Solar panels work best when it is sunny, and if the panels are generating more power than your home needs, that surplus is stored in the battery. Some power is generated even when it is cloudy. You are able to use this surplus power after the sun has gone down and with solarZero, you can also access the grid for extra energy needs.
FAQs
Starting out on your solar journey can seem a little daunting at first. So we’ve compiled some of our frequently asked questions to help you navigate the world of solar below:
Topics
- General questions
- Solar technology
- Solar subscription
- Solar ownership
Topics
General questions
Our team of friendly customer care agents are available Monday - Thursday 8.30am - 5.30pm, and on Fridays 8.30am - 5pm. If there's an urgent issue with your solar system, you can call our after hours number on 0800 11 66 55 and one of our team will be happy to help.
Our solar subscription means that you can install a solar system for $0 uprfront. This is a great option if you don't want to spend the money upfront – a solar system including a battery can easily cost more than $20,000. With our solar subscription we also take care of installation, and ongoing maintenance giving you access to lower cost energy. We estimate an average household would save up to $230 a year, so when you look at the savings of the 25-year contract period, that could be a lot of savings.
As SolarZero panels are mounted just a few centimetres above your roof and on the same angle, they blend in really well. In some instances they cant be noticed at all.
As solar panels don't have moving parts they require little maintenance. But any maintenance that is needed is covered by the regular fee paid for the solarZero system.
As solar power doesn't create emissions, and it is estimated that by powering your home this way you'll prevent about 12 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere over the next 25 years. That's equivalent to the carbon savings of about 108 trees.
One payment is for your solar subscription. The second is for your grid power from our partner retailer. Your monthly solar subscription will depend on the payment option you have selected. Pay with either our progressive increase option where your monthly subscription fee increases at a fixed 2.5% per year. Or pay with our fixed fee option that doesn't increase for 25 years. Your invoice from our partner retailer, likely Ecotricity, is variable depending on how much grid power you are buying or selling.
When you decide to go solar with us you will be assigned a project co-ordinator. This will be your person for you to ask all things about your solar installation. They will be in touch with you to arrange all of the aspects of your solar installation right up to when the solar system is installed on your home.
On a typical installation day our team will arrive on site between 8-10am. You will need to be home as the team will need to have access to your switch board, as well as other aspects of the home. They will also talk you through the placement of the solar panels on your roof, as well as where the battery will be installed. Our solar system installations usually take one day. If there is more time required, for example there is rain, or if the installation is just taking a bit longer then there will need to be a second day installation. Your project co-ordinator will liase with you if there is another visit required. After the installation is completed the system is inspected by an independent inspector who signs the system off. This is done by a third party and we don't have control over the timing of this. After the inspection is completed our team will run final checks to get the solar system activated. Once activated your home will be running on sunshine.
We need to have a look at the electricity usage in your home over a 3 month period. This is to make sure that we have accounted for factors such as seasonality and any changes in power usage that might occur in your home. It is important that we size correctly for your home so that if you choose a solar subscription we are able to guarantee savings on your power bill, or when you purchase your own solar system we can guarantee cheaper energy.
Solar panels are designed to be largely self cleaning. We install solar panels on a slight angle so when it is raining they clean themselves. Our team are constantly monitoring your system so if performance has dropped they will liase with you to get these cleaned.
Our team of customer care agents are always avialable to help you. You can contact them on 0800 11 66 55 or email them at customercare@solarzero.co.nz and they will come back to you.
Our team of solar specalists are constantly reviewing the performance of the system. They will organise technicans to come to your house if there is an issue with the system. Likewise, if the production of the solar panels isn't as expected then they will talk to you about whether there are any trees shading your roof and so on. As the team are always monitoring the solar system you don't need to worry they will notify you if there is any servicing required. It's one of the many benefits of having a specalist team behind you.
We size the system for your homes current energy use. When we do this we take into account factors like whether you will purchase an EV in the future or whether your homes energy use is likely to change. We don't currently add additional solar panels to systems.
