Installer spotlight: Solaray Energy

Imagine your home has been transformed into a fully connected “smart” home.

In this smart home, all your devices work together to seamlessly maximize energy efficiency, optimize your electricity consumption, and even produce and store your own energy on site. Sophisticated software works behind the scenes to coordinate and manage all these devices into a cohesive energy ecosystem. Empowered by your smart home, you gain independence from the power grid, save money on your energy bills, and reduce your carbon footprint.

While this is a relatively novel vision for most, it is one that Solaray Energy has been evangelizing for more than a decade.

A trailblazer in the Australian solar market

"Solaray has long been a trailblazer in Australia’s residential and commercial solar market, driven by its commitment to exceptional quality and service, as well as its dedication to empowering businesses and homeowners with smart energy management solutions."

Experienced veterans of the IT industry, founders Jonathan Fisk and Peter Thorne launched Solaray in 2008 based on their belief that the future of energy will be defined by innovative software technologies that enable monitoring and control. In a fast-growing PV market muddied with uncertainty and inconsistent product and installation quality, Solaray quickly separated itself from the pack by providing homeowners and businesses with first-rate, reliable systems backed by advanced software and attentive customer support. And over the last decade, Solaray has evolved into a leading smart energy technology provider with thousands of installations under its belt across the state of New South Wales.

Dedication to quality and customer service

Solaray’s mission is simple: to build lasting customer relationships by delivering high-quality systems and continued customer care. “To make sure our customers are really benefitting from our services, we built a customer support team that is almost as large as our sales team,” Jonathan remarked in a recent conversation with Enphase. “This enables us to look after each and every one of our customers, for all manner of issues.”

Solaray was one of the first Australian adopters of Enphase products, as Jonathan and Peter could see that Enphase microinverters and software aligned with their vision for advanced technology that provides superior quality, reliability, and customer usability. For example, Enphase panel-level monitoring enables Solaray to offer the highest standard of customer support and serviceability. “With a standard string inverter, if there’s a problem with one panel, the rest of the system cannot work,” Peter explained. “With Enphase microinverters and software, I can manage systems proactively and diagnose problems from anywhere. I can identify which panels are offline and remotely restart them, even while sitting in my car.”

High achievers in business and for the environment

Recently recognized by Enphase for reaching the prestigious milestone of 75,000 installed microinverters, Solaray has not only installed more Enphase products in Australia than any other solar retailer, but they’ve also done it with a focus on the big environmental picture too.

Jonathan and Peter aren’t just technical experts and savvy business owners; they are also environmentalists who are excited about Solaray’s role in contributing to climate change mitigation. “Every time we commission a solar system, we are taking money out of polluting fossil fuel industries,” commented Jonathan. “While that might be small on a project-by-project basis, the thousands of installations per year across all installers in Australia collectively make a major impact on power generation. Plus, it’s really fantastic economics: Add a dollar into the solar industry, and you’re taking thousands away from coal. It’s one of the most powerful things that we can do.”

“It comes down to walking the talk,” Peter added. “I live on a property with 100% renewable energy and storage – I don’t depend on the grid at all. This is a story that is intriguing to customers: Invest in high quality systems and remove your reliance on polluting fossil fuels – and save money over the long run.”

Looking ahead

In a highly competitive industry, Solaray is thriving, thanks to its dedication to providing certainty, value, and quality. “After 12 years and thousands of solar systems installed, not one customer has had to take a system off their rooftop because it doesn’t work,” Jonathan asserted. “What’s more, many past customers are reaching back out for storage upgrades.”

“We built our capabilities around being able to stand and deliver on highly technical projects, with no room for failure,” Peter said. “It’s about looking after the customer’s investment and ensuring that we provide the best return possible.”

Solaray is driving its vision to fruition, as energy management software capabilities become more advanced, and the rest of the market is trending toward high quality and long-lasting systems. “We are really excited to see the industry become more safety and technology-focused,” said Jonathan. “We look forward to contining work with Enphase on maximizing customer benefit and delivering smarter, safer solar.”