Mart-Mari

Remember there were other faults as well. (No wonder the installer refused to hand over a COC.) A solar related electrician came to my house, inspected the DB board and other components and wrote the following. I'm sure you guys will understand exactly what he was saying here: 1. There was no circuit to protect the solar system. 2. 3 wires instead of only 1. 3. Fuses were burnt which indicated a loose connection. 4. No circuit breaker from inverter to ensure that flow of energy is properly regulated and energy from inverter is directly from municipal electricity instead of having a circuit breaker built in after municipal output. 5. Isolator did not work properly because system could not be switched off by means of isolator.

Starting a fire and being stuck in a burning house at night is life threatening in my opinion.

I was told to pull it regularly and not in an emergency situation. Big sparks came from it every time I did it. Thank you, I never knew it was an emergency isolator.

Yes but on the other side, this was the reason why I trusted him and believed what he said to me.

See the burn mark in the battery charger switches on this pic. This is where is sparks came from. It scared the living daylight out of me each time I was told to operate these switches.

I had 2 X Mercer Inverters and yes, I was for taken for a ride for the second time. Quite correct.

Hi there, four independent experts said the Royal batteries should be covered. They did not say Royal batteries are against any regulation. Personal opinions were not part of any report that I received because all the reports were done objectively.

Thank you Chris. I am not mad but rather disappointed. All my expectations were shattered. Being a female also did not help much. I really trusted this guy. There was a newspaper article about it yesterday and maybe somebody will find the info valuable. When I feel much better I'll get a new system, a proper one this time. http://www.netwerk24.com/Nuus/Algemeen/leraar-dok-op-vir-lewensgevaarlike-sonkragstelsel-20160421

1) The system tripped regularly. I was not trained what to do when this happened and the installer lives too far to help. 2) Alarms went off at any given time and for no reason. I did not know what to do when this happened. 3) Sparks came out of the battery charger switches. Black burn marks were visible around the sparks. It was expected of me to push these switches up and down and to cope with the sparks and burning smell. 4) When the system tripped, it did not switch over to Eskom - in other words the BYPASS function did not work. 5) There was a weird smell in my garage that disappeared after they removed the batteries. 6) The batteries could not carry the load for more than a couple of hours when Eskom was off. 7) I did not have a separate Eskom switch in order to switch over manually when the system stopped working. 8) The system caused tension in my family and we could not go on holiday because the system was way too unreliable.

1) The news team of Beeld contacted me three weeks after I have had my system installed in June 2015. They wrote about a few people who had new solar systems installed and they also wrote a piece about my system. 2) I am not a technical solar expert and therefore cannot supply you with more technical details than I have already supplied. 3) I was contractually entitled to an off grid system but only received a mediocre sort of back up system that stopped working at any given time. My intention was to share my disappointed here but also to share valuable information with other members. I hope it meant something to someone. Seeing that my solar system has been removed I think it appropriate to bid you all a farewell. May you all have more positive experiences than I did. Have a really happy solar journey!

Weasel, the biggest disappointment is when one realises that the installer doesn't know what he is doing and the money is gone. R157 495.00 is not a small amount. Then the unpleasant journey starts in search for people to establish what all the problems are. It was extremely unpleasant to stand in front of screaming inverters in a dark garage, not knowing what to do. I am actually grateful to be back on Eskom. You have an excellent idea to get members to compile a complete list with technical points and general good practices.

