will stand the test of time. This gives customers a better overall ROI, and is better for their business as they won't have to return for issues in the future. We also like that Essential Solar have a transparent estimate savings calculator on their website, for window shoppers.
What are their installs like?
Essential Solar have a massive catalogue of solar panel installations on their website, which are mostly neat and tidy jobs (over 95%). Essential Solar use top tier inverter brand Fronius on nearly all of their installs, and go internal with most of their cabling. However, when they are forced to have external conduit, they do a great job of levelling the conduit, evening out the saddle spacings, and clean entries from the cornice.
Essential Solar Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (4.8/5 average)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Solar Quotes (4.6/5 average)
8. Melbourne Energy Group
Melbourne Energy Group is a medium sized solar company, run by a couple of blokes with over 15 years of electrical and solar experience, Toby and Shane.
Why we like them
The guys have a very tight knit group of around 15 electricians and apprentices, and do a good range of solar installs to keep their skills versatile - doing mostly medium-sized commercial jobs, but also some massive jobs (including a 750kW), a bit of residential and also hybrid, and off-grid systems. They also use a variety of top quality inverters (which they all take a bit of time to master the back end of), so they keep their skills sharpened on all things across the board for solar.
What are their installs like?
Melbourne Energy Group have a lot of commercial and industrial installs, and go internally for cabling for inverters, or use cable tray - which fits in fine for the industrial look. The panels are placed well thought-out on the roof, again with the use of cable tray instead of internal for their commercial installs. Melbourne Energy Group uses some of the highest quality solar products, including SunPower and LG panels on the roof, and Fronius, SolarEdge, SMA and Redback inverters. These are literally the highest quality products, and they use them interchangeably.
Melbourne Energy Group Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (5/5 average)
9. Lightning Energy
Lightning Energy is run by Luke Cove, who has been a sparky for 15+ years. Lightning Energy is headquartered in Melbourne, but do installs in SA, QLD and NSW.
Why we like them
Although most of Lightning Energy's customer's leave positive reviews, one unhappy customer left a scathing review due to an issue with an unreliable inverter/battery. While this is inevitable in the solar industry and nothing to be taken from the installers - it showed great maturity from the company to refuse to use average products in order to win quotes, and now exclusively use top tier inverters and batteries, such as Fronius, SolarEdge and Tesla. Furthermore, most of their other negative reviews are from customers displeased that the entire system did not fit. Another inevitable issue in solar, but most customers understand that it is more important to follow building and design regulations, and that installers do not compromise their CEC license and cut corners, for a few unhappy customers.
What are their installs like?
Lightning Energy do some great work with Tesla Powerwall's and Gateways, by installing them neatly with all cabling internal - and by doubling (and tripling) up the Powerwall's for more storage - strong lads. As mentioned above, Lightning Energy use top level products for their installs, but for a more competitive price, they offer decent inverters such as Sungrow.
Lightning Energy Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (4.6/5 average)
10. Solar Pro Bendigo
Ben Anderson and the team have been in solar for over a decade, and although they're based in Bendigo and cover central Victoria, the team still make it to the outer northern suburbs to throw up some panels.
Why we like them
Solar Pro Bendigo keep their installs to a high standard by using their self trained electricians and having their in house engineer monitor all their systems to ensure ongoing performance. It is a family-owned and operated business, employing local lads and keep their customers very happy with only 5 star Google Reviews. This is evident again as they have been recognised as one of Australia's top 10 solar installers from Sunwiz, as rated by their happy customers.
What are their installs like?
Solar Pro do a lot of large rural jobs with sheds covered in panels, very elegant off-grid and hybrid solar installations, using blue chip products including Fronius inverters and Tesla batteries. As mentioned above, they have a high standard for their installs, and that is evident as they hide their cabling and conduit very well internally, with well-drilled out holes or blank plates. When this is not viable, they have very straight duct and conduit work - or they use a nice black formply as a backing board in sheds.
