Showing Your Solar Power System Some Love With Servicing

Energy Safe Victoria recently launched a campaign encouraging solar owners to ensure their systems are regularly serviced. In essence, it’s an important message the millions of system owners across Australia should heed.

Solar power systems quietly go about their business of saving households money on their electricity bills and it can be easy to forget they are there. While solar done right requires very little maintenance, professional inspection/servicing is required from time to time in order to ensure a system remains safe and performing as it should given the often harsh environment in which it operates day in, day out year after year.

It’s an important task that’s also easy to forget, particularly with all that’s been going on these past few years. Energy Safe Victoria has provided a reminder with its “Show Your Solar Some Love” campaign.

The campaign web page notes one of biggest potential risks with a poorly maintained system involves faulty DC isolators, which ironically were made mandatory in Australia as a safety mechanism.

“This is the most common cause of fire from a solar installation. Improvements have been made in their design reducing the safety risk since 2018. The best way to identify faults and avoid house fires is regular servicing, especially for those systems installed before 2018.”

Long-despised by most installers, rooftop DC isolators are thankfully no longer mandatory for new installations assuming certain conditions are met. The requirement was dropped late last year.

System Inspection Frequency

Energy Safe Victoria’s campaign recommends a professional service be carried out every 2 years. SolarQuotes founder Finn recommends every 5 years in a circumstance where a good quality installation has been performed. But we’ve quipped in the past that some installations are so shonky, an electrician on retainer and firies camped in the front yard may be more appropriate – it can be one of the high costs of cheap solar systems.

In some states/territories including South Australia, the ACT and Victoria, system testing is required every five years by your DNSP (Distributed Network Service Provider).

Just the same as buying a second-hand car, it’s also a good idea to have a system inspection performed if you’ve bought a home with solar panels already installed; particularly when the service history isn’t clear or non-existent.

Getting A Solar System Serviced/Inspected

Usually, the original system installer will be able to perform a service, but if your installer is no longer operating or you wish to use another company for whatever reason, SolarQuotes can connect you to solar repairs and maintenance services provided by pre-vetted and appropriately accredited solar professionals.

Energy Safe Victoria also warns to be on the lookout for what it refers to as “rogue operators”, stating:

“There are a number of companies operating in Victoria that claim to service solar panels, but they are nothing more than a panel cleaning service.”

… and assuming panels are tilted more than 10 degrees from horizontal – most home rooftops in Australia would be – they should self-clean with rain anyway.