All things Solar (merged threads)

[Jacko*]

Excellent write up, thanks for sharing. We also got solar on recently & have been logging data for the last 6 weeks or so. It will be interesting to see how the next bill goes.

[Agile]

Originally Posted by AlanD

Hi all,

Quick question:

Has anyone who has a solar system augmented it with a wind powered generator?

Seems to me that the modern versions are capable of providing a significant boost in times of cloudy cover or at night time.

If you have then I'd appreciate any advice about how you went about it and what the results were.

Feel free to add to the knowledge base, even if you haven't made any alteration to your PV system.

Thanks and

Cheers

Very good question. This is something I have been considering in preparation to going off grid in the forseeable future. When FIT get scrapped.
I have a 5kw system, true north, unshaded and export heaps of power during the summer months and break even during winter. What I cant get my head around is how is it that the power I am generating with my generation plant that I paid for and maintain, is only worth 8 cents and the retailers sell it back to me for 38 cents. As needed.
Brilliant demo of just how competent our leaders have been in past years.

[AlanD]

Originally Posted by Agile

Very good question. This is something I have been considering in preparation to going off grid in the forseeable future. When FIT get scrapped.
I have a 5kw system, true north, unshaded and export heaps of power during the summer months and break even during winter. What I cant get my head around is how is it that the power I am generating with my generation plant that I paid for and maintain, is only worth 8 cents and the retailers sell it back to me for 38 cents. As needed.
Brilliant demo of just how competent our leaders have been in past years.

Perhaps I can help?

The last time I bothered to do the research the power generation companies were producing base load power at about $40 per MWh. In times of high demand the price would jump owing to more than could be generated being required. Lots of PV installations have had an effect here because the largest loads tend to occur on warm/hot sunny days.

Some years ago I know, but I doubt that the cost of generation would have gone up by more than 50% ie now $60 per MWH. This is equivalent to 6c per kWh.

So the distribution companies will buy at the lowest price - and some retailer's own some of the generation capacity - they prefer to buy power from themselves! The very high FITs were GovCo incentives and I guess we can be thankful that we are now still getting a 33% premium at the 8c per kWh exported.

I can see the logic in this, because for the distribution company to make use of the power you feed to them the distribution infrastructure they provide is being used by you and the person who gets the charge for this is the consumer of your exported power, wherever they may be.

Cheers

[usernametaken]

cashed in all our rebates back in October.

Just got latest bill (lol) this morning

$450 credit.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by AlanD

Some years ago I know, but I doubt that the cost of generation would have gone up by more than 50% ie now $60 per MWH. This is equivalent to 6c per kWh.

Actually, the market has been a little depressed lately. We have not seen average RRPs (Regional Reference Price) above $40 for quite a while.

For your info, here's the $$ (per MW) for today and yesterday:

Today: min 12.18, avg 24.37, max 38.00
Yesterday: min 14.20, avg 26.14, max 34.07

Units off:
VIC: 2, SA: 3, NSW: 1, QLD: 4

The cooler summer is certainly not helping with the $$$.

Craig H

[EgoFG]

Just about to do a 4.5 install ... been here for a year, and miss my old 3kw system.

But just for fun I have gone with enphase micro-inverters.

In theory the cost is a little higher as is the output, but the down time is a huge improvement (cloud, tree or failure)

... watch this space

[AlanD]

Originally Posted by psychobimbo

Actually, the market has been a little depressed lately. We have not seen average RRPs (Regional Reference Price) above $40 for quite a while.

For your info, here's the $$ (per MW) for today and yesterday:

Today: min 12.18, avg 24.37, max 38.00
Yesterday: min 14.20, avg 26.14, max 34.07

Units off:
VIC: 2, SA: 3, NSW: 1, QLD: 4

The cooler summer is certainly not helping with the $$$.

Craig H

Thanks for this - I guess the penetration of PV rooftop systems is having a "controlling" effect on pricing too. Roughly 4000 MW currently installed and hopefully growing. This is about 8% of the total installed generation capacity in Oz.

Although the price from the generation companies fluctuates, the 8c per kWh tends to place a "roof" on the price and it is interesting that the maximum price for the last two days is less than 4c per kWh.

If this goes on the retailers will have hard time arguing a case for increases based on generation costs.