1. The PV connected to the inverters are not correct as only one DC combiner board is present. Two would be required for a double inverter installation as the solar connection between inverters needs to be completely separate. 2. The Royal batteries are not covered and not at all in accordance with the standards. 3. The battery bank connections are wrong. Each bank should be connected in parallel to the fuse disconnector. 4. The battery bank should be enclosed to prevent any accidental contact with the terminals. 5. The inverters should each have at least a 50Amp circuit breaker to each of the individual inverters as per the installation manual and not only one as in this case. 6. The positive battery cables and the negative battery cables are not of the same size and should be the same size. 7. The installer altered the originally supplied system and did not at all follow the proper parallel installation guidelines as prescribed by the manufacturer of the inverters. 8. The supplier cannot honour any warranty claim and or responsibility for the installation. 9. The installation is totally unsafe to operate with visible sparks and would require a detailed inspection on site to determine everything that needs to be rectified in order for the system to operate. 10. The installer could not provide the calculations. 11. The installer could not indicate what the kWp requirement of the house was. 12. The installer could not supply the specifications and design criteria. 13. The design does not supply an off grid system as agreed upon per contract between the client and the installer. 14. The installer was informed that the solar panels only provide for 4kW and that he sized the inverters for 10kW and the battery bank for 303Ah, the panels was also installed in such way that its impacted by shade in the morning and shade in the afternoon. 15. The installer could not provide any calculations stating the correct size of system required to comply to the agreement – although the installer confirmed he was provided with the all the smart meter accounts. 16. The installer mentioned that there is a design for the inverter and AC/DC connection done by the supplier – this is done for the first 5KW inverter. It was confirmed that no design was done of the panels integration, the battery integration nor the distribution board integration. The installer did no design, nor update the design with the additional installation of the 4 x PV panels, 1 x 5KW inverter and additional batteries. The design was also not signed off and approved. 17. Evaluation of the design in relation to the standards, supplier requirements, municipality regulations, NERSA, ECSA and SANS standards was not done. 18. The installer was responsible for the system design but could not supply a design. The design was supposed to be done in the first place and it should have been correct and in accordance with all regulations and standards. The design was supposed to be registered with the municipality. None of these were done. Due to all the faults, there is serious concern about the system design. 19. The system is not at all functioning in accordance with the contractual conditions. 20. There are big visible sparks coming out of the battery charger switches that is a major concern and fire hazzard. 21. The design is not at all correctly integrated in the distribution box. 22. Insurance does not cover the house in case of fire, the system is placing the people and the house at very high risk and because of the wrong installation. 23. The installer wanted to switch the system off at the main distribution board and switch the power over to Eskom but it was not approved due to the fact that no proof of competency could be presented. 24. In relation to the Consumer Protection Act he as the service provider remains responsible and accountable to inform the client correctly, of which he failed and in fact misled the client. 25. The installer had at no stage informed the client verbally or in writing what the system can do and cannot do but insisted upon payment accordingly. 26. The installer was requested to invite the suppliers of the components to come and verify whether the items are connected correctly in accordance with their requirements and whether the guarantees are valid. This did not happen. 27. The installer was informed that we will have to inform the suppliers of this installation and our concern that it was not done correctly and that no COC was issued. This did not happen. 28. The installer was further informed that he has not handed over the system to the client, because there is not COC or hand over certificate and that the guarantee period is moving out – The installer is responsible to extend the guarantees accordingly. This did not happen. 29. The installer was informed that the supplier and the other suppliers need to be informed about this installation and that he is suggesting that the supplier is responsible for the design, even if the installer is responsible in accordance with the contract. 30. The installer did not inform the supplier of the additional items added to the system, nor invited them to witness the system. 31. The installer did not ensure the issuing of a COC for ten months and the installer is placing the client, her family and the house at high risk. 32. The installer said he has insurance, but that he needs to increase it after the mediator informed him that it’s not nearly enough. 33. The installer was informed that in accordance with the regulation and OSH Act that any person who changes another person’s distribution board and electrical reticulation needs to issue a COC, confirming that the changes were done correctly – The installer was responsible for this and failed to do so. 34. The installer was informed that the batteries cannot be open and that there are no labels indicated on the cables. 35. The second electrician is as responsible for the wrong installation as the installer, as he brought another person who was the second electrician that inspected the system and made more changes to the system. 36. The second electrician also failed to mention any concerns to be corrected and also did not get the client to sign off any inspections. He also left uncovered holes and did 'n sloppy job. 37. The installer failed to register the client and obtain the necessary certification. 38. The installer failed to hand over the complete data packs to the client and kept them to himself. 39. The installer failed to train the client to operate the system. 40. The installer failed to inform the client how to maintain the system and whom to contact in case of any problems but still gave a 5 year guarantee on the PV system and 2 years on the batteries. 41. The installer failed to ensure that a handover of the system was signed by the client and therefore the system was never handed over and is still fully responsible for everything. 42. The supplier was never invited to visit the site after two separate installations with two inverters were made and after the installer received many complaints from the client.

I have a complete list of all the mistakes. Four independent experts compiled the list. Some were technical mistakes and others were regulations that were totally ignored.

Hi Noel, after ten months I need to report back to you. My solar system was not functional and after a nightmare experience that eventually became R157K, it was established that the installer made no less than 42 mistakes. The installer paid all my money back and removed the system last week. Biggest disappointment of my life.

I have no idea...

Hi Vulgrim, I think the installer bought it at Rubicon in Alberton.

Hi Helius, Thank you for the question. I can listen to my car radio when it is parked right next to the inverter without interference. I cannot listen to my hi-fi radio in the lounge though. Strange..?

Hi Carl, when we have bad weather or the batteries are not completely loaded, I "borrow" from Eskom and this always costs me R3 - R5/day. Chris Hobson on this site explained: "Bypass is enabled meaning that if overload occurs in battery mode the inverter will allow grid to bypass inverter. Page 19 program option 23 in the manual. May not be currently bypassing but the mode is enabled."

Jammer Ibugu, ek sien nou eers jou baie spesifieke vraag. Wat ons in ag moet neem is dat ons nie hier met 'n lini

Here is a catalogue for the batteries that I have had installed. http://www.rectifier.co.za/Catalogue/Batteries/Royal/Royal%20Batteries.pdf

Hi there, I have checked my Eskom Smart Meter portal for a few days now. The amount per day is still between R3 and R5. So, even when the '' BYPASS'' sign is on, I do not use Eskom power. Regarding your question about the batteries etc., here is a list of my goodies: 12 X 100AH Deep cycle batteries (I had 4 batteries, then 8 batteries and now 12 batteries) 12 X Yingli 250W 10A 48V DC solar panels Axpert MKS Plus 5K Inverter AC & DC boards etc.

Hi superdiy, Here's the thing: No Eskom power was used during the time that "BYPASS" was displayed.

Noel, have a look at an appropriate article that was written in Beeld newspaper on Saturday. You will see how I did it. It was written in Afrikaans. Please follow the link: http://www.netwerk24.com/stemme/2015-06-20-n-lewe-sonder-beurtkrag

Hi Noel, it was R100K in total and everything in my whole 450m2 house plus my irrigation system and borehole pump work on my system. No problem at all. I can really recommend the system. When we have bad weather, I "borrow" from Eskom and this costs me R3/day.

Hi and thank you. Thing is that Eskom did not supply the power while the "bypass" sign was on. I checked that on my Smart Meter account. I think Chris Hobson is correct. He says: "Bypass is enabled meaning that if overload occurs in battery mode the inverter will allow grid to bypass inverter. Page 19 program option 23 in the manual. May not be currently bypassing but the mode is enabled." Thanks again.