Solar Pro Bendigo Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google (5/5 average)
About the Best Solar Companies in Melbourne
As you probably have figured out, there are quite a few similarities between the best solar companies above. Some of this includes that they:
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Employ in-house electricians
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Provide after sales care
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Employ in-house sales staff
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Do not use bad, or even average, products
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Take pride in their work
These 5 points are incredibly important when it comes to choosing a solar installer. If the company has all the electricians and sales staff under the one roof, it is in everyone's interest to keep the customer happy, and less chance of a "lack of communication" error.
They also use quality products and make sure they are not only installed properly, but aesthetically pleasing as they want the system to last for as long as possible, and for it to look nice, - as they are in it for the long run, not just a quick buck.
The better products they use, the better skilled staff that take more time on each project, and allowing for any warranty issues - generally means the better solar companies do cost more than the ones to avoid. However, they will last a lot longer and it's better to pay slightly more now, or you'll be paying a lot more later.
Best Solar Installers in Melbourne
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Advanced Energy Solutions
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Sky Energy
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Green Line Solar
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Solar Flow
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RACV Solar
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Total Solar Solutions
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Essential Solar
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Melbourne Energy Group
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Lightning Energy
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Solar Pro Bendigo
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Green Line Solar
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JWS Electrical Services
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Chux Electrical
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Premier Solar
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Formosa Electrics
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Solar Tactics
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Transfer Solar
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Kuga Electrical
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RJC Electrical
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Harpoon Electrics
Solar Companies to Avoid
While some people can have a good experience with these companies, there are 1000s of cases of displeased customers since the solar boom which relates to issues including, system never working, dodgy installations causing fires, pushy sales people, ugly and non compliant installations, property damage, and changing products at the last minute.
Unfortunately, this happens because some solar companies offer very low installation costs, which is attractive to consumers. They can achieve this by compromising cost by using low quality panels and inverters, have razor thin margins, and pay their installers minimal. They are usually just a sales company that hires sub-contracting electricians to do their work. While some of these sparkies will do a good job - they are getting paid very minimal, so most will only do the bare minimal. It is the sales company who the customer has a deal with, so the electrician will not be worried about a negative image if they do an average job.
Below are the some of the solar companies that you should definitely avoid.
Arise Solar
Arise Solar are a solar company that install a lot of solar systems, but have just as many complaints. People have reported that they use pushy salespeople from overseas call centres to cold-call, and they do not have any in-house electricians, but sub all of their work out.
They are normally one of the cheapest, as they cut costs by using cheap labour and inferior products. Many people have reported them quoting good products, but swapping them at the last minute - claiming they are even better, but for the same price. These products either don't work from the start, or don't last very long. We recommend avoiding Arise Solar.
Sunboost
Sunboost is another company that has given many good installers work - as many good installers have had to come out and fix up some of Sunboost's dodgy installs. Sunboost sells systems and relies only on sub-contractors (and cheap ones) to install the job.
From many accounts, there is often no or little communication for install dates, and when (not if) there is an issue with the installation, they don't want to know about it as it is the "installers responsibility" - who by then, are dust in the wind.
Even though some subcontracting installers are good, many (especially the ones that work for very little) use cheap and unqualified labour, often with one electrician monitoring two jobs at different sites a day, and signing off on both. Obviously, this dodgy workmanship comes back to bite the customer with the system not working properly (or at all).
Allan Border doesn't know anything about solar, so who cares if he recommends them. We do know a lot about solar, and we recommend avoiding Sunboost.
Conclusion
So there you have it, the best solar installers in Melbourne, and some to avoid. Bare in mind, this is done from our years of experience and knowledge in the solar industry.
The best solar installers at the top of this list, are most likely going to be more expensive than the ones at the bottom that we recommend avoiding. It is completely up to you for who you want to choose to install solar for you, but you are now armed with the information to tell the good from the bad. And as they say, if you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys.