- A comprehensive list to guide you to the best Solar PV Installation
- Important Items to Check During Your Solar PV Installation
- Ask these questions BEFORE ordering your Solar PV System
- How to check if your Solar PV Installer is Registered, Qualified and Competent
- A downloadable checklist to help you make the correct decisions and mange your solar installation – get the Straton Solar Installation Checklist HERE
With increasing electricity prices and extended load shedding the ‘continued normal’, the pressure on industry to supply and install Solar and Renewable Energy plants has increased exponentially. This increased demand has fuelled the entry into the renewable energy market of many more ‘unqualified players’ hoping to cash in on the market boom.
Naturally this muddling of the landscape by newcomers creates disharmony in the market with unqualified and downright dangerous installations taking place as consumers chase the initial lowest offered price for their systems.
The old quote by Benjamin Franklin still holds true here; “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”
Any good and well planned solar PV installation will last longer than most marriages – Solar Panels alone have a life expectancy exceeding 25 years and the longer you can have your system working without any faults or degradation over that time the far greater your savings in terms of electricity.
Straton Solar offer these guidelines to choosing a Solar Supplier/Installer/Partner:
- Pre-sales Questions
- The Sales Call
- The Quote
- Checking your installation
- Tools
- Pre-Installation Checks
- Solar Panel Checks
- Inverter Inspection
- Distribution Board
- Battery Tips
- System-Wide Checks
Pre-Sales:
Everyone researches online first so find the companies web site first and evaluate it in terms of information, look and domain age.
Look for accreditation to valid professional bodies like the Electrical Contractors Association of South Africa (ECA) SA and CHECK that it is current.
Look for Social Media accounts and read the comments.
Gauge how long it takes the company to return your call, answer your question/s and confirm an inspection date.
Ask your friends for referrals (of companies that they have personally used not from hearsay).
Try Google Searches like; “company name reviews” or “company name praise” or “company name fraud” etc.
Check sites like Hello Peter for comments by qualified consumers.
The sales call:
Was the salesperson on time?
Did he/she appear knowledgeable?
Did he/she ask essential questions like; “Average consumption over 12 months?”; “What do you want from a renewable energy system?”; “Have you reduced your consumption or are you on a journey to do so?”; “Where do you want to place your inverter and batteries?”
Did the salesperson listen or preach?
Did the salesperson encourage you to continue your education and, more importantly, get other quotes for the same system?
Didi the salesman ask about or inspect your roof space and roof?
Ask the salesman what types of jobs they have walked away from?
Were you given referrals or proof of other work done?
How many and of what quality systems has the company installed?
Do you feel confident to enter into a long term ‘marriage’ with the salesperson/company?
The Quote:
Handwritten on a scrap of paper or presented with forethought and in an easily digestible manner?
Does it lay out the exact equipment being installed?
Are there acceptable lead and payment timelines?
Are the payment terms clear?
Most installers require an upfront payment – do they leave an amount to be paid on or after completion?
What warranties are included?
What exceptions will you be expected to pay for?
Once you have been through the above and are ready for the installation, prepare yourself to inspect and manage the installation AND, more importantly, be prepared to stop any aspect that you feel uncomfortable about or need greater clarity on before the workmen continue or complete the system. Below you will find some items that are vital to ensure they are done correctly.
After all you do not want a situation to occur when you call in an inspection authority who after inspection deem you installation to have been done by an “unqualified and unregistered installer” along with being “deemed illegal and dangerous” whilst people in authority call for your installer to be prohibited from pursuing any further operations and held legally liable for all fees and damages. Reading between the lines the situation can quickly become a ‘Benjamin Franklin’ and you, as the consumer, will have to take expensive steps to fix the installation before your home burns down.
All solar installations have to comply with SANS 10142-1, also known as the Code of Practice for the Wiring of Premises, Part 1: Low Voltage Installations. This regulation is listed in the Electrical Installation Regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) as a mandatory safety standard.
Reputable professional bodies like the ECA (SA) hold courses to assist their members in all aspects of the code of practice with comprehensive online and face to face training sessions.
Reading the SANS standards will give you much food for thought and increased knowledge when shopping around for a solar system. In the meantime below are some action points to note during and after your installation.
The Installation:
As your installer delivers stock, check that off against your quotation.
Solar Panels – if Tier 1 was specified check with a quick Google e.g.; “Are Canadian Solar Panels Tier 1”
Solar Panels – check that ALL the panels are the same wattage as specified AND preferably from the same manufacturer and date.
Inverter – check that the inverter delivered is the same size and make as specified
Inverter – check that it is brand new out of the box with no scratches (e.gn look at the screw heads for wear and tear)
Inverter – check for an owners manual either supplied or available online.
