NCC Solar Services

NCC Solar Services

20260419_203849

 

Ngaio Climate Crew provide three solar services.

All of our services are free – but koha is appreciated if value is provided to you.

Please note: NCC provides an independent service, we do not receive any commissions or support from suppliers or installers.  

Site Review Service

If you are thinking about solar, you likely have lots of questions.  We can visit your home and answer many of the questions.

  • Does my house get enough sun throughout the year?
  • Roof orientation and access
  • How and when during the day will you use the solar generated energy
  • Budget and loan options
  • Potential solutions
  • Other ways to save money on energy costs
  • Quote options – How to get quotes, what questions to ask

Site Reviews include:

Roof

    • Orientations -Are there east, West or North faces big enough for the panels
    • Will there be more than two surface planes? (May need a different inverter)
    • Slope – Is the roof slope 15 degrees or more.
    • Material – steel/steel tile/clay/concrete tile
    • Condition – will the roof last 30 years with no further work
    • Windzone – Extra high windzones can be more expensive
    • Shading – are there trees/other structures shading the house
    • Does the roof generally get reasonable year-round sun
    • Will the roof access require scaffolding?

Very few sites are perfect. Most will support some solar. This is a chance to understand what is likely to provide the best value, or highest priority work.

Household energy usage

  • Solar Power is generated during the day, most power is consumed in the morning and early evening peaks. How will you use the power generated?
  • Is someone home most days?
  • Do you have electric hot water?
  • do you have an EV that you can charge during the day?

How is your house heated? 

  • Loans Ownership and Mortgages
  • Solar is now recognised as adding value to the house.
  • Most of the major banks offer loans at 1% covering solar, heat pumps and EVs. Terms vary from 3-8 years, amounts vary up to $80,000. All banks require a mortgage to support the loan.

Potential Solutions

  • Battery or no battery
  • Panel capacity vs inverter capacity
  • Daily and monthly yield curves
  • Budget expectations

Getting Quotes

  • Independent Quote services (e.g. mysolarquotes.org.nz
    SEANZ, Cogo)
  • Companies used by Ngaio residents
  • Questions you should ask (roof issues, battery requirements,)
  • Suppling power bills

Quote Reviews

Hopefully, by this point, you have received three quotes. They will probably contain different size systems, different warranties, and different inclusions.  We can help compare these and explain the differences:

  • Are the estimates of power generation fair?
  • What costs are missing?
  • Help with reviewing the proposed savings/ROI?
  • Terms explained
  • Help define the decision steps
  • Suggest questions for each supplier.

Quote Reviews Include

By this point, you should have received three quotes. They will probably contain different size systems, different warranties, and different inclusions.  We can help compare these and explain the differences:

    • Are the estimates of power generation fair?  How do they fit with the NIWA model and your shading  (by time of day and month of year). 
    • What costs are missing?  Switchboard, meter, scaffolding, timer and other automated switches
    • Help with reviewing the proposed savings/ROI? (Compare with power bills and proposed changes in usage.
    • Terms explained.  What the warranties mean.  Why inverter size and panel size are different. 
    • Help define the decision steps.  Price, warranty, reputation, savings.
    • Suggest questions for each supplier. E.g. What are the warranties on efficiency of panels after 25 years?  What other costs might not be included? There are three surface planes on the roof, does the inverter support 3 strings?  Please include expected generation by month.  What guarantees do you provide on the accuracy of these?).

Post Implementation Reviews

  • Power generation check – Is the system generating the power quoted?
  • Power usage review – Using your own power is always worth more than selling the surplus.  Have you optimised this?
  • Power plan review – Does your power plan match your power usage patterns. This is often the biggest way to get value from your solar system.

Post Implementation Reviews Include:

    • Power generation check – Is the system generating the power quoted? This is a simple check of what the app says was produced vs what the quote estimated.  

    • Power usage review – Using your own power is always worth more than selling the surplus.  Have you optimised this?  Do you need to install/configure some timers or change to charging the car during the day etc. 

    • Power plan review – Does your power plan match your power usage patterns. This is often the biggest way to get value from your solar system.  Explain Time of Use plans and if practical compare actual ½ hourly usage across several plans.

    • Consider whether further electrification is justified (e.g. heat pump hot water cylinder).