Yes. We provide cheaper energy for you to be able to power your EV with. The best time to charge your EV is in low peak periods, for example after 11pm in the evening or early in the morning.
Call us on 0800 11 66 55 and our team of customer care agents will talk through the steps to get your system back up and running.
Yes you will export solar energy to the grid when you are generating more energy than what you are using in your home. Likewise, if you have energy stored in the battery our team will programme your battery to sell that energy when power prices are high and it makes sense to sell it. You will see this exported energy on your power bill as solar export credits. The amount that you earn from exporting energy to the grid will be a credit on your power bill.
No. We don't currently install solar systems on property's that have an existing solar system.
The battery has a lifespan of about 10 years. As part of the solar subscription we replace the battery, as needed, once during the 25-year agreement, at no extra cost to you. Whether you purchase a battery or get our solar subscription we are constantly updating the software in the battery just like the software on your phone to make sure it is running at its optimum.
No, all our systems are grid tied to give you the best of both worlds - solar, plus grid power at exclusive rates.
Yes. Our team programme the battery to buy and store energy when it makes most sense to your home. You don't need to worry about this our team take care of everything so you can continue to use energy how you want.
By logging into MySolarZero you will be able to review what is stored in the battery. Simply click on the monitoring tab, and you will be able to see how much energy is stored in the battery.
The battery is manufactured by GoodWe one of the worlds leading solar manufacturers.
No, it only discharges when scheduled. You don't need to worry about this. Regardless of how you go solar our team will take care of the optimisation of solar in your house.
Ideally it will be installed in a garage or similar sheltered area but it can be installed outside as long as it is out of direct sunlight. It needs to sit on a suitable concrete pad base.
We take care of this.
There is no maintenance required by you. Our team will take care of the battery making sure it is always optimised for your home.
Yes. The battery we install complies with strict regulations and has several safety mechanisms to prevent accidental damage. It also operates at extra safe low voltage.
There is no noise during daily operation.
They will be recycled. We are developing options for how we do this with our suppliers.
Solar technology
Absolutely. Despite common misconceptions, they're designed to generate energy even in really low-light conditions.
Yes they will. Not as much as in summer, where there are significantly more daylight hours, but they're still fully functional over winter and generate energy in low-light conditions.
Solar panels generate energy during sunshine hours. in the evening, your home is powered on the solar energy that's been stored in the solar battery. If there is no energy left in the solar battery, or if grid rates are cheap, then your home will purchase energy from the grid to keep everything running. You don't need to worry about any of this, as our team of solar specalists are always optimising how your home is buying and selling energy in the background, without you needing to think about a thing.
Our panels are 445W.
Solar subscription
We offer a full 25-year warranty on the system as part of the solar subscription, so you don't need to worry about a thing.
We use your power bills to look at how much your home currently uses to run comfortably. From here, we're able to use this information to calculate what size of solar energy system would best work in your home to provide you with lower energy costs for 25 years. These estimations assume two things; that your energy use will reduce by 5% once you have total visibility on how much you use, and that the annual electricity price increases by 3.5%.
It comes down to ownership and upfront costs. When you opt for our solar subscription, you pay $0 installation, and pay a simple fixed monthly fee to access our subscription and we will lower the cost of energy for you. When you buy your own system outright, you pay around $20-30,000 to install the system, with our solar subscription you don't need to worry about these upfront costs. If you're deliberating which option is best for you, get in touch and one of our friendly energy experts can talk you through what's possible.
Buy your own solar system
Yes. We offer a 12-year product warranty, a 30-year performance warranty for panels, and a 10-year warranty for inverter and battery.
You can pay via a bank transfer, or by debit or credit card (which usually incurs a 3% transaction fee).
You'll pay a 50% deposit, which is due within five days of agreeing to our quote, and the remaining 50% once your system's been installed.
We can offer you the best solar energy systems on the market, but we leave financing to the experts. Most banks offer low-interest rates for solar power that can be added to your mortgage, and it's best to ask around to see what's possible for your household. Alternatively, you could consider our solar subscription offering, which requires $0 upfront to install.