But in researching some numbers (above) I found this:

http://www.esaa.com.au/Library/PageC...7_May_2013.pdf

Talk about using "favourable" examples: Using Queensland to argue the problems generated by PV rooftop capacity ignores the fact that Queensland has the highest penetration of rooftop PV arrays and then using NSW to argue the "unfairness" of the impact on costs where the daily "supply charge" (according to the reference - I don't know how old this is) about 40c per day. Our current "supply charge " is $1.17 inc GST.

It also ignores the substantial upfront capital cost of installing a PV system - almost like assuming these systems "magically" appeared on the buildings. Keep on increasing the "supply" charges and people will look closely at off grid systems - then we can expect a GovCo decision to levy the supply charge whether you are connected or not. Just like reticulated water.

And when courts hand out large value financial penalties to distributors (and based on what I have read, rightly so) for the damage caused by bushfires started from under-maintained infrastructure those costs get fed back to the consumers.

But I'm straying off topic - Sorry.

Cheers

[Sam_Boss260]

I need some assistance from some of the experts on here.

We installed a 5kw system in August/September. Facing North, no trees but on a fairly steep roof. Electricity production has been good, with a rough average of 20kw per day over a couple of months.

Now, here is my issue.....

Our electricity bills are normally around $500 to $650 per quarter with an average daily usage of between 21 to 24 kw per day according to our bill. Peak usage per quarter is around the 1,500 to 1,600 kws. Off-peak 480 to 700 kws. This range is over the last 2 to 3 years worth of bills.

I just received our bill for the last quarter (Oct to Dec) and this is the first full quarter in which we have had the panels installed and hooked up with Origin. FIT is a lousy 6c per kw and my wife is home during the day. So since the panels she runs the washing machine, dishwasher and stuff during the day instead of the night so to use the power generated from the panels.

This latest bill was for $465 and shows average daily use of 18kw per day, with a FIT amount of 1,060 kw for the quarter. I'm very underwhelmed by this, as I was expecting to save around $400 to $500 per quarter on this, and this was the figures given to me by the solar company in the sales process. Plus by brother had a smaller unit installed and he is shaving over $400 per quarter based on the same FIT.

What is going on? Nothing has changed, except that we are using the appliances during the day instead of night time. Both the Peak and Off-peak usage for the quarter were down, but clearly not down enough.

I'm really really confused here....

[MDS69]

Originally Posted by Sam_Boss260

I need some assistance from some of the experts on here.

We installed a 5kw system in August/September. Facing North, no trees but on a fairly steep roof. Electricity production has been good, with a rough average of 20kw per day over a couple of months.

Now, here is my issue.....

Our electricity bills are normally around $500 to $650 per quarter with an average daily usage of between 21 to 24 kw per day according to our bill. Peak usage per quarter is around the 1,500 to 1,600 kws. Off-peak 480 to 700 kws. This range is over the last 2 to 3 years worth of bills.

I just received our bill for the last quarter (Oct to Dec) and this is the first full quarter in which we have had the panels installed and hooked up with Origin. FIT is a lousy 6c per kw and my wife is home during the day. So since the panels she runs the washing machine, dishwasher and stuff during the day instead of the night so to use the power generated from the panels.

This latest bill was for $465 and shows average daily use of 18kw per day, with a FIT amount of 1,060 kw for the quarter. I'm very underwhelmed by this, as I was expecting to save around $400 to $500 per quarter on this, and this was the figures given to me by the solar company in the sales process. Plus by brother had a smaller unit installed and he is shaving over $400 per quarter based on the same FIT.

What is going on? Nothing has changed, except that we are using the appliances during the day instead of night time. Both the Peak and Off-peak usage for the quarter were down, but clearly not down enough.

I'm really really confused here....

Have you had the new metering sorted.

[poppa smurf]

sounds like you are either getting metered correctly or the system isn't "showing" on the power company radar.

have a yak with your installer and also your power supply company.

[Sam_Boss260]

Originally Posted by MDS69

Have you had the new metering sorted.

Yes, first week of September....

[Sam_Boss260]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

sounds like you are either getting metered correctly or the system isn't "showing" on the power company radar.

have a yak with your installer and also your power supply company.

