Print and online newsletter for Solar Fix Network. Copywriting, editing and design by Mark Angus for Cadogan and Hall in Adelaide

1. Solar Panel
Maintenance
Services
www.solarfixnetwork.com.au

2. Solar Panel
Maintenance
Home solar energy systems
require relatively little
maintenance. however,
this doesn't mean that they
don't benefit from regular
inspection

3. In order to ensure a safe and efficient
operating system that is effectively
producing energy for your home
and feeding it back to the grid, it’s
important to have a regular and
thorough maintenance programme for
your solar panels.
At Solar Fix Network, we
offer Adelaide homeowners a
comprehensive solar panel inspection,
maintenance and cleaning service
that ensures your home solar system
is working to capacity so that you are
able to enjoy the full benefits of your
investment.
Our trained and skilled staff are
also qualified and licensed to carry
out mandatory SA Power Networks
compliance inspections.
We can meet all of your solar panel
maintenance, servicing and repair
needs wherever you are in Adelaide
and throughout South Australia.
Call us on (08) 8185 1552 or
info@solarfixnetwork.com.au
www.solarfixnetwork.com.au

4. Check your
system regularly
In order to ensure that
your system is working
at full capacity, there are
several checks that you can
carry out that will tell you
how well your system is
performing

5. If you carry out these checks on a
regular basis, you won't have to wait
until your energy bill arrives to find out
that your home solar energy system
is not operating at full capacity.
Check your solar inverter
On a two-weekly basis you should
check your inverter display, ideally
in daylight conditions late in the
day—in South Australia the best time
is between 4.00pm - 5.00pm. If it’s
dark when you make this check, or
there is very limited sun, your inverter
display will be blank, but this doesn’t
necessarily indicate a fault. Therefore,
any checks of your solar inverter
should ideally be made when there is
a reasonable amount of sunlight, and
little or no cloud or haze.
Check the following:
• there are no error messages
being displayed
• if possible, check the Peak Power
display. This is often shown as Ppeak.
This will be measured in watts (W) or
kilowatts (kW)
• the energy produced today. This
is usually shown as Eday or Etoday.
This is measured in kilowatt hours
(kWh)
If you are not familiar with the
displays on your system, the
manufacturer’s manual will explain
where these can be found. If you
don’t have a copy of the manual, you
should be able to download one.
Check your system’s
efficiency
All home pv solar energy systems
should come with documents from
your solar retailer or system designer
that will detail your expected energy
yield. As a first step to checking the
efficiency of your system, compare
the results that are displayed on your
solar inverter with those that your
designer has supplied.
Keep a record of the readings that
you take, including information such
as the time and date, and what the
weather conditions were like (e.g.,
cloudy, clear, sunny, etc.) This will
then be a useful reference point for
you to be able to measure changes
or fluctuations in your system’s
performance.
If your solar inverter is
underperforming
If you aren’t getting the output from
your system that was predicted, or
you notice a drop in performance,
then it’s important that you have
your system inspected as soon as
possible. We offer a comprehensive
home solar inspection service
for homeowners in Adelaide and
throughout South Australia, and our
expert team can advise you on the
steps that need to be taken to ensure
that you’re getting full value from your
home solar system.

6. Why regular
maintenance is
important
Your home solar system has
vital components that need to
be functuoning properly to
get the full benefit from your
system

7. Your DC isolator is a central part of
your system’s operating efficiency
and safety and it needs to conform
to Australian Standard AS5033
with regards to its construction and
installation.
There were a number of incidents
in northern Australia in early 2014
where faulty imported DC isolators
were believed to have overheated,
or moisture entered the switch’s
enclosure, and this caused sparks
and overheating. In a significant
number of cases this then led to
solar panels catching on fire. As a
result, the DC isolators that were at
fault—the Avanco DC isolator and the
PV Power isolator—have now been
recalled and withdrawn from sale.
However, even if your DC isolator is
not one of these two models, these
accidents nevertheless highlight the
fact that high-quality components
are essential to a safe and efficient
system. They also demonstrate all
too clearly the importance of having
regular solar panel inspection and
maintenance checks.
Homeowners should check the
documentation that was provided
by their solar installer in order to
check the brand of DC isolator that
has been used, as well as ensuring
that the component that has been
installed is the same as that in the
documentation.
How will inspection help?
• we confirm that your DC isolator
has been made by a reputable
manufacturer whose products
are known to be of an acceptable
standard
• we check the integrity and
operation of rooftop and wall DC
isolators and the AC solar main
switch, and ensure that your system
is correctly labelled
• we check that your DC isolator is
not at risk of overheating
• we review and assess the wiring
associated with your DC isolator,
to ensure that it is delivering the
appropriate safe operating conditions
DC Isolator

8. The solar inverter enables the DC
current that is generated by your solar
panels to feed into your home so that
it can then be used by household
appliances. It is also the means whereby
the excess energy you produce can be
fed back into the grid, enabling you to
capitalise on any feed-in tariff you may
have.
In order to get the most out of your
system, your solar inverter needs
to function efficiently. Unfortunately,
too many homeowners have been
persuaded to install cheaper, low-quality
inverters with the aim of reducing initial
set-up costs. However, this is ultimately
a false economy as a cheap inverter is
more likely to fail or work below optimum
capacity, meaning that you are drawing
more power than you need to from the
grid and not benefitting from your feed-in
tariff.
This is why it is so important to check
your inverter on a regular basis, and if it
is underperforming, or you notice a drop
off in output, that you have an inspection
and maintenance checks. At Solar Fix
Network, we offer a full range of solar
inspection and maintenance services,
and our skilled and trained staff can
inspect and test your solar inverter to
ensure that it’s working to full capacity
and that you’re getting the full benefits of
your system.
Solar Inverter
Solar Panel Cleaning
If your solar panels aren’t clean—
whether due to rain, pollution, bird
droppings or other deposits—sunlight
is unable to reach the solar cells and
they therefore absorb less energy. In
turn, this means that your system is
producing less energy and so is costing
you money. It’s crucial, therefore, that
your solar panels are as clean as
possible.
We offer a comprehensive solar cleaning
service, using eco-friendly materials
and technology, that is designed to keep
your solar panels clean and working at
their best.
Using purified water that contains no
harmful chemicals or detergents, your
rainwater collection and supply will
not be affected, while rubber seals
and glass panels are not damaged by
the use of chemicals. Throughout the
cleaning process, we use minimal water
and so cleaning is completed in a safe,
environmentally sound manner.
Our cleaning utilises gentle,
environmentally-friendly telescopic
reach-and-wash cleaning poles and
brushes, ensuring that there are no
spots, harmful residues or chemicals
left behind, while our use of scratch-free
cleaning technology means the glass on
your panels remains as good as new.

9. About Us
Solar Fix Network is a group of independent Adelaide
businesses that have come together to pool their expertise,
knowledge and abilities to deliver high quality monitoring,
maintenance, analysis, inspection, cleaning and repair services
for residential and commercial PV solar installations.
We specialise in providing a full range of cleaning and
maintenance services and our staff are qualified and licensed
to carry out mandatory SA Power Networks compliance
inspections. We can meet your solar panel maintenance,
servicing and repair needs wherever you are in Adelaide or
South Australia.
Call us on (08) 8185 1552
admin@solarfixnetwork.com.au
www.solarfixnetwork.com.au