Solar inverter installation investigations

[ians]

The most important part of the installation ... the COC (I know I bash COC's all the time) ... without it ... legit or not ... at least you have a claim against the insurance or the contractor who installed it and a case can be opened with the AIA.

The very first investigation ... done by a person who apparently comes highly recommended and is installing systems faster than Eskom can load shed.

First thing before I even started the investigation ... no COC ... I should shut the system down until at least an inspection report is carried to very it is not a dangerous installation.

I walked up to the panel and the very first thing I noted was the exposed wires below the inverter ... pushed neatly up against the inverter.

The installation looks neat ... just because the installation look neat ... it doesn’t make it safe or legal ... it only gives a max of 5 point of the 100 required to pass.

I pull the covers off the trunking ... PVC ...I don’t see an issue with PVC trunking.

next issue ... battery wires and house wiring running in the same compartment ... we have discussed this issue in the past and if the cabling is rated at 450 - 1000 V ... can you run 48 VDC and 230 VAC in the same trunking ... even for short distances?

The next issue was earth wires twisted together using skrewits ... some people will say its illegal ... personally I feel the fact that the earth wires are connected in the trunking and not the DB above the trunking is not right.

Then I opened the DB ... well this is where I see things that make me realise that it is going to be a proper full investigation ...not just a quick over view of the installation.

The metal DB has a cut out at the bottom for the wiring ... it looks like a hammer and chisel was used to make the cut out and there is the first fail ... one of the wires is already penetrated by the sharp piece of steel.

It just got worse.

Some advice for people using a solar/inverter installer ... the most important part is that the installer has the correct certification to carry out the installation ... can issue a COC on completion ... not get it checked by a buddy or the inspector who signs them off a dime a dozen from his house up north.

Installations are costing R100 000 plus ... don’t be f%^&*n stupid ... just because Molly ... Pete and dick said on the group that Joe Soap is the man to use for your new installation ... there are people out there who know there stuff and are suitably qualified to perform the task ... just make sure you verify their credentials ... check they have the correct qualifications and licenses to do the job.

It is also very important that staff working on your property wear the card indicating the level of competency. It an appy or semi-skilled is left to do the work he will have a card which he should be wearing indicating the level of competency ... if you don’t know what they can do ... then calling the DOL ... ECB or ECA will clarify the tasks they can perform.

If a person doesn’t have a semi-skilled card ... they cant do much other than dig holes and carry stuff ... certainly not be installing and connecting cables.

Beware people ... load shedding is bring out all the rats and mice willing to do anything for a quick buck ... a couples hours of googling and YouTube will could make you a specialist before the sun sets ... people are desperate and willing to piss hundreds of thousands of rands against the wall ... hence my decision to start getting a piece of the pie.

[ians]

Something else I have noticed ...

The feed to the inverter is via the main DB earth leakage unit ...through a circuit breaker 20/25/32 to the input of the inverter or changeover switch (eskom)

From the inverter to the changeover switch or straight to the essential supply DB (inverter) which either has a main switch then to an earth leakage or just an earth leakage unit then out ot the circuit via mcb's

The problem with doing this is you have 2 earth leakage units in series ... bad idea ... if your main DB earth leakage is more sensitive that the essential supply ... then you gonna trip the main DB e/l unit.

I dont see why you would require the feed to the inverter/changeover switch to be be fed through the main DB earth leakage unit ... if you have an earth leakage on the output side of the changeover switch.

The other problem with doing this ... your essential supplies like lights / alarms / deep freeze data equipment which dont require earth leakage protection are now protected via the main DB earth leakage.

[tec0]

In all honesty, I think this is why a lot of people are staying away from the stuff.

My system i installed myself. No it is not connected to the house in any way or form. I made it so that it works and looks like a standard inverter you buy at almost any hardware store for R8k. i actually own one of those and is why i build my solar system on the exact same principle. That way no house wiring was compromised in any way or form.

Got myself a battery housing installed my batteries in it and fitted my inverter on top of it. Now it is identical to my first one. It functions as the inverter sold by a hardware store. Does it need a COC ? According to everyone the answer would be yes. Does a UPS need a COC ? Effectively both my systems are massive versions of a standard UPS that many use on their computers.

The question still stands. Because if you rip a UPS open you will find that the wiring is up to code ? It should be because there is a industrial standard for wiring. The wiring i used was complete over kill BUT i spend the money got the right cables and it worked from day one.

Now what about the solar aspect of it? Well my wiring is the right thickness and i role it up when not in use disconnect my panels as they are NOT mounted to the house. i made a little stand for them.

