True Value Solar is a 100% privately owned Australian company.
At True Value Solar our mission and values are to help every Australian household understand how simple solar really is. Our goal is to make solar affordable for every Australian and help them save money on their electricity bill and increase the value of their home by achieving a higher energy rating.
TVS believes that every Australian has a responsibility to help save the environment by producing free green electricity. We want to make this dream possible, and offer the most affordable systems on the Australian market. How do we do this? We cut out the middle men, and buy direct from all the manufactures saving thousands of dollars and passing those savings onto the consumers. “TVS buys in bulk, and passes these crazy savings on to you.”
Even though we are the cheapest, we still maintain the highest standard of service and quality to all our customers, whether they are buying the smallest or larger system.
We guarantee we will not be beaten in price, and if you find a cheaper advertised price we will beat it by 5%! ! !
So what are you waiting for….get on the phone now and talk to one of our friendly team members and find out just how great life can be when you are producing your own FREE green electricity.
TVSolar.com.au FAQ’s
- Why choose Solar Panels?
Aside from the impact of cutting your household’s carbon footprint by tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year, solar units can drastically reduce your electricity bill in two distinct ways. Primarily, by generating your own electricity from the solar panels you reduce the electricity you need to buy from your power provider. Secondly any excess “Green” electricity your system produces is sold back to the power provider – and at a higher rate then what you have bought standard electricity.
These two benefits mean many households will be able to reduce their electricity bill by up to 100%.Another often overlooked benefit is that the solar units increases both the energy rating and value of your house.
- What is a Grid Connect Solar Panel System?
Grid Connect solar panel systems are connected to the electricity supply grid.
The inverter converts DC low voltage power generated by the solar panels to 240V AC household supply.
The inverter also manages how much electricity is drawn from or fed back into the grid. When excess “Green” electricity is fed into the grid, the meter ticks backwards, so the household only pays the difference between what is fed and drawn.
- Are there other benefits from having solar panels?
Yes, by reducing Australia’s dependency on electricity generated from coal, we not only reduce CO2 emissions we also reduce the demand on water power companies require to make this electricity. Currently 130 billion litres of drinking water is used just to generate coal-based electricity.Furthermore, if more Australians solar panel systems are installed it will reduce the stress on our electricity grid. This in turn will minimise the number of black outs occurring during peaks times of the year.
- How much will this cost me?
Thanks to the Government’sSolar Credits scheme the cost to the customer is minimal. For example a 1.5kw System with a usual retail price in excess of $16,000.00 now only costs the customer under $3000.00 (inc GST) installed.
- How much roof space is required?
The amount of roof space required depends on the size of the system installed. For example, a 1.5Kw system requires about 12m2 of roof space. This should be on an un-shaded and preferably a north-facing part of the roof.
The system is modular and thus can be arranged in a way that best suits the roof.
- Is there a warranty provided with the Solar Panel Unit?
Yes, True Value Solar provide a 10 year warranty on the entire system (panels, inverter and wiring). Additionally there is a 25-year manufacturer warranty on the solar panels themselves.
- What do I do if my Unit is damaged or vandalised?
Contact True Value Solar Immediately.
- Have the Solar Panels and inverters been tested for quality to Australian and international standards?
Yes, the panels are tested to and meet the standard IEC61215 and IEC61730 and the inverter complies with standard AS/NZ4777.
- Will the Electrician installing the product be qualified?
Yes all installers are licensed electricians and are Accredited in Design and Installation of Photovoltaic systems by the Clean Energy Council.
- Is it as effective in winter?
Solar Photovoltaic systems rely on sunlight and ultra violet rays not heat. So while there may be less hours of sunlight in winter the actual conversion of power is unaffected by the change in climate. However, you will benefit from extended hours of sunlight in the summer.
- Does the systems comes with a battery?
There is no battery as the system is completely grid interactive. Battery systems are normally used with RAP (Remote area Power) systems that have no grid connectivity.
- In event of a supply failure or blackout does the unit take over supply of the house?
No. For safety reasons, when the normal supply of electricity is interrupted the solar units are also shut down.
- What is an REC?
When you install solar power and other renewable energy generating sources, you are helping to reduce carbon emissions. This entitles you to create carbon offset credits called Renewable Energy Certificates or RECs.
These credits are a tradeable commodity just like shares on the Australian Stock Exchange. Like other commodities, the price of RECs is not fixed and varies with supply and demand. One REC equals 1MWh of generation from a renewable source and is part of the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target. This target is an industry development mechanism created by the Government in 2001.
- How do REC’s benefit us the customer?
Under the new RET (Renewable energy target), RECs may be traded to a supplier for a point of sale discount on their renewable generation unit – saving themselves the value of the RECs generated. Now the new solar credits scheme is operational from the 9 July 2009, households, are allowed to claim five times the normal amount of REC’s for the first 1.5Kw worth of supply.
