solar panel/inverter servicing in northamptonshire

Heedtheadvice

There are no serviceable parts in inverters. It would just be a waste of money even if you wanted peace of mind. Get that from the posters comments on here!

Do you have central heating? If electric it can be a slight vibration of cables or  devices especially associated with or around the consumer unit ( fuse box ) when heaters or ovens demand high power. If pumped hot water ( gas or oil) central heating it might be a slightly noisy pump. Have that checked with routine servicing - which you should have annually.

Your window cleaner should be able to clean the panels with a long extending brush and hose, possibly from ground level. I do mine every couple of years and many people not even that as the rain does quite a good job. Again no serviceable parts and those selling solar servicing are just looking for easy money.

Save that money and keep yourself warm with it or treat yourself!!

Nick_Dr1

Check your fridge/freezer. This was the source of a mysterious humming noise in my house. Very difficult to localise. Thought it was coming from all kinds of places but when really close to the fridge, could hear it definitely!

Heedtheadvice

^^^ that's another good suggestion.

EricMears

dreaming said:

EricMears said:

Seems unlikely that a hum only audible at night is coming from the solar power system ?

Perhaps next time you rear the hum you could switch off the system (surely installer provided some sort of easily accessible isolation switch) and see if the noise stops and comes back on again when reconnected.  Or even isolate the system just after sunset and switch it back on just before sunrise (both ends of day are convenient n December but don't try that in June    .

Afraid anyone asked to investigate an intermittent noise might be very tempted to recommend all sorts of (expensive) 'cures' with no guarantee that any would actually help.

It isn't only at night - I heard it first thing this morning - but I think when the tv or radio is on, or I'm up and moving around, I don't notice it. Having said that, it does seem to be intermittent. The isolation switch is above the front door, which was easily accessible when it was first fitted. Then I had no problems shimmying up the stepladder to read the meter etc. but since then I have not only aged but been quite ill and now would not trust myself above the 1st step of the stepladder (I use an extendible selfie stick to take a picture of the meter reading). I am quite wary about just ringing a company "on spec" - I had enough of the crazy sales claims before I had the installation, which is why I went with the company I did. They were an established building firm local to me who had gone into the renewables market, but although the firm is still in operation as a building firm, they are no longer MCS registered. I admit I couldn't work out why any noise would be coming from the inverter when there is no generation taking place but then realised I had never had any servicing done, and some reports say inverters may only last a few years, so it's sort of a "well, let's get it checked out and see". To be honest I haven't really thought about it that much over the years - just banked the FIT payments, which as I said, seem to still be producing consistently.

Could you perhaps ask a neighbour, relative or friend to switch the isolator off after sunset one day then return and switch it on again next day - or indeed even several days later as you're not sacrificing much in the way of FIT payments at this time of day.

If you hear the hum with isolator off,  your solar panel system is absolved of all blame;  if you don't hear the hum whilst isolator is off but it comes back when system restored then you'll know it's worth getting the system checked out.

paul991

low  hum at night could be a lighting control box

nologo

New heating system next door, boiler or heat pump?  maybe.

dreaming

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond. I didn't realise there were no serviceable parts to an inverter. I just remember when I had the installation seeing someone say that inverters may need replacing after a few years, and my near neighbour had to have his inverter replaced even though he was a couple of years after me in installing solar.Just unlucky perhaps? Unfortunately most of my neighbours are at least my age if not older (and not many men!) - not people I could ask to climb a step-ladder. I have also checked pretty much everything I can think of - fridge. freezer, heating (which is serviced every year), extractor fans, tv, lighting (although I hear it both when lamps are on or off).  I've even checked my electricity consumption to see if I'm using more than usual in case there is something not switching off properly.I will ask the window cleaner to access the loft space just to check there is nothing untoward there, but as I said, the fact that it is intermittent makes it difficult. Never mind, I'm not actually losing sleep over it, and as long as my house isn't in imminent danger of bursting into flames I can live with it. I have my daughter and grandsons visiting in a week or two so will ask them if they can hear anything.