abisel

Thanks @craig shaw

Currently getting a packaged deal from installer as I'm upgrading system. As a last resort, I can try source these myself from a reputable supplier if need be.

Hi All I previously had a bad experience with an installer who installed fake panels so I'm trying to be more vigilant this time around. I'm in the process of procuring JA panels, model number: JAM72S30-550/MR. I asked installer to send me a picture of the label behind one of the panels, have attached screenshots for these. I managed to successfully verify the barcode on the following verification link: https://product.jasolar.com/en.html. I got a Grade A result. The specs on the label also seem to match the datasheet. I plan on also measuring the actual dimensions of the panels on-site and compare them with those from the datasheet. Before before agreeing for installer to come on-site, I want to verify that the labels themselves are genuine before I proceed. The label received from the installer is wide and seems inconsistent with some ja labels I've seen online which are more compact. But as I couldn't find an official label online for this model, not sure if If this is an issue. Does anyone have this model (or similar) and can advise if this label looks legit?

So I managed to slip my phone under one of the installed panels and took the attached photo of its sticker. This was a tricky exercise as I was trying not to fall off the roof doing this so please excuse the low quality pic. But the pic has enough conclude these are counterfeit panels. (1) According to the Canadian Solar official site, this model number is for a 450W panel. The fact that the installed panel says its 545W is clearly nonsense. (2) The QR code (I got this from a different pic) is invalid. (3) Typos on the sticker, such as the MODEL TRYPE. Did some more online reading and seems I've fallen victim to the same counterfeit panels I just saw in this article: https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/507496-knock-off-solar-panel-sellers-taking-south-africans-for-a-ride.html So it's anyone's guess what these panel's actual specifications are as their spec sheet is clearly nonsense. I now just need to try find the speediest way to resolve this issue so I can urgently get these panels off my roof.

Thanks @Steve87 Seems this may qualify for a CPA dispute so if need be, will try that route if supplier doesn't play ball. If that doesn't work, will explore alternatives before deciding to cut my losses. The supplier does have an online presence so am more than willing to share my findings within that space before letting this go. If it means the only result will be less people falling victim to the same suppier, then that in itself will be worth the effort of making a bit of noise for. Will share my findings in my next post below.

Thanks everyone for the feedback! And yeah many lessons learnt from this experience. I have the installer's details so I am definitely following this up, will make a lot of noise for him till this gets resolved.

Thanks for the reply @zsde, much appreciated. They are north-facing, am not sure about the angle but I should be able to able to check this tomorrow. Your point about coming out of winter is also noted.

Hi All I bought what was meant to be six 540w Canadian Solar from an installer which are connected to a 5kW sunsynk inverter. But after monitoring their output for weeks now, max I've seen their combined total go is around the 2700w mark. Which aligns with my suspicion these are actually 450w panels. My installer claims the total for the 540w are not guaranteed to go all the way to total 3240w mark. I've asked my installer to prove via a datasheet that these are indeed 540w panels. In the interim, I've measured the panels sizes to be: 2112mm X 1054mm. Does anyone know similar sized Canadian solar panels being 540w? What is the best way for me to verify this? Unfortunately I don't have the packaging they came in. Am close to logging a CPA dispute but want to have all my facts correct before I proceed.

In case anyone encounters a similar issue, the issue was resolved by changing the CT coil wires from pins from 5,6 to 3,4 for my 5kW invertor. Seems some installers mix the two, as 5,6 is for the 8kW. A massive thank you to @Leshen for his patient assistance in giving me enough info to revert back to my installer to make relevant corrections.

Hi All I'm currently looking for a Sunsynk installer to get an on-site 2nd opinion on my install, would however like any assistance in the interim. Past couple of days I've been monitoring the flow chart and suddenly the invertor seems to be feeding some of my essentials during the day however the CT coil never goes over 0 to display the portion that the grid is supplementing (See Flow attachment). I can however see what seems to be the supplement on my eskom meter. Worth noting that the invertor has on a couple of times dislayed -0.1 on the coil picture on the flow chart, which I understand this means I am supplying back to the grid, which should not happen. In system mode, only "Zero export" was ticked. I have attached my db board and invertor board to show the wiring. The CT coil arrow in the db board is pointing towards the wire heading towards the non-essentials, which in turn splits to invertor. In invertor board, ct coil wiring going to pin 5&6, this is 5kW invertor. If db board wiring not clear, happy to provide drawing confirming where each wire is going. Anything out of place at face value? After above tests, for safety I enabled "Limit to Load only" option to ignore non-essentials for now till I figure out what is going on.

Noted, will do, thanks.

Thanks for the assistance, realy appreciate it. My battery charge setting has Gen Signal selected instead of Signal ISLAND MODE. I don't have a generator nor am I planning on getting one. I see the manual advises on not changing these settings often as it can kill the battery. Is the difference worth correcting to help correct the issue I have?

I see there is a 3MB file limit upload, here is my 2nd attachment with the odd readings.

Hi All I recently acquired a 5kW invertor with a single 5kWh battery and 6 panels. Issue I have is that I'm unable to see the power my non-essentials are using on the invertor, which is one of the key reasons I bought this invertor. I would really appreciate 2nd opinions on this while I engage my installer. In the System Mode settings, my installer initially set the following: Priority Load - Ticked Zero export - Ticked Solar Export - Unticked Limit to Load only - Ticked Grid tickle feed - 20W Inverter power limiter - 5000W The above works fine in powering my essentials, as per attached flowchart1. Installer mentioned the above settings would ensure the non-essentials are powered when there is surplus from the panels. I'm not convinced due to the "Limit to Load only" checkbox being ticked. So my first question: Is there any other setting in the invertor that can ensure the non-essentials are powered with surplus from the panels when this checkbox ticked? Based on my research in this forum, my understanding is that this checkbox actually forces invertor to only power essentials (the "load"), correct? When I unticked the "Limit to Load only" checkbox during the day when I was expecting my non-essentials to be powered due to a full battery and minimal essential usage, my invertor flow chart displayed the attached (Flowchart2). The good thing is that I can now see the "house" icon. Second question: My understanding is that these are the non-essentials, right? The 3rd and main question is: can someone please help me decipher what the flowchart2 readings mean, especially why I have such low Watts reading from my panels (middle of a sunny day), negative reading from my essentials (I had just under 300W running) and no reading from my non-essentials (I was running a 2kWh as a test)? Installer has advised ct coil is installed correctly.