I think climate change has definitely shifted people's thinking, as have the bush fires of late. People are thinking right, our government isn't doing all that much, so maybe it's my time or my turn to step up. And solar is a great way to do that because you are turning your roof into a mini generation plant. So if you can produce and consume your own renewable energy, then why would you not do that? And that's a great way to make a really positive environmental contribution. I think people who are worried about their hip pocket, are probably the ones who are going to benefit the most from installing solar.
It's funny when I first got into the industry, I was very idealistic and I thought, surely everyone's going to want to get solar for the same reasons as me. Which is to help the planet which clearly does need quite a lot of help, but it wasn't the case. I was quite shocked actually. And I realised that most people were all about the hip pocket. Which is fine because you install solar, you get the financial benefit but the environmental benefit is there anyway A lot of people are focused on payback and that's reasonable. You want to make sure that you're getting a good return on your investment.
I usually say to people and we actually show people how it's achievable, that you'll probably get around about a three-year payback, over two and a half to three payback with a good quality mid range system. So for the difference of 12 months, if you're going to be in your home even for six or seven years, you'd be mad not to install the good stuff.
The performance warranty is a bit of a fluffy warranty, it's quite hard to claim. All panels that pass Australian standards have to offer a 25 year performance warranty. The construction warranty is much more important. Called the Product Warranty, that guarantees that the panel won't crack or warp or corrode, and that's much more likely to happen. So the warranty is generally in line with the longevity of the panel. So if you get a panel or a manufacturer that's prepared to offer 25 year warranty on its panel, you can expect it's going to last at least 25 years. Whereas if you go with a panel that only offers a 10 year warranty, that's probably about as long as you can expect to get full productivity out of it.
Why do higher quality solar panels with longer product warranties get you better financial payback?
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