The Australian Solar market is a hotbed of technologies and products, both local and imported, from many economies around the world all contributing towards the global shift to renewables. Here, we have implemented stringent quality control and compliance procedures for installing products, mainly to encourage a safe industry, free of incident and malpractice. The government bodies which regulate the market have established these guidelines with the consumer and the reputation of our industry in mind.
As an installer or wholesaler, a degree of caution must be given when considering where to purchase and from whom. We are seeing a rising number of questionable products, particularly panels, being brought into the Australian market. These exist outside of the international testing agencies standards and are usually not listed on the CEC accreditation list for approved products.
It is not an uncommon for some (less reputable) suppliers to be involved with a practice known as parallel importing - whereby panels are cheaply produced outside of the required Australian standards, without adequate certification and labelled under the same branding, with the same serial numbers, as those that are. These products are a lot cheaper to manufacture and hence import.
While it is difficult to regulate these products due to their similarities with the top tiered brands, their output performance and manufacturing quality is usually low. A rise in consumer complaints will most often lead to action from investigation teams within the relevant governing bodies. Should these products be discovered, the STC or LGC rebate claimed against the installation, will be immediately surrendered and the site ineligible for the subsidy.
Our advice is to closely check the pricing of the products you are considering, comparative it to other wholesalers or suppliers offering the same brand. If you find the wholesale pricing of a particular panel to have big discrepancies between suppliers, it is likely the cost per watt of the cheaper alternative is linked to lower quality manufacturing conditions - an indication of parallel importing. Reputable wholesalers exist all over Australia, most who have been in business for a number of years or who have grown market share on the back of reputable businesses will know the ins and outs of panel and production. Building a relationship with the right people can help to educate the industry an avoid any issues with your installs.
In addition, the Clean Energy Council provides a consistently updated list of all accredited panels and inverters, which should always be consulted. While speaking to others in the industry (Emerging Energy being a good example) can provide a level of confidence that reduced the chance of becoming involved with this type of malpractice.
Read about Solahart's commitment to ensuring the quality of all our products.
