Dilemna

[SRE]

I've been asked to quote against a national who advertise heavily on the web.

Question: Have I lost the plot or is their SAP rating wrong?

4kwp / no shading / SE in fact that's generous it's more ESE / 35 degree roof. Being generous I've calculated 0.8 x 4 x 997 x 1 = 3190 but I'd advise the customer that it was assuming SE facing. Competition has quoted SAP of 3528.

Question: Do I tell the customer and look bitter and twisted (which I suspect I'm becoming ;-) or leave them with the PVSOL summaries and the SAP summary and let them work it out themselves.

I do have the advantage that this customer has come to us recommended by a friend for whom we have now installed 3 systems and our price and warranty are slightly better.

 

[MorganPVI]

You should report them to REAL for quoting without SAP 2005.

 

[northernsun]

Its a tough one, I try as hard as I can to not rubbish the competition, even when you are justified because it looks unprofessional and is the kind of trick the opposition uses. That said, soemtimes its hard!
yeah, leave them with both the SAP and PV sol figures but emphasize what they are, how they are calculated and what they mean (which I'm guessing you do anyway!) I think the customer is likely to ring you and ask about the difference when they notice- you can then say something along the lines of " yeah, we stick to the government approved calculations with our estimates, the last thing we want to do is mislead customers, so we try to err on the side of caution"

To be honest, if you are recommended its likely that you will be the one who they are ringing up to ask questions about any discrepencies between figures, and you that will be trusted.

Good luck with it anyway

 

[Worcester]

I would spell point out EXACTLY how you calculate, give them the PV*Sol and labour the point of governement figures, standards etc, and show them how it's calculated, then let them draw their own conclusion as to who's telling them porkies!

As part of the survey I nearly always leave a paper calculator sheet (based on SAP) with them so they can do their own sums.

 

[SolarCity]

After the shenanigans on this forum over the last few days I have decided that I will report every single case of misselling that I encounter (of which bad SAP calcs is certainly one) to the REAL. Report them and show your customer the SAP2005 document.

 

[solarsavings]

We frequently come across a company from Lincolnshire that claims a Sanyo system will give them 20% more output than any other panel in the market place regardless of sap. Miss-selling?

 

[jerriais]

We frequently come across a company from Lincolnshire that claims a Sanyo system will give them 20% more output than any other panel in the market place regardless of sap. Miss-selling?

That comes back to the old Sanyo conundrum. A 250Wp Sanyo won't generate 20% more than a 250Wp of most other panels but 20 sqm of Sanyo will probably generate about 20% more than 20 sqm of a regular module. I think the question of whether it is mis-selling would depend on what they are basing the 20% claim on.

 

[series530]

In my industry you never lie to the customer. I cannot imagine a reason why it should be different in PV. Your word is your reputation and it is your bond with the customer. It gives you credibility and more chance of future referral.

If it were me I would also be totally honest with regard to the calculation and provide as much data as I could to substantiate my figures - preferably from multiple sources. Explain clearly how your derived the data pitched at a level that you believe the customer will understand. Spend the time explaining the data clearly and make sure the customer really understands what you are showing them and why it is credible.

You should also find one or two elements in the oppositions proposal which are clearly debatable and drop in a few seeds of doubt without directly naming or shaming the opposition. A customer who understands enough about what you are saying will absorb that data and challenge the source. They can do so from a position of strength because they will have multiple sets of data obtained from you and explained by you ina language that they understand. This approach may not get you the order but it does level the playing field somewhat.

If your customer still buys from the opposition there is little that you can do to get the sale back. Customers, as we know, don't always buy based upon factual data. Sometimes, a credible solution on paper and backed up by field data will loose out to another deal based purely upon emotion.