Am in the process of talking with the installer, they are saying that I just must have used more power during the peak period, and this is the net result.

I must be really missing something here, as it just does not add up.

I haven't tried talking to the power company, not sure what they can add to my situation.

So Poppa Smurf do you agree that something is not right?

[poppa smurf]

absolutely, something is amiss somewhere.....a quick look at your power bill from both quarters should show

(a) how much power you used
(b) how much power you exported
(c) a major reduction in usage, if not why not?.

out of a 5kw system, this time of year you should be producing around 30kw or better per day.......mine is 3.5 and I'm getting 23 kilowatt per day consistently, some days more.

your account should show a SIGNIFICANT reduction even at their piddling $0.06c per kilowatt.

start talking to the installer and your supplier and see what the hell is going on.....dont be baffled by bulldust either.

there is more than enough info in here to go in fully aware of what you should be getting out of that size system.

now SKITCHEM!!!!!!

[AlanD]

Originally Posted by Sam_Boss260

I need some assistance from some of the experts on here.

We installed a 5kw system in August/September. Facing North, no trees but on a fairly steep roof. Electricity production has been good, with a rough average of 20kw per day over a couple of months.

Now, here is my issue.....

Our electricity bills are normally around $500 to $650 per quarter with an average daily usage of between 21 to 24 kw per day according to our bill. Peak usage per quarter is around the 1,500 to 1,600 kws. Off-peak 480 to 700 kws. This range is over the last 2 to 3 years worth of bills.

I just received our bill for the last quarter (Oct to Dec) and this is the first full quarter in which we have had the panels installed and hooked up with Origin. FIT is a lousy 6c per kw and my wife is home during the day. So since the panels she runs the washing machine, dishwasher and stuff during the day instead of the night so to use the power generated from the panels.

This latest bill was for $465 and shows average daily use of 18kw per day, with a FIT amount of 1,060 kw for the quarter. I'm very underwhelmed by this, as I was expecting to save around $400 to $500 per quarter on this, and this was the figures given to me by the solar company in the sales process. Plus by brother had a smaller unit installed and he is shaving over $400 per quarter based on the same FIT.

What is going on? Nothing has changed, except that we are using the appliances during the day instead of night time. Both the Peak and Off-peak usage for the quarter were down, but clearly not down enough.

I'm really really confused here....

Hi Sam,

The first question I'm going to ask is "Exactly how steep is this roof the panels are fixed to?".

In Brisbane you are only four degrees or so south of the tropic of Capricorn, so for the period from mid November through to mid January the sun has been very close to being overhead and if the roof is very steep the "apparent" area being exposed to the sun is quite small. (A rough calculation based on 20 normal sized panels - which have an area of 33 square metres approximately - could be a low as 8 square metres actually exposed to the sun at this time of year).

To give a better calculation I would need to know the pitch of the roof and exactly where in Brisbane they are located. I'm also assuming that the panels are fixed with an equidistant gap between the panels and the roof cladding.

But what you are going to generate depends on the effective area exposed to the sunlight. Paradoxically things are going to improve as we get into autumn because the sun will move northwards and the effective area is going to increase.

To achieve an optimum angle I will expect that the bottom edge of the panels will need to be raised so that the angle they make to the horizontal is smaller that they currently are.

Secondly I'll ask you to examine your bill in detail and check whether or not your tariff charge(s) have altered. In Victoria PV equipped houses pay a premium for imported power of 2 or 3 cents per kWh and it might be the same for you. This has the effect of "discounting" the value of the FIT.

Based on the figures you have provided it looks as though you have generated about 1800 kWh in the quarter and have fed back 1060 kWh of these. This means that you have used 740 kWh of the electricity you generated, and if you are on a peak/off peak tariff like ours then this splits roughly 5/7 peak and 2/7 off peak or about 528 kWh peak and 212 kWh off peak. Using the tariff rates from your bill you can work out how much you would have spent on top of the bill value for this self generated power.

You might ask "Why didn't we use more of what we manufactured?" Good question with a messy answer. The simple answer is that a home's load for electrical energy tends to show two bumps. One occurs between 6;00 am and 8:00 am as people get up and start using electric kettles, toasters and the like, i.e. heavy current appliances. The other in the early evening - ovens, air conditioners etc.

