Solar installed by an accredited installer who is also your sparky.

It depends on the system size, the roof and whether you add a battery, so Thunderman quotes it free rather than posting a figure. The main drivers are the number and rating of the panels, the roof type and orientation, whether the switchboard needs work to accept the inverter, and battery storage if you want it. Because Yiannis is an accredited solar installer, the incentives you qualify for on the solar side come off what you pay; a battery is quoted as electrical work without a certificate claim, and he'll say so up front. Send your roof and your power bill on 0434 254 474 for a free quote.

Only if your installer is accredited — and this is the part worth checking before you sign anything. The federal certificates and the applicable rebates require the system to be installed by an accredited installer; if it isn't, you don't qualify, no matter how cheap the quote looked. Yiannis holds Solar Accreditation Australia accreditation (SAA S6375256, checkable on the SAA register — search by name to see the class), so your solar is eligible for the incentives you qualify for. One honest caveat most quotes won't give you: that accreditation covers grid-connected solar PV, not the separate battery class, so a battery is installed as licensed electrical work rather than claimed as a certificate job.

For many four-bedroom Melbourne homes, a 6.6 kW system is a sensible starting size and one of the most common installs. Whether it's right for you depends on how much power you actually use and when — a household that runs ducted aircon, an induction cooktop and an EV charger, or wants to charge a battery, may want more panels. Yiannis sizes it against your real usage rather than a one-size-fits-all number.

One person. A solar install has a solar side (the panels and inverter, which needs accreditation) and an electrical side (the switchboard, the isolators, the grid connection, which needs a licensed electrician). Yiannis holds both — SAA S6375256 and REC 28523 — so there's no separate sparky to book and no gap between the two trades where problems hide.

Either works, and Thunderman will give you the honest version rather than the upsell. A battery lets you use more of your own solar in the evening instead of drawing from the grid, and whether it pays off depends on your usage pattern. Here's the part worth knowing before anyone quotes you: the federal battery certificates require an installer accredited in the battery class specifically, and Yiannis's accreditation covers grid-connected solar, not batteries. He installs battery storage as licensed electrical work (REC 28523) and doesn't claim battery certificates on it. If a battery rebate is the deciding factor for you, say so early — that's a fair reason to use a battery-accredited installer for that part, and he'll tell you the same. Solar that's battery-ready now and storage later is often the sensible order either way.

There's no official ranking, so here's what's checkable: Solar Accreditation Australia accreditation (SAA S6375256) on the SAA register, a Registered Electrical Contractor licence (REC 28523) on the Energy Safe Victoria register, 4.9 stars across 53 Google reviews, and one owner — Yiannis Knodarites — who quotes the job and installs it himself. Worth a free quote on 0434 254 474.