You all know about my involvement in two different company’s. The country wide installation side, as well as the newly found distribution side. The website / blog / online store is currently under construction and will be online in the near future.
We have done quite some work here and sit with some of the most gifted people in the industry… The knowledge contained in the heads of our members are invaluable.
You all gave me a tremendous amount of joy and satisfaction with your participation and effort that went into every post here.
I have worked my &^643 off in the last 6 months to help build a distribution network that can benefit each and every member of this forum. I want to link this forum to our online store, and yes, maybe i will get a benefit out of it, but to be honest, I want every member of this forum to get some benefit out of it. I want everybody to have access to any part or spare they might need to safely and correctly complete their installations. We sit with so many self installers struggling to find the correct spare, and Continental solar aims to be a ONE STOP SHOP for anyone in need. We have really worked hard to secure the beat deals possible, and i want to pass that on to the members.
I also want to cross reference to Energy Talk in the site, blog and online store, to try and cross pollinate. I want to refer customers back to you guys to answer questions and share ideas. Some kind of synergy…
I more than most know exactly what something similar did to previous forum we were all part of, but I can guarantee every single member that the same situation will never ever repeat itself on our platform. I am not here to promote anything or any product, i just feel that bidirectional reference can be beneficial for everybody involved.
I feel its nothing less than right that I ask for permission to do so, please will everybody leave an honest opinion if you are comfortable with me moving forward.
To be honest, I started reading and the scenario that played out on the other side immediately came to mind.
However, it is difficult to find suppliers that provide decent service and products to end users so I guess if the members here are free to still discuss any product / supplier / store / special, then I see no harm, especially if we can also find a new place to source items.
On the similar topic, I’ve been eagerly awaiting more info on your other new products thread.
We need something that can compete with the sunsynk/ deye but at the similar simplicity / price point but that has better after sales service.
It works fantastically at that Arizona site in the USA, the cross-pollination between the forum and the shop.
Sommer another YES!!!
The collective knowledge explodes. Continentals’ collective knowledge explodes.
The best part … over a weekend deep in the night, clients could search here first before logging an official call on Monday morning, hopefully not, as they sorted it themselves with knowledge found here.
And that is exactly what we are currently offering. I have returned 2 sunsynks in October and November, I got a call yesterday to inform me I can collect the one.
I was one of the early sunsynk adopters but I’ve lost faith in the support. I’ve learnt to live with the issues I have. If I could find something to swap my 2 units with that has a high voltage mppt (so I don’t have to rewire panels) in an AIO unit, I’d seriously consider replacing them.
Their response to any issue is a firmware update and if it doesn’t resolve an issue, the client is on their own.
If you start promoting any product I will insist on an immediate refund of my membership fee… with interest /s*
One possible problem that could arise is your (and @plonkster’s) preferred vision of this forum as a “neutral” forum and your professional involvement with INVT should they possibly frown on negative feedback that could pop up here. So, if not done yet, I would suggest (probably more for your own protection than anything related to the forum).
make your involvement with this forum formally (i.e. in writing) known to INVT (local and/or international HQ?)
clarify INVT’s formal requirements of your involvement here (social media have landed more than one person in trouble with the powers that be at large companies).
make sure for yourself how prepared you truly are for negative feedback (due to your passion you might want to apply a “sleep-on-it-before-posting-reply rule”)
You and the blue guy probably should have a plan around if it ever happens that either the white/grey (?) or blue side require what might look like censorship around topics of product quality, support etc.
*[on some forums sarcasm/tongue-in-cheek comments are indicated with “/s” or italic font] **
**costs in running the forum, and how to fund it, may still need to come up at some stage - especially as traffic increases
Nope, not my plan. It won’t only be INVT. There is Huawei, Chint batteries , Aberdare batteries, Noark Panels to mention a few of the names we are going to introduce into the marked… interesting times ahead. Don’t want to reveal all in one go.
We are also partnering with a international company that already have a PV cell manufacturing plant in SA, their first panel manufacturing plant is already build in Sa, and they are going into production by the end of the month.
just to be sure, my comment was tongue-in-cheek. As long as you guys operate this forum out of your pockets you can slap axpert banners all over the place.
I echo the sentiments of all the other forumites in this thread, in particular that the more knowledge and sharing there is out there, and the more exposure to new products and tech, the better it is for all of us.
We all suffer from some bias or other, most times without even realising it. You have built up a tremendous amount of trust and respect on this forum and I am sure that there are one or two members here (no names, no pack drill) that will take you to one side and whisper in your ear if you are at risk of leaning too far towards your own
As I’ve said a few other times… I’m not married to my job. Well, it makes up a huge part of who I am… obviously… but we all need rails, batteries, fuses and stuff from other companies. And besides, the one thing this forum has in oodles is the Node-Red and Arduino/embedded tinkerers.
My yardstick is this German appliance site, dedicated to coffee makers. They sell and service all brands, and somehow it works. So… long story short, no objections from me.
As long as you guys operate this forum out of your pockets you can slap axpert banners all over the place. 