- How can I get a Solar System installed in my home?
There’s just 3 easy steps to have your solar unit installed :
1. Our friendly sales staff will speak to you over the phone to note down a few of your details
2. We perform a quick 5 minute application assessment through the phone
3. We immediately process your order and get you on the way to free green electricity
Some conditions apply – please call us for further details.
- How long does installation take?
3 to 4 hours
- How long can I expect the work to be done after I’ve made my booking?
4 to 6 weeks
- What is the payment period?
Prior to installation
- Do I need to be there while the system is installed?
Yes
True Value Solar Complaints & Reviews Comment Below
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hi
i am a farmer from Tumby bay and are interested in a quote on a 2kw and 3 kw system for my farm.
My best mate had true value solar install his solar panels. They ripped him off, charged him for a much larger unit than they installed.
The max amount of electricity it could potentially put back into the grid was also much less than quoted. After 10 or 15 years this could add up to thousands of $ lost.
Intensional or not, I wonder how many others they have done this to that wouldn’t have the know how, when it comes to clarifying if the job thats been done is the job they have paid for.
Neil,
The competitive slander going on in this category online is significant! We certainly do service Tumby Bay and find a lot of farmers nationwide are going solar to power multiple parts of their operations. Where they benefit over their city counterparts is that they often have different property freeholds so can take maximum advantage of the government rebates and ‘solarize’ multiple buildings. As one of the largest solar retailers in Australia we stand behind our product, service and 10 year ‘back to base’ company warranty. Feel free to call 1300 22 23 24 for the best value solar on the market. We will beat any identical written offer by 5%.
Ben,
I take it your implying my comment was competitive slander? Can you see any reference or promotion of your competitors in my comment? No, you cant. No point in competitive slander if you don’t recommend a better option.
My comment was an honest review of the situation my friend come across with True Value Solar and nothing more, I can publish in more detail if you would like.
I’m pretty sure your company has many satisfied customers but you have to be prepared for public scrutiny and take it on the chin if mistakes are made.
Can you tell me, if my friend wasn’t to discover this issue, would True Value Solar have contacted him to resolve it?
Ben you’re a liar, TV are the worst solar company in australia with a pathetic product in comparison to other companies, they dont even check the installation as they sell from melb,google earth is there best friend. How do i know this? because i installed many systems for them and the only good that came out of it was great advertising for me, so now i’ve cut and run. Folks do not get systems installed by these cheats their worse than car salesman. They also install tilt frames without council approvals which is illegal. Ben the fact that u back their product is stupid, maybe u should actually learn about the solar industry before making brainless comments like the above. They use aerosharp which are the cheapest inverter goin around including panels. A tip for the rest of the folks on here ‘You pay for what u get in the solar industry’, if you buy cheap you’ll get a cheap unreliable product and then when true value dissaper when the rebate goes you’ll be left chasing warranties within china. Ben will probably tell u everything is ok and argue the point im making so Ben if you could please put up your solar design/installation license number, building license number, Electrical contracting/’A’ class electrical license or are you just a salesman like the rest?
I had solar installed by true value solar. They were the cheapest.
Until on the day of installation they changed the rec’s value. Ended up costing me more then All other companies. They also did a crap job and didnt clean up.
Would never recommend them to anybody. Stay away for true value solar.
Using True Value Solar, the biggest mistake of my life. The initial contact with their Sales Team was excellent. Once my application was taken and my deposit paid the problems started. My first call to sign up was on the 30th August 2010, due to them being busy I called back the next business day, signed up and paid my deposit. Nearly 5 months later the date is 10th January 2011 and my 1.5kw system still isn’t working. The biggest problems relate to their obvious lack of organisation, ability to return calls and ability to follow the industry’s legal requirements. My panels and inverter were installed in early November after three missed appointments and several hours of phone calls to TV solar. The application ETSA (Electricity Trust of SA) needs to approve prior to my system being installed wasn’t done by TV solar so the installation wasn’t even legal when it was finally done. 1 month after the illegal install I contacted ETSA to see when my new smart meter was going to be installed. I found out my system hadn’t been approved for installation and no application had been received for my smart meter. When I became aware of the paperwork error I contacted TV solar to find they had sent it to my street address, not my P.O. Box address, so it was re-sent. I returned it in their self addressed envelope the day I received it. 1 month later I contacted TV solar again to find my paperwork was lost and hadn’t been sent to ETSA. So I went into their showroon in Thebarton, completed it again. 2 weeks later I contacted ETSA to find paperwork had been received but it had incorrect information on it, and they were waiting for TV solar to respond and rectify. (info completed by TV solar, not me). Paperwork was then completed for the 3rd time and finally sent to ETSA, the date was Dec 23rd 2010, nearly 4 months after my application. During this time TV solar blamed everone else but themselves for the delays. This paperwork could have been sent immediately after my application, as many reputable companys do. The biggest dissapointment with the whole process is that if TV solar had done what they promised, I would have had a working solar system by mid October, and a much smaller power and phone bill. I am now looking at early March at best as I also require a Bi-directional smart meter to also be installed. So far TV solar have taken 4 months to send out 1 set of correctly completed paperwork, they now have to sent papers to Origin Energy, my retailer, then back to ETSA once they get that paperwork back from Origin. I can see that taking months. I live within 1 hour of Adelaide’s CBD and feel these problems are of no fault of mine. I will be contacting ETSA to see if things are moving forward tomorrow, if not, my next call will be reporting True Value Solar to Consumer Affairs. Dont use True Value Solar.
