CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Anyone out there who is in desperate need of a week’s worth of small talk should consider getting solar panels put on their roof, as this paritcular technology is renowned for having some of the most talkative contractors in all of suburban Australia.
Lonely old retirees and bored stay-at-home mums have proven to be the most eager to take part in the renewables transition, as solar power is known to bring with it some of the most inoffensive, tangential and sometimes mildly interesting yarns that are available from any bloke carrying a ladder.
But that’s not the only reason Australians are flocking to the shiny panels.
As energy prices continue to wreak havoc on household budgets during a cost-of-living crisis, Australians are turning to rooftop solar in unprecedented numbers. In the third quarter of 2023 alone, a record 813MW of rooftop solar PV was installed with the average system size also growing.
With the industry accelerating, recruitment has picked up for installation professionals who are capable of maintaining a base-level knowledge of recent football results, celebrity dramas, and how the suburb has changed over the years.
Many homeowners and tenants would now argue that the solar panel installers have already surpassed the the Foxtel installer guy for the greatest purveyor on endless small talk.
However, unlike the Foxtel installer guy, who had an artillery of facts to roll-out when discussing the broad-ranging content that was available across 32 cable TV channels, the solar panel guy doesn’t really talk about his job much.
Although easily steered, the yarns tends to focus on whatever you want to talk about, or furthermore, what you want to hear him talk about.
Popular ice-breakers include “you lived round here long?” or “Yeah there was a famous footy player that came from round here” – or even “I would’ve love to bought around here ten years ago”
As the yarn progresses, one can expect an apolitical criticism of the housing crisis, followed by a 45 minute verbal analysis of the South Sydney Rabbitohs current slump in performance.
Either way, the bloke can fucken yarn.
A WEEK’S WORTH TO COME