Now note my language. i said my wiring was at the right thickness and length? How would i know this? Simple i went to the person that sold the parts and asked what wiring it should be. He handed me one that is thicker then my fingers and said pay me.

See now many years later, my system works well needs a few batteries to be replaced but that is the worst of it.

My point is, many people will do what they are told by the installer. They don't know how to check credentials, certification and IF the installation was a good one or a bad one. Why because the contractor will never show them where they made mistakes if any was made.

That is the danger here, this is why people will DIY it if they can or ask a "friend of a friend" to do it. Because they don't know who to trust.

so the key point here is educate the customer first then sell them a solution. Like you say they spend a TON of money but really many many customers don't know a certification form a blank piece of paper.

[ians]

All I can say is climb on the band wagon and ride the wave while the cream is still on the coffee ... if you havent already setup a solar website selling anything green realated you getting left behind .. the reis no control ove rthe crap being sold ... the backup service of units like meccer ... axpert ... RCT once the warranty is finished is gone ... I am sitting with a 5 kva unit for months ... because it is out of warrant ... nobody wants to touch it ... so if you have R 12 -13 000 to throw away if it goes faulty go wild ... I was told by Victron that if I become a distributor/installer ... they have a 48 hour turnaround time and keep stock of every unit and componets they sell ... this why I am looking at Victron.

The test is when the unit fails after 1- 2 years (Victron has a 5 year warranty) ... will the supplier still repair the unit or do you have to replace it ? Sometimes spending a lot more still pays in the long run ... so if you gonna buy solar panels whih ar egoing to last 10-20 years why would you install a crappy inverter that has no support after 1-2 years ... unlkess you have money to waste.

[tec0]

All I can say is climb on the band wagon and ride the wave while the cream is still on the coffee ... if you havent already setup a solar website selling anything green realated you getting left behind .. the reis no control ove rthe crap being sold ... the backup service of units like meccer ... axpert ... RCT once the warranty is finished is gone ... I am sitting with a 5 kva unit for months ... because it is out of warrant ... nobody wants to touch it ... so if you have R 12 -13 000 to throw away if it goes faulty go wild ... I was told by Victron that if I become a distributor/installer ... they have a 48 hour turnaround time and keep stock of every unit and componets they sell ... this why I am looking at Victron.

The test is when the unit fails after 1- 2 years (Victron has a 5 year warranty) ... will the supplier still repair the unit or do you have to replace it ? Sometimes spending a lot more still pays in the long run ... so if you gonna buy solar panels whih ar egoing to last 10-20 years why would you install a crappy inverter that has no support after 1-2 years ... unlkess you have money to waste.

Yea now we are talking the same language. But about your inverter going. This is what you can do.

Many of its parts "exluding the computer" will have part numbers on it. With that a value. Those values and numbers can be googled and the values given. Now get yourself a fluke and set it to measure the values. Honestly took me minutes to found problem blown cap. and ordered one replaced few days in. It did work out for me because it was a component i could solder out and replace. The computer on the other hand is a problem. But i am so glad we are talking about this because YES replacing a cap is dangerous discharge the thing "yes there is a Youtube for that" if you new and don't know the stuff. Secondly i am in the process of trying to build my own pure sign-wave inverter because surprisingly enough it doesn't need a computer to tell you what is happening.

Here is why i totally 100% agree with you. Get the Victron they are a great investment. YES i know my uncle got one and that thing is simply put amazing. I think his son helped him order one i don't know the supplier they used. That thing is stable. Mine was a cheap one i will admit to that BUT i did get it at a time when the tech was more expensive so "cheap now" wasn't cheap then. If you are going to spend a R100k and up do it right the first time.

Reason why i want my own inverter is i want to see if i can make modules for it. That way i can build a tester into it and see what is happening. No i am no electronic genius BUT i am learning because like you i see the sun setting on eskom. They really need help and i don't think they are going to get it any time soon. i mean increasing the prices can only do so much. As you know it all boils down to cost and when Eskom cost more per kw hour then generating your own that is the day things hit the fan

[Justloadit]

The one problem that we as consumers will have to deal with soon, is that far too many users are going to use solar power as the primary source of energy, which means that less ESKOM power will be consumed, and even increasing the cost per KW, does not mean that they are going to get more revenue. More and more people will change to alternative sources, leaving ESKOM in the hole with consumers who are not paying for electricity.

See this article
Eskom wants those who generate their own power to pay for grid use - but it will not earn extra

So either way we are seen as fat cows ready to extract our milk.
Easy targets.