Tim R, I’ve recently had my system installed by TV solar and it took less time to get it installed than the sales rep said it would.. the guys had it up and running in just over 3 hours after getting here.
Why do I get a feeling you were layed off by Tru Value Solar?
Here are quotes from your last post:
“They also install tilt frames without council approvals which is illegal” followed by “How do i know this? because i installed many systems for them”
… So hang on a second? Tru Value Solar install tilt frames?? You just said it was you who installed many systems for them??
Also, why would Tru Value Solar be asking for approval from the council when they are not the home owner??
“maybe u should actually learn about the solar industry before making brainless comments like the above” << Yes, you should.
Your obviously an ex contractor thats been dropped by them, so now your going around the internet being troll.
G’day viewers, Yes I too am an unhappy TVS customer and agree with nearly all the previous negative comments I have read here but rather than ‘go on’ about it I have posted an email from myself to TVS Customer Care Manager.
Have a read, it’s a good read, and if after reading it you still decide that Tru Value Solar is the company for you . . . YOU HAVE ROCKS IN YOUR HEAD
Scott,
I write this summary at your request regarding our telephone conversation on Tuesday the 22nd of March 2011.
We, my wife & I, first inquired to Tru Value Solar (TVS) in October 2010 and decided to purchase a 3kw system in November. This was based on your salesman Rory O’Donnell telling us that a 3kw system would save us anywhere from $500.00 to $650.00 per quarter, ( we have since found these figures to be totally inaccurate and should have/would have purchased a 5kw system if correctly informed.) We signed up on November 15th, paid a $1,000.00 deposit and were told in the next couple of days someone from Once My Buy Finance would contact us to start the process.
By January no one had contacted us so I took it upon myself to start ringing TVS to find out why. In the month of January to find out why we were left waiting with no contact. I had spoken to Callum, Bill, Margaret Catherine, Jess, Simon, Kevin and a couple more to which I did not record their names. On at least three occasions these operators tried to connect me to other people or departments where I was disconnected each time. On one occasion the operator asked me for my job number to which I asked him to wait a moment while I reached to my drawer to retrieve it, he told me to hurry up because he had a lot of work to do. I let him know I did not appreciate his poor attempt at humor and he should get to know his clients reason for calling before trying to be funny with them, (this was reported to Brett Fraser at a later time.) I would ring Customer Care and was told via recorded message that it was outside of office hours so I would hang-up and ring Sales who would then connect me to operators in Customer Care. Eventually, I had enough and asked to speak with the manager and was given the name Brett Fraser.
In January 2011 I spoke about my grievances with Brett and the way in which I had been treated by TVS and asked why I had heard nothing form TVS regarding contact from finance or installation. I had also made it clear that I recommended a friend who also signed up with TVS and asked for my $100.00 discount (job no. T11584)
Brett was very apologetic and gave me the name Scott Furness as manager of Customer Care. Brett informed me that after speaking with Scott I would be offered a discount or ‘some freebies’ as a compensatory gesture for my grievances. He also stated that he, (Brett) would send an email to Scott asking him to contact me in relation to these matters. Brett also stated that if I had any further concerns that I should call the Sales team and ask for him directly.
By early February I had tried to call both Brett and Scott many times to inquire when the solar panels would be installed. Every time I called, both Brett and Scott were on calls, out of the office or in meetings and each time the operators I spoke to claimed they would leave messages via email or written notes placed on their desks informing them to ring me, not once was I called back. The only two further occasions where I got to speak to Brett Fraser was after I gave a false name to the initial operator who passed on the message.
After much harassment by myself, the solar panel were finally installed on the 22nd of February, more than three months after sign-up and in my absence they were placed in such a position that our evaporative (roof mounted) cooling system cannot be accessed for annual servicing.
