Frequently asked questions

For general electrical, a $130 service fee covers Zone 1 travel and the first 30 minutes on site, deducted from the final invoice if work proceeds. For integration work, the entry point is a paid System Audit. The audit fee is the deliverable: written PDF report and fixed-scope proposal you keep regardless of whether you proceed. 50% of the audit fee credits against installation if you go ahead within 90 days.

A site visit is the entry point for general electrical work: $130 for Zone 1 travel and the first 30 minutes on site, deducted from the final invoice if work proceeds, hourly rates apply beyond that. An audit is the entry point for integration work: a fixed-fee engagement producing a written PDF report and fixed-scope proposal. Solar Health Check $250 (1 to 2 hours on site, diagnostic only). Home System Audit $450 (2 to 3 hours on site, full electrical and integration assessment). Combined Estate Audit $900 (4 to 6 hours on site, home and vessel together).

By appointment. Response within four business hours. Most install and audit work is scheduled weekday evenings and weekends rather than during business hours, deliberately, so the work is not rushed between bookings. Integration projects are capped at two per month to keep work quality high.

Australian Consumer Law statutory guarantees apply (s60 due care and skill, s61 fit for purpose, s62 reasonable time). These cannot be excluded by anything Iron and Air says or writes. In practice that means: if work isn't done with the skill a competent electrician would exercise, or doesn't achieve the purpose you specified, you have remedies under the ACL. See /warranty/ for the full statement.

Manufacturer warranty covers product defects (the unit itself fails). ACL covers the work and the engagement (fitness for purpose, workmanship, reasonable timeframes). They run in parallel, both apply.

Yes. ACL s61 covers fitness for purpose. If the system was quoted to do X and doesn't do X, the work is not fit for purpose under ACL and remedies apply. This is why every quote is specific about brands, models, and expected outcomes, vague quotes are where disputes happen.

Solar Health Check $250. 1 to 2 hours on site: string testing, inverter fault log review, output measurement, written report identifying the cause and ranking it by severity. Repair is quoted separately based on findings.

Not currently. The SAA accreditation that authorises new grid-connected solar installations is in process. Until it is in hand, Iron and Air does not quote new grid-connect installs directly. For new installs we refer to SAA-accredited installers we trust. Iron and Air handles solar diagnostics (Solar Health Check), monitoring integration into Home Assistant, and off-grid system design directly.

The hardware we specify uses open standards like Modbus, MQTT, and VE.Bus. Even if a vendor stopped trading, the system would continue functioning, and any integrator with the right diagnostic skills could maintain or migrate it.

12–15 years on a well-maintained Gold Coast vessel with good charging discipline. Cycle depth, charge rate, and temperature all affect life. Some cell-level degradation occurs over time even with good management.

Stronger warranty support, broader managed-system ecosystem (VRM, Cerbo GX, full Modbus), better Australian distribution and installer engagement. Renogy and Enerdrive are capable but with less ecosystem depth.

You can, but generally not needed with a properly sized LiFePO4 bank. Mixed chemistries add charge-management complexity.

No, if configured correctly. Risk is from incorrect charge profiles, undersized cabling, or lead-acid charge behaviour applied to lithium.

Open smart-home protocol from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, backed by Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung. Replaces fragmented vendor protocols.

Yes. Home Assistant runs locally on hardware in your house. Peplink dual-WAN provides automatic failover from NBN to 5G or Starlink. The system is designed for grid-event continuity.

Both are cloud-dependent and rely on the vendor staying in business and maintaining their platform. Iron and Air uses Home Assistant with Matter and Thread, open standards that work with hardware from any vendor and still function in 2035.

No. Retrofit-first approach. Shelly Matter relays sit behind existing wall switches. Physical switches still work even if the automation layer is offline.

Licensed Queensland electrical contractor, verifiable on the WorkSafe Queensland licence register at worksafe.qld.gov.au. Public liability cover is $20 million and professional indemnity is $2 million. Specialist focus on Victron Energy, Home Assistant, Matter, Thread, and Peplink networking, with deep hands-on Victron experience and Home Assistant integration since 2020.

Zone 1 (travel included in the $130 general electrical service fee): Coomera, Pimpama, Oxenford, Helensvale, Hope Island, Paradise Point, Sanctuary Cove, Sovereign Islands, Runaway Bay, Biggera Waters, Labrador, Main Beach, Southport. Zone 2 (+$90): Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Mermaid Waters, Mudgeeraba, Robina, Reedy Creek, Burleigh Heads, Burleigh Waters, Miami. Zone 3 (+$150): Yatala, Ormeau, Pacific Pines, Upper Coomera, Beenleigh, Logan, Springwood, Tugun, Currumbin, Coolangatta, Tweed Heads. Outside Zone 3: quoted per kilometre return from the Hope Island base, $80 minimum. For audits, travel is bundled into the audit price by zone rather than charged separately.

A standard electrician installs and certifies electrical work to AS/NZS 3000. A systems integrator goes further: designs how the electrical, networking, automation, and monitoring layers work together as one system. Iron and Air does both, licensed electrician for the physical work, systems integrator for the intelligence layer.

Yes. On larger jobs, heavy delivery work is coordinated with vetted contractor partners, SAA-accredited solar installers, and licensed electrical workers under appropriate Queensland electrical licences, working to our specification. Iron and Air remains the engineer of record: system design, component specification, integration, and commissioning. Larger projects typically book 4 to 8 weeks ahead.