Building A New Home? Here's How Our New Build Solar Service Works
Why We Charge $99 For New Build Solar Consultations
Most of Equity Solar Brokers' clients already live in their homes.
The roof exists.
The switchboard exists.
The power bills exist.
We can assess the property, understand the household's energy use, and determine whether our brokerage service is likely to deliver value.
New builds are different.
Much different.
In fact, designing solar for a new home often requires more experience, more planning, and more technical analysis than designing solar for an existing house.
That's why new build consultations are subject to a $99 consulting fee.
Not because we're trying to make money from consultations.
Because a proper new build assessment requires real work before we can determine the right solar solution.
New Builds Require 3D Roof Modelling
One of the biggest challenges with new builds is that the roof doesn't exist yet.
We can't simply look at the roof and surrounding area on google
Instead, we often need to review architectural plans, elevations, roof pitches, orientations, and building layouts.
In most cases, we create a 3D model of the roof to understand:
Available panel space
Roof orientations
Shading impacts
Future expansion opportunities
Panel placement limitations
Aesthetic considerations
This process takes considerably longer than assessing an existing home.
Future Power Demand Must Be Estimated
With an existing home, we can usually review electricity bills and work backwards.
New builds don't have that luxury.
Instead, we need to estimate future electricity consumption based on how the home will be used.
Questions we commonly explore include:
Will there be an EV?
Is another EV likely in the future?
Will the home have a pool?
Spa pool?
Ducted air conditioning?
Underfloor heating?
Induction cooking?
Electric hot water?
Battery storage?
Backup power requirements?
Getting these assumptions wrong can result in a system that's either undersized or unnecessarily expensive.
This is one of the reasons new build solar requires a deeper level of experience than retrofitting solar to an existing home.
New Builds Have Longer Timeframes
Unlike existing homes, new build projects often take many months to complete.
Sometimes more than a year.
That creates challenges because solar technology, battery pricing, financing options, and homeowner priorities can all change during construction.
The system being discussed today may not be the system ultimately installed.
Proper planning early in the process helps minimise these issues.
We do the bulk of the design now, and procure quotes a few months before the roof goes up.
People Forget Why They Chose The Original Design
This isn't a criticism.
It's just human nature.
A client might spend an hour discussing their future EV, pool heating plans, battery backup requirements, and long-term energy goals.
Then construction takes ten months.
By the time solar is ready to install, life has happened.
People often can't remember why certain decisions were made in the first place.
The original design gets questioned.
Changes are requested.
And some clients end up dropping solar altogether - all the more reason we have to charge upfront.
The Builder Already Has A Preferred Electrician
This is probably the biggest reason of all.
Most builders already have trusted electricians they work with every day.
Those electricians sometimes dip their toes in solar.
When it comes time to install solar, some of our past clients have left us in the dust because:
Their electrician already knows the property.
They've already worked with the builder.
They're already on site.
They're already coordinating with other trades.
Charging for our consult filters out those clients who are just seeking some great advice for their sparky.
So Why Use A Solar Broker At All?
Because even on new builds, there's enormous value in independent advice.
Solar companies naturally recommend their preferred equipment.
Their preferred battery.
Their preferred inverter.
Their preferred solution.
We sit outside that process.
Our role is to help determine what actually makes sense for your home before the sales process begins.
Sometimes that means obtaining competitive quotes.
Sometimes it means validating a quote you've already received.
Sometimes it means telling you that the builder's preferred installer has put together a genuinely good proposal.
The goal isn't to create work.
The goal is to help you make an informed decision.
What Happens During The $99 Consultation?
We'll review your plans, discuss your future electricity requirements, and assess the home's suitability for solar.
Where required, we'll undertake roof modelling and load analysis to better understand your future energy needs.
At the end of the process we'll determine:
Whether solar makes sense
Approximate system sizing
Battery considerations
EV charging considerations
Backup power opportunities
Whether our brokerage service is likely to provide value
If it does, we'll explain the next steps.
If it doesn't, we'll tell you that too.
The Bottom Line
New build solar isn't simple.
The roof doesn't exist.
The power bills don't exist.
The energy usage doesn't exist.
Everything has to be modelled, estimated, and planned.
Done properly, that requires more experience and more effort than assessing an existing home.
That's why we charge a modest $99 consultation fee for new build projects.
It's the first step in making sure your future solar system is designed around how you'll actually live in your future home—not around guesswork.