In your case, because of the steep roof pitch and the time of year, there is very likely not much panel illumination and so you will be importing this 'discretionary' use energy.

A penultimate comment - unless you want me to do some sums for you - your average daily use rate seems high, from my perspective - ours is about 14 kWh per day in a 300 square metre home with reverse cycle A/C and the usual appliances, all of which are left in standby when not in use - but as I know nothing about your family situation and patterns of electricity usage I could be in error here.

And a final comment - At one time when our sons were at home we got involved with tropical fish. two, sometimes, three, large tanks each having two immersion heaters. One day I brought home a gizmo that allowed me to get information about when the heater was on and off. Those fish tanks were generating almost half of our electricity usage!

Cheers

[ute83]

Is it Net or Gross metering up there in Brisbane?

[supershifty]

^^^ Net AFAIK in QLD only mate.

Cheers!

[SPArKy_Dave]

Originally Posted by EgoFG

Just about to do a 4.5 install ... been here for a year, and miss my old 3kw system.

But just for fun I have gone with enphase micro-inverters.

In theory the cost is a little higher as is the output, but the down time is a huge improvement (cloud, tree or failure)

... watch this space

Sounds good! What panels did you go for?

We installed a 4.5kw system the other day for a bloke, using 280watt QCell solar panels, and 250w Enphase Micro's.

The Enphase Micro's are a pretty sweet bit of kit IMO.
I quite like the online portal, with the output graphs and so-forth.

[EgoFG]

Originally Posted by SPArKy_Dave

Sounds good! What panels did you go for?

We installed a 4.5kw system the other day for a bloke, using 280watt QCell solar panels, and 250w Enphase Micro's.

The Enphase Micro's are a pretty sweet bit of kit IMO.
I quite like the online portal, with the output graphs and so-forth.

It will be 310 JA panels.

Due to weather the installer has delayed from today to Thursday next week. :-|

[AlanD]

Hi all,

I got a letter from our retailer today.

It said that they have approval from the Essential Services Commissioner to reduce the buy back (FIT) tariff from 8c per kwh to 6.2 c per kWh as of February 1st.

So the rules I talked about in an earlier post have changed a bit. In our case it will make an average difference of about $65 per year. This will make very little difference to the pay back period I have calculated.

Perhaps I'll compensate by sending Russell less this year!

Just joking Russell.
Cheers

[Legit290]

Just got our first bill since installation. Our savings were significant...like over 50 %.
There was no indication of anything sold back to the grid.

I asked our solar bloke and he said it was because the bill wasn't for a complete quarter.
Is this true?

[stevejg33]

Hi everyone, I had my system installed just over 3 and a half years ago by the Solar Shop, whom went into receivership about a year later. Since then, they contacted me once, saying that I needed a negative earthing kit put into my SMA inverter, of which I reluctantly allowed them to do, at the cost of $440.00 (which really p#ssed me off, should have been there at the start, like buying a car & paying extra for the steering wheel before I can drive it out of the showroom).
What annoyed me even more, I pulled the front off the inverter (while it was off) & saw that the kit was only a plug with a couple of wires attached that were just hanging there, not connected to anything. Because they went bust there is no warranty on the install, only warranties with the inverter & panel manufacturers.

Had a phone call from them yesterday telling me that I needed my system checked due to some new Australian Safety standards, this is a copy of the email



The following is information regarding our PMP program which assists our customers in maintaining a safe & compliant Solar PV system. The Anti-Islanding Test ensures that when the Network Power is lost your Inverter shuts down and stops power exporting to the grid from your Solar System. This is to protect workers who arrive to restore power. The test to confirm the correct operation of the inverter is referred to as the Anti-Islanding test.
This is a requirement under state and federal Electricity Distribution Regulations and is the responsibility of all Solar PV owners to carry out this function. Whilst an Anti-Islanding Test can be performed by Solarshop when carrying out a 31 point service check on your PV System, this is up to the customers discretion & can be organised & performed separately by the PV Systems owner.
This is a legal Requirement to…
 Ensure the system can operate continuously and uninterrupted at the required system frequency of 50Hz (or within allowable variations).
 Identify that your Solar PV system is correctly connected to the Electricity Network, and complies with State and National Governments Electricity Distribution code, the electricity Safety Act 1998 as well as any other Australian Standards.
 The Solar PV system must be maintained in a safe condition.
 The Solar PV system will Connect/disconnect from the Grid as required by Current Australian Standards.
As part of the Anti-Islanding Test, Solarshop is carrying out a 31 point service checks to ensure your Solar System is in line with current State/Federal standards, this is a requirement to maintain your installation warranties moving forward.
The 31 point service includes…
 Grid Connect Solar labeling.
 PV Solar Array Check.
 Solar Array Earth Circuits.
 AC and DC wiring.
 Circuit Breakers.
 Inverter Disconnect Enclosures.
 Mechanical and certification update.
 System performance.
As discussed there is a cost involved to Check and maintains the system integrity which is $359.00 the cost includes the CEC electricians call out fee and the labor cost.



