Is your solar system safe and efficient or a disaster waiting to happen?

 In Blog

There is a problem in the Solar industry.  Most people are unaware that solar systems can become safety hazards and do not operate efficiently if they are not installed properly and maintained correctly. 

There are three main safety hazards and inefficiencies in relation to solar systems after their installed:

  1. Product flaws:  When we talk about product flaws most people think about faulty inverters and faulty panels that stop a system from working. Through installing solar systems for approximately 10 years, we have found that the inverters are the main source of failure in any solar system.  The majority of panels installed on your roof are usually in good working order, and they are not usually the source of fault in a solar system.  However, DC isolators in our industry have caused much grief. There have been numerous recalls of DC isolators in the market due to faulty manufacturing resulting in fires and melted DC isolators. 
  2. Incompetent installers:   It sounds harsh too use these words, but unfortunately there are too many dodgy installation companies out there in the market who are more interested in the quick dollar rather than installing your solar system accurately and per regulations in a safe and efficient manner. One of the major issues that occurs due to incompetent installers is loss of potential savings due to not designing the system correctly. An example of this may be installing a DC string inverter system next to trees where they are always shaded. We have also been to many houses where one of the two inputs have never worked from the day of the installation.   Another issue is incorrect use of connections. This has become a big issue over the last couple of years with systems failing and joins melting due to not using compatible plugs (also known as MC4 plugs).  DC isolators, once again, are a major source of faults and fires. The terminal may not be screwed up tightly enough and this may result in faults occurring. These are other issues that may occur but these are the major issues when talking about solar installers. 
  3. Acts of God:   Mother nature! We can’t control mother nature. Some things that might cause faults to a solar system include hailstones of a relative size,  lightning strikes and pesky rodents and animals such as possums, rats and birds. Although we cannot stop any of these from arising, we have been asked to come out and solve some of these issues.  it is good just to note that these are some of the other issues that can cause faults and inefficiencies in your solar system.

Unfortunately the transfer of knowledge from the solar professional to the end user after the installation is often inadequate and therefore clients are unaware of the issues that may arise with a solar systems both straight after installation and many years into the future.  If you have not been properly educated and advised from your solar professional, it makes it hard for yourself as the end user to know how to maintain your solar system correctly. 

If you are unsure on any of the matters above and you want confirmation that your solar system is safe and working efficiently, and saving you the most amount of money possible, we would advise that you contact your installer. Learn more about the requirements and best course of action for your solar system moving forward.  If unfortunately, you are like one of many solar customers and the installation company that installed your system is no longer around (and perhaps gone into liquidation!) please feel free to contact us and we will assist in looking after your solar system. 

Our number one goal is to educate as many and users as possible so that they can have the knowledge, as knowledge is power! This will prevent as many issues arising as humanly possible.

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