It’s a case of never taking your solar system for granted. This call-out to Salisbury East revealed the long-term effects of faulty installation using cheap components.

I’ve heard about cases like this in the news media but I’ve never seen anything like this up close. What did you discover? It was a large system with several isolators. They were all full of rainwater and one had actually caught on fire. Another problem was that all the wiring under the panels had sagged as cheap cable ties had degraded. Most of the wires were actually lying on the corrugated iron roof. On a hot day the metal there can easily get to 60C, enough to melt plastic insulation. We also found damage to the system’s inverter caused by the isolator burning out.

This all sounds pretty depressing. What was the solution? Our technician carefully worked through all the issues and the system is operating perfectly now. Detect issues early by comparing power bills year on year to check your system’s output. Also keep your original warranties on hand in case of problems.

What’s some repair costs? We tidy up a typical system’s panel cables from $215 and can supply and install a replacement isolator from $330.