In Brisbane the take up of Solar has been unbelievable. And why not, we are the Sunshine State after all. Estimates of solar installations in the Greater Brisbane area range from 600,000 to 700,000. That’s a lot of solar panels and equally that’s a lot of solar inverters.
Some of these solar systems may be 15 years old and some may be brand new. The older systems are more likely to be faulty over time but every owner of a solar system needs to keep an eye on their asset. If for any reason your inverter fails it’s going to cost you.
If you live in Brisbane and you have a faulty solar inverter then we can help…………
How do you know if you have a faulty inverter?
If it’s a relatively new inverter (less than 3 years old) then the chances are you will have a wi-fi enabled connection to the inverter and so you will be able to actively monitor the production from your solar system. The data that your inverter provides for you is a sure way of knowing what’s happening with your solar system and will clearly identify if there is a fault.
If your inverter is a bit older and doesn’t have an app enabled data management function then it’s a manual process. You should be checking your inverter regularly, at least once a month and take a quick production reading from it. If there is a problem the solar inverter will almost always show a fault code.
For more information about Fault Codes, visit our website where you will find a list of the various solar inverter brands.
The last line of defense is your electricity bill. If you have had solar for a while then we hope you have been watching and measuring the benefits on your quarterly electricity bill. If your inverter ever failed and showed fault that disabled your solar production then your bill will go up and that should send red flag for you to get it checked out.
What to do if you find out your inverter has a fault?
If your inverter is over 5 years old then the chances are high that it is out of warranty. Chances are also high that the company you bought it from is no longer around. In today’s world of swapping out the old for the new, that is your only real option. But its not always simple. You need to have the right inverter and it needs to be replaced by a licensed electrician/solar technician.
If your inverter is still in warranty then you will need to work directly with the original solar installer and the inverter manufacturer. This can sometimes be a bit challenging but you need to persevere. If you are one of our customers then we are always happy to facilitate warranty claims for you.
The good news is that most modern inverters come with longer warranties (up to 10 years) and are wi-fi enabled. You don’t need to replace your faulty inverter with the same brand but you need to have the right inverter to fit with your system and its original installation. Not often but sometimes it can get technical so you need the right advice as well as the right inverter to replace it with.
Not many solar companies will provide a replacement solar inverter service. They just want you to buy a brand-new system and be done with it. But at Goodhew Solar we certainly do. You don’t even have to be one of our customers. We are always happy to provide the right advice with the right solution to get your solar system back up and running and saving you money. So if you are in any doubt about whether or not your solar inverter has a fault then please give us a call today.