what I want to know is, do I need this done, has anyone else heard of this, the system is running perfectly, I might ring a local solar installer & query it, in the mean time, any comments, suggestions???
I don't particularly want to be stitched up, again??

Cheers, Steve

[poppa smurf]

show this to another local installer and ask them, tell this mob to knick off.

mines been in over 3 years with no "check up's" necessary!

[Agile]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

show this to another local installer and ask them, tell this mob to knick off.

mines been in over 3 years with no "check up's" necessary!

Have a 5kw system for 3 years. Zero problems and I monitor out put weekly, all is good. Solar Whoever are on the scam IMHO

[AlanD]

Hi Stevejg33,

When your system was installed it HAD to be installed to be compliant with AS3000 (the standard that defines the requirements of Electrical Installations) and ALL other standards referred to within AS3000 together with any legislative requirements specified in legislation that was in force in the state where the installation was emplaced - and this would cover solar installations.

Subsequently the installation required inspection by a properly qualified and registered person and if it passed then attachment to the grid could follow. As yours has been attached then I predict it was satisfactory at the time of those inspections.

Providing there has not been any modification to it, then it is still satisfactory. The only requirement is that any fault or deterioration due to age or physical interference due to natural causes is repaired so that it conforms to the standard and referenced requirements that existed at the time it was installed.

ALL of the "requirements" that are stated in the email you have received were required at the time your system was installed and would have to have been met to allow attachment to the grid - and I can assure you that if there was any fault with the inverter you would know about it - mostly you would have been aware of the "Nasty brown smell" in the region of your now inoperative inverter.

There is no requirement to "upgrade" any installation that is not compliant with the current standard, providing it was compliant at the time it was installed with the standard then in force.

An example: prior to about the mid 1970s (it might have been as early as 1971) electrical installations were wired with imperial gauge cabling and after this date, or there-abouts, cable changed to metric sizes which the standard then referred to. If an installation was required to be compliant ALWAYS with the current standard then every installation emplaced before this change would have had to be rewired with metric sized cables to make it "lawful". As it happens it was not necessary because so long as an installation remains compliant with the standard in force when it was created it is still OK.

What you are seeing is an attempt to "create work" and charge through the nose for the very little work that actually gets done.

If you are in SA the advise this mob that their email will be forwarded to the office of the Technical Regulator for their attention. If elsewhere then discover who is responsible for regulation of the activities of Electrical Contractors and persons who hold an Electrical License and take the same action.

This kind of thing really exercises me because it brings a bad name to the industry. The majority of Electrical Contractors do the right thing, but a few cowboys attempt this kind of activity to the industry's detriment.

They need to be weeded out.

This said, if you have concerns about any aspect of your electrical system including the PV system then I'll advise you to get it checked out and if problems are discovered have repairs done promptly. A good licensed electrician will explain to you why a problem exists, what the risk factors are and provide an estimate of the cost of repairs. If it is a very serious problem putting life at risk a good practicioner will explain why they need to remove the consumer's fuse and isolate the premise from the grid - and that is a responsibility they carry - woe betide them if they do such a thing without proper cause. Ordinarily the Electrician will contact the distributor, explain the problem, and get approval to isolate the property.