A short time after installation we noticed the Aero Sharpe Inverter was in fault mode and was in fact not working at all so I again rang TVS. I was advised by the TVS operator to contact Aero Sharpe directly which I said I was not willing to do, I am dealing with TVS not Aero Sharpe. My next call was to the installer who stated quite abruptly, he did not want to know about it and I should call TVS with any complaints, he went on to say, he was just the installer and could only fit the ‘crap’ that TVS had supplied so I rang TVS again. On this occasion I spoke to an operator named Quin who much to my surprise, was extremely helpful. We were on the phone together for 80 minutes in total as the system faulted many times during that time. He placed me on hold while he got more advice and talked me through a suggested remedy which seems to have worked for now but does make a variety of unusual noises.
On March 22nd 2011, I again rang Brett Fraser who I was told was in a meeting and would call me back. I left a false name and he did ring me back. He consequently connected me to Scott Furness for the first time. While talking with Brett I informed him that our Input / Output meter would not be installed until late August 2011, almost one whole year after initial sign up, this was because, as stated by ETSA utilities, TVS constantly misinforms its customers by telling them they cannot apply for the meter until the panels have been installed which is in actual fact wrong. ETSA Utilities went on to say that many people complain about TVS and wait unnecessarily due to this misinformation.
Once connected to Scott Furness I briefly ran him through my history with TVS (as stated in this email) he claimed he had never heard my name mentioned and went back through his emails to confirm this only to find an email from Brett Fraser to him dated the 24th of February asking him to call me, Paul Wanders.
In summary, dealing with Tru Value Solar to this point in time has been a totally unpleasant experience. I have been misinformed several times, hung up on several times, operators and installers have been blatantly rude to me, I have been lied to by TVS staff, I have not received return phone calls, I have been issued with a poor quality inverter which in itself is seemingly faulty and absolutely no after sales service not to mention a minimum 6 month wait until I can redeem any actual savings from my purchase.
As we own several investment properties we were looking at similar sized systems for these too but feel we may be better served with an alternate solar company.
I recommended TVS to a friend based on price alone which I should not have done and I will not recommend TVS to any more friends, family or colleagues.
The friends that have signed up (job no. T11584) are also still waiting for further information from TVS.
Viewers, I have since found out that the two friends who followed me to TVS and proceeded to sign up are just as disappointed as me, not to mention, I have not received my two hundred dollar discount for their referrals.
Have used True Value Solar as did my daughter and a friend. Shocking service right from day 1. My friend paid in Sept 2010, still has not had smart meter installed. All 3 of us had to make endless calls over several months just to get an installion date only to have them changed-which we only found out by calling them!!! Would not reccomend to anyone.
Another victim of True Value Solar, system installed on 22 Feb,2011, up to now, still no documents available for solar account connected (in Victoria), call them week by week, answer: we are waiting it, once it’s ready, we will send you….
Four months after, four thousand and five hundred out from pocket, with a 2.0KW system on the roof, generates 5KW power to the grid, free to the utility company, what do you think?
Freaking out: contact energy safe victoria, customer affairs victoria, seems nothing they can do, the advise is be patience…
Absolute morons, no contact when nobody turns up to install the system, no return calls, NO after sales service when it died several times, price increases (its a clause they use in the contracts to bump up the price AFTER installation), no idea how they are still in business. Ive found out they have been operating under several names like state solar services and others which have a very poor reputation, so everyone should avoid these idiots at any cost. Also cheap rubbish chinese aerosharp inverters which constantly stop working and solar panels are already starting to go yellow and performance output has dropped considerably already when the inverter does work, if i could contact them I might be able to get a warranty, maybe its a case of what warranty……
after 5 months and now 4 install dates still don’t have a system installed each time some lame excuse many hours after install was suppose to happen
3 days off work now and nothing no offer of compensation for lost days
do not use this company
Never ever use TV business…. they do not tell you the truth, hard to speak to the right person when problems develop, still waiting for meter from ETSA, had our unit installed in Feb 11 and will not get any benefit till end of Sept when import/export meter will be installed, ETSA said the paper work from TV was only sent out to them a few weeks ago!! Poor company to deal with…. so very very disappointed with their business dealings. Stay right away from them…….
True Value Solar, the biggest mistake of my life! They took my money back in March and I still don’t have a working system… They don’t give a S##t about it. I lost 4 days of work waiting for some idiot to not turn up!
I have no idea on how to fix this problem, the company is run by fools or con-men, I’m not sure which!
Hi,
Firstly, our apologies for the delayed response. Please let me know if you haven’t been installed yet and I will get your situation resolved ASAP. Please forward your phone number to me and I will contact you.
Kind regards,
Isabelle
i.banas@truevaluesolar.com.au