Battery – check for size and manufacturer
Battery – check for manufacturer warranty and spec sheet.
Balance of System – Check that you are getting proper mounting structures and fastenings – incorrect installations can lead to leaks or wind damage.
Balance of System – Ask what type of connectors are being used and Google them.
Balance of System – What gauge wire is being supplied from Solar Panels to inverter (rule of thumb – thicker is much better, and more expensive)
Balance of System – Each roof type has specific mounting structures and fastenings tailor made. For example a Harvey Tile roof fastening is completely different to a clay roof tile roof.
Tools:
The best way to check tools is to ask your installer to walk you through the process and show you what tools will be used. You will soon get an idea of whether the installer is well qualified and caring by the state of tools used.
Ask what tools will be used to test the installation and request a demo.
Check for safety equipment.
Before the installation inspection:
You and your installer must walk through the installation and agree/confirm with you that the areas selected for installation of equipment are correct and/or possible.
Your installer must explain the time frames and requirements.
You and your installer must have a clear picture of which circuits will be ‘essential’ if you have a battery backup component.
Ask your installer if he/she is qualified and do not be shy to ask for proof.
Be very clear to the installer what your house rules are.
Trust the installer to do the best job and, if it takes more time than first estimated, do not hurry the installation rather get an understanding of why the delay or additional work needs to be done.
During the installation check for some of these items:
Solar Panels:
Solar PV Structure earthed
Solar Panels fastened properly to structure (not with rope/string/cable ties)
PV Cables exposed to sun to be in UV protected sprague/conduit.
PV Cables mechanically protected on pinch points
Check/ask for proof of overload protection.
Labelling.
Lightning Protection.
Connections – certain pieces of equipment demand a certain torque for good mechanical and electrical connections. Bad (loose) connections are the leading cause of production loss, heat and fire. The quickest check is to shake and or pull a connection.
The PV Structure must feel tight and strong to support PV Panels
Solar panels connected in the correct series and or parallel configuration for the type of inverter and, more importantly, actually connected.
Check that the solar panel strings are connected through an MPPT and balanced.
Check that the yield of each MPPT is correct for the amount of panels and time of day.
Inverter:
Valid inverter settings used.
Current Transformer to support excess power to grid or Islanding as the case may be is present.
Check for a correct and functioning communication connection to the battery system.
Check that correct grid settings have been loaded.
Check for adequate Surge Protection.
Check for proper inverter labelling.
Check that any changeover switch wired DOES isolate your system.
Check that the inverter complies with the manufacturers required space and mounting guidelines – e.g 30 cm of clear space around the inverter.
Check that AC, DC and Comms Cables are not all in the same trunking/conduit or that they do not run parallel to each other.
Install the inverter app (something you could do or examine BEFORE the order as well) and check that you can ‘drive’ it with understanding.
Distribution Board:
Take photographs of your Main Distribution Board BEFORE installation commences
If your installer is using your existing board then check that there is adequate space for the additional Circuit Breakers required.
Check for a point of isolation for your system.
Check for a working Earth Leakage Unit.
Check labelling.
Check cabling for neatness.
Check connections – mechanical and electrical.
Check for warning signs.
Check that AC,DC and Comms cables are separate.
Check that your new ‘essential sub DB’ has the circuits on it as discussed – under most installations no heavy consumers like pumps, geysers, stove etc. can be connected to this DB.
Battery:
Check Battery for correct installation as per manufacturers guidelines – e.g level, proper mounting structures used, proper ventilation space.
Check battery for proper mechanical and electrical connections.
Check that manufacturer specified cables are using for the comms cable to the inverter – depending on the manufacturer using the wrong cable may void a warranty and those manufacturer cables can be expensive.
System:
Insist on a Certificate of Compliance from the installer.
Complete the SSEG application for your municipality.
Check that your premises are left neat and tidy.
Check for holes and scratches and get them fixed by the installer whilst still on premises.
Get a run through with the installer/supervisor/owner/salesperson.
Get a clear picture of what has been installed and where – at this time it is a good idea to look out for neatness, mechanical and electrical integrity.
Understand what is expected from you to keep your warranties intact.
Ask questions and get an emergency number from your installer.
At all times remeber the mantra; “If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.” Evaluate your installer and equipment in terms of a long term marriage that you want to last and be productive for a long time.
For me personally one big warning sign to stay away from a company or individual is when that individual slags his competition off – if you run down your competition then you are running down your entire industry and, by extension, yourself!
“Happy hunting and be safe,” says Straton Solar whose parent company was established in 1966 and is currently under the direction of the second generation of ‘sparkies”.