CoC for DC (PV) Installation

[Bluedog]

Hi there, I have been hit with so many contradicting answers. Had a PV system installed. My electrician said that, as an AC qualified electrician, he cannot issue a CoC or -addendum for the PV installation. On the other hand the installer says that on the CoC it is marked that alternative power supply is installed, therefore the CoC is valid. What are the laws and regulations regarding this?

[GCE]

Hi there, I have been hit with so many contradicting answers. Had a PV system installed. My electrician said that, as an AC qualified electrician, he cannot issue a CoC or -addendum for the PV installation. On the other hand the installer says that on the CoC it is marked that alternative power supply is installed, therefore the CoC is valid. What are the laws and regulations regarding this?

The PV installer has to be registered as an Electrical contractor With the Department of Labour and Employment .The installer needs to be an installation electrician or higher , or employ an installation electrician in a full time capacity .
Your installer needs to issue the COC as part of his installation , not as an extra requirement or charge.
Any electrical installation work must have a coc issued on completion and any electrical installation work must be carried out by a registered Electrical contractor.
PV is Electrical installation work as defined under OHSA

If Alternative power supply is ticked then another test report needs to accompany the coc

From SANS 10142-1 Ed 3,1
8.6.1 General
NOTE Conduct all tests and complete a copy of the test report for each distribution
board and supply (normal and alternative supplies). Amdt 1
Additional tests may be required for large installations and where alternative
supplies are installed.


It would appear that your PV installer is not correctly registered as per OHSA and should therefore not have interfered with your electrical installation and falsely advertised that he could install PV


Your Electrician cannot now sign off on a COC for work that he was not in general control of, so he is correct in making his statement.
Not all electrical contractors will be comfortable with installing PV systems .
A single phase tester cannot sign off on DC work as per Annex M

[Dave A]

On the other hand the installer says that on the CoC it is marked that alternative power supply is installed, therefore the CoC is valid.

Did the installer issue a COC for their work?

Some relevant regulations from the Electrical Installation Regulations 2009 -
5. (4) A registered person shall exercise general control over all electrical installation work being carried out, and no person may allow such work without such control.

6. (1) No person may do electrical installation work as an electrical contractor unless that person has been registered as an electrical contractor in terms of these Regulations.

7. (4) Where any addition or alteration has been effected to an electrical installation for which a certificate of compliance was previously issued, the user or lessor of such electrical installation shall obtain a certificate of compliance for at least the addition or alteration.

9. (1) No person other than a registered person may issue a certificate of compliance.

9. (2) A registered person may issue a certificate of compliance accompanied by the required test report only after having satisfied himself or herself by means of an inspection and test that -

...
(c) an electrical installation referred to in paragraph (b), to which extensions or alterations have been effected, that

(i) the existing part of the electrical installation complies with the general safety principles of such standard and is reasonably safe, and
(ii) the extensions or alterations effected comply with the provisions of regulation 5(1) and were carried out under his or her general control.

9. (4) Any person who undertakes to do electrical installation work shall ensure that a valid certificate of compliance is issued for that work.

[Isetech]

All this talk again, I want to see how the DOL is going to deal with all the DIY solar installations already installed.

We can cut paste the entire SANS regulations and the OSHACT and the bylaws, all the industries still need to to finalise the regulations so that the DOL can take action against the thousands of DIY installations.

They talk about the race to the bottom, the solar/elctrical industry must be the world leaders just smile and say yes, it is going to take a couple years before this mess sorted out.

[Isetech]

I cant even get a registered electrical company to issue a COC for an installation they completed, I believe the issue is because they are not suitable skilled/experienced to issue the COC for the application. It works, it looks neat like all the other thousands of installations, but we have identified a few things. We can only formally start an investigation once the COC has been issued.

[Isetech]

9. (4) Any person who undertakes to do electrical installation work shall ensure that a valid certificate of compliance is issued for that work.

This is were the fight starts

[Dave A]

9. (4) Any person who undertakes to do electrical installation work shall ensure that a valid certificate of compliance is issued for that work.

This is were the fight starts

It is something of a double edged sword.

If every properly registered electrical contractor did actually issue a COC for every bit of work they did, the public would become accustomed to the fact that this is part of the process - and that the job isn't done until the paperwork has been issued.
However, there is an attached traceability to that paperwork that even properly registered electrical contractors want to avoid for some reason.
Or is it just the hassle?

[Isetech]

It is something of a double edged sword.

If every properly registered electrical contractor did actually issue a COC for every bit of work they did, the public would become accustomed to the fact that this is part of the process - and that the job isn't done until the paperwork has been issued.
However, there is an attached traceability to that paperwork that even properly registered electrical contractors want to avoid for some reason.
Or is it just the hassle?

As per note 1 on the test report, that is where the fight starts.

If you going to make the public responsible for the electrical installation, then surely you will offer some form of public awareness.

If electrical contractors and companies offering testing services cant even get it right, how do you expect the public to thumb suck rules and regs ?

It will just keep bouncing back and forth.

I will not issue a supplementary COC, until I have at least a copy of the original COC, and so the wheels fall off.

Someone will have to come up with a better solution to this problem.

[Derlyn]

Hi there, I have been hit with so many contradicting answers. Had a PV system installed. My electrician said that, as an AC qualified electrician, he cannot issue a CoC or -addendum for the PV installation. On the other hand the installer says that on the CoC it is marked that alternative power supply is installed, therefore the CoC is valid. What are the laws and regulations regarding this?

Did YOUR electrician do the PV installation ?

If so, by law, he must issue a COC for same.

If he says he cannot issue a COC because he's an ac electrician, then he is probably registered as a single phase tester in which case he is not registered to do any DC work and should never have done the installation without being under the general control of a suitably registered person ie. installation electrician or master installation electrician. That suitably registered person would then have issued the coc.

Bottom line. If he cannot issue the coc, then he is unsuitably qualified to have done the job.

[Dylboy]

To add, not read full thread yet, there is no CoC or anything for PV. There are documents doing the rounds but none law

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