Cheers

[zilo]

Originally Posted by stevejg33

Hi everyone, I had my system installed just over 3 and a half years ago by the Solar Shop, whom went into receivership about a year later. Since then, they contacted me once, saying that I needed a negative earthing kit put into my SMA inverter, of which I reluctantly allowed them to do, at the cost of $440.00 (which really p#ssed me off, should have been there at the start, like buying a car & paying extra for the steering wheel before I can drive it out of the showroom).
What annoyed me even more, I pulled the front off the inverter (while it was off) & saw that the kit was only a plug with a couple of wires attached that were just hanging there, not connected to anything. Because they went bust there is no warranty on the install, only warranties with the inverter & panel manufacturers.

Had a phone call from them yesterday telling me that I needed my system checked due to some new Australian Safety standards, this is a copy of the email



The following is information regarding our PMP program which assists our customers in maintaining a safe & compliant Solar PV system. The Anti-Islanding Test ensures that when the Network Power is lost your Inverter shuts down and stops power exporting to the grid from your Solar System. This is to protect workers who arrive to restore power. The test to confirm the correct operation of the inverter is referred to as the Anti-Islanding test.
This is a requirement under state and federal Electricity Distribution Regulations and is the responsibility of all Solar PV owners to carry out this function. Whilst an Anti-Islanding Test can be performed by Solarshop when carrying out a 31 point service check on your PV System, this is up to the customers discretion & can be organised & performed separately by the PV Systems owner.
This is a legal Requirement to…
 Ensure the system can operate continuously and uninterrupted at the required system frequency of 50Hz (or within allowable variations).
 Identify that your Solar PV system is correctly connected to the Electricity Network, and complies with State and National Governments Electricity Distribution code, the electricity Safety Act 1998 as well as any other Australian Standards.
 The Solar PV system must be maintained in a safe condition.
 The Solar PV system will Connect/disconnect from the Grid as required by Current Australian Standards.
As part of the Anti-Islanding Test, Solarshop is carrying out a 31 point service checks to ensure your Solar System is in line with current State/Federal standards, this is a requirement to maintain your installation warranties moving forward.
The 31 point service includes…
 Grid Connect Solar labeling.
 PV Solar Array Check.
 Solar Array Earth Circuits.
 AC and DC wiring.
 Circuit Breakers.
 Inverter Disconnect Enclosures.
 Mechanical and certification update.
 System performance.
As discussed there is a cost involved to Check and maintains the system integrity which is $359.00 the cost includes the CEC electricians call out fee and the labor cost.



what I want to know is, do I need this done, has anyone else heard of this, the system is running perfectly, I might ring a local solar installer & query it, in the mean time, any comments, suggestions???
I don't particularly want to be stitched up, again??

Cheers, Steve

Can't really see a problem here.

I don't believe there is any scam intended.

They are asking you to carry out an anti-islanding test...either you do it or you get them to come and do it for you.

Whilst they are at your premises they will carry out a safety check in case someone has accidentally changed something or a rodent has chewed through your wiring etc.

You are under no obligation to get them to do anything and they are simply offering you after sales service.

a lot here might be complaining about being sold a system and never hearing from the shop again.

And....since they would be charging a minimum call out fee they would do a safety check as a courtesy.

They sound okay to me.

[poppa smurf]

I don't believe it is a "scam" either, simply a matter of over servicing, and yes quite legal and possibly a good thing if you don't know anything about electrics or keep an eye on what your system is doing.

if you go through that list from a sparky's point of view it is very similar to a car service, very little actual work done with a lot of "checking".

such as "grid connect solar labelling".........in other words make sure the sticker is still on the fuse box.

"circuit breakers"......either they are on or they are off.....you can test them yourself.

I could go on but I think the point is made......visually inspect the setup yourself every now and then and get a local trusted sparky in every 12 months, for about $80, to give it a "once over" and it will be fine.

[olfella]

I am a sparky and the trade has changed hell of a lot over recent times. SO much so that there are now 'specialist' areas and solar PV's is one of those. I know how they work and the basic requirements BUT I have never done a course to give me the extra quals to actually sign of on an install. What I am saying is dont just get an ordinary sparky to check your system - make sure he has the quals AND experience to give you the correct advice. Most State licensing agencies have data bases of who has what and that would be my first port of call.

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by stevejg33

Hi everyone, I had my system installed just over 3 and a half years ago by the Solar Shop, whom went into receivership about a year later. Since then, they contacted me once, saying that I needed a negative earthing kit put into my SMA inverter, of which I reluctantly allowed them to do, at the cost of $440.00 (which really p#ssed me off, should have been there at the start, like buying a car & paying extra for the steering wheel before I can drive it out of the showroom).
What annoyed me even more, I pulled the front off the inverter (while it was off) & saw that the kit was only a plug with a couple of wires attached that were just hanging there, not connected to anything. Because they went bust there is no warranty on the install, only warranties with the inverter & panel manufacturers.

Had a phone call from them yesterday telling me that I needed my system checked due to some new Australian Safety standards, this is a copy of the email



The following is information regarding our PMP program which assists our customers in maintaining a safe & compliant Solar PV system. The Anti-Islanding Test ensures that when the Network Power is lost your Inverter shuts down and stops power exporting to the grid from your Solar System. This is to protect workers who arrive to restore power. The test to confirm the correct operation of the inverter is referred to as the Anti-Islanding test.
This is a requirement under state and federal Electricity Distribution Regulations and is the responsibility of all Solar PV owners to carry out this function. Whilst an Anti-Islanding Test can be performed by Solarshop when carrying out a 31 point service check on your PV System, this is up to the customers discretion & can be organised & performed separately by the PV Systems owner.
This is a legal Requirement to…
 Ensure the system can operate continuously and uninterrupted at the required system frequency of 50Hz (or within allowable variations).
 Identify that your Solar PV system is correctly connected to the Electricity Network, and complies with State and National Governments Electricity Distribution code, the electricity Safety Act 1998 as well as any other Australian Standards.
 The Solar PV system must be maintained in a safe condition.
 The Solar PV system will Connect/disconnect from the Grid as required by Current Australian Standards.
As part of the Anti-Islanding Test, Solarshop is carrying out a 31 point service checks to ensure your Solar System is in line with current State/Federal standards, this is a requirement to maintain your installation warranties moving forward.
The 31 point service includes…
 Grid Connect Solar labeling.
 PV Solar Array Check.
 Solar Array Earth Circuits.
 AC and DC wiring.
 Circuit Breakers.
 Inverter Disconnect Enclosures.
 Mechanical and certification update.
 System performance.
As discussed there is a cost involved to Check and maintains the system integrity which is $359.00 the cost includes the CEC electricians call out fee and the labor cost.



what I want to know is, do I need this done, has anyone else heard of this, the system is running perfectly, I might ring a local solar installer & query it, in the mean time, any comments, suggestions???
I don't particularly want to be stitched up, again??

Cheers, Steve

"Tell 'em there dreamen............." The guy who done mine came back 12 months later and checked the whole system for nothing......said it was part of the service......

[dragons90]

I believe that negative earthing kit was a bit of a scam they were hounding my parents about it telling them they would lose there warranty if they didn't do it, I looked into it and as long at the system was installed before a certain date the warranty would still cover it without the negative earthing kit

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by AlanD

When your system was installed it HAD to be installed to be compliant with AS3000 (the standard that defines the requirements of Electrical Installations) and ALL other standards referred to within AS3000 together with any legislative requirements specified in legislation that was in force in the state where the installation was emplaced - and this would cover solar installations.

As an electrical engineer (I know that statement alone will cop some flack from the tradies that frequent this thread ), an ex-apprentice electrical mechanic, someone who has done a pre-course for their electrical inspector's licence and working in a power station, I think your capitalisation of the word 'had' infers something that may not be true.

It was fairly common knowledge in our pre-inspector's course that the solar industry were known somewhat as cowboys that chose which elements of the standards to follow. And our class included 50% solar installers who agreed with this view!

Part of the problem lay with the inspectors themselves. The solar industry had boomed so quickly that some inspectors out there did not have great familiarity with the technology being installed and therefore were not up to speed with the requirements. There is also significant pressure on inspectors to do the 'right' thing by the company paying them to carry out the inspection (ie the installer). If you make life too difficult for the installer, then chances are you would not get much follow on work.

The other issue is that the standards applicable to solar installs also suffered somewhat from the boom of the technology, with many of the standards lagging behind the industry.

Anyway, if your first line stated SHOULD HAVE instead of HAD then that would reflect my experiences with the industry. Apart form that one minor comment, the rest of the post was right on the money!

Craig H