Solar panel aftercare

nd2650

hi all

I’d like to get everyone’s thoughts on this matter.

back in mid 2023 I had nine solar panels installed. I reputable and they fitted components from one of the leading solar suppliers at the time. No one really ever showed me how the app worked or how the system works.

I felt my electric bill had reduced but not quite as much as I expected.

I have previously changed Wifi providers and have connected the inverter to this previously. I forgot to do this in the last 12 months with latest wifi provider. However, on Friday.16/10 I did connect my Wi-Fi to the inverter. I was dismayed to see zero production of electric from My solar panel panels.

I contacted the installing company who in turn contacted the supplier.

got back to me and said the supplier believes the optomisers (that are fitted individually to each panel) had failed(I had one on each panel so if 1 failed you would still get electric) and that the supplier would supply free replacements. However, installer said for them to come out and look at solar panels confirm that they are optimisers that are faulty they would require £1500 for Scaffold and labour.

they say that as it falls outside of the years since installation required to pay.

I have since spoke to the supplier who seemed to think that the first time Wifi has ever was on 27/09/26 (this I know is totally incorrect).

I paid over £12,000 for the solar panels and worked out how much it should save me over the years. If I start adding £1500 and potentially again in a couple of years time if it happens then the solar panels or economically not worth it.

I feel completely disheartened and believe the supplier should also have to pay for fitting.

Their warranty does not exclude labour. It just states free replacement of parts.

Can anyone help me with me some advice?

many thanks

Vitor

Before spending £1,500 on scaffolding and labour, I'd want considerably more evidence that the optimisers are actually faulty.

All nine optimisers failing independently seems rather unlikely. Have you checked whether the inverter itself is reporting generation, rather than relying solely on the app? A monitoring or communications fault could explain the zero readings without the panels having stopped producing electricity.

nd2650

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82176307#Comment_82176307

thanks for your input I’ll have a look at how to do this and investigate tomorrow.

If this is an issue that they know occurs then I am concerned also that it will reoccur.

QrizB

We generally discuss solar panels on the Green and Ethical sub-forum, but I can understand why you've posted in this section.

back in mid 2023 I had nine solar panels installed.

As part of your installation, your installers should have fitted a generation meter. This is a separate electricity meter that records how much electricity your panels have generated.

Do you know where this meter is? Have you been reading it regularly? What does it read today?

they fitted components from one of the leading solar suppliers at the time.

What suppliers, specifically? It's likely that someone here is familiar with the equipment and how to get the best out of it.

And what is the name of your installer?

I was dismayed to see zero production of electric from My solar panel panels.

Depending on exactly when on Friday, it's quite possible that the output was zero at that time. It's also possible that (if the sun was shining on the panels) there was output and the app was wrong.

got back to me and said the supplier believes the optomisers (that are fitted individually to each panel) had failed

I agree with Vitor that simultaneous failure of nine optimisers is extremely unlikely. There are many more likely causes, if indeed there is anything wrong.

they say that as it falls outside of the years since installation required to pay.

Most reputable suppliers give a parts and labour warranty of at least five years, potentially ten or more. This is not a good sign of your installer's competence or good faith.

I paid over £12,000 for the solar panels and worked out how much it should save me over the years

You paid twelve thousand pounds in 2023 for nine panels? Did it include a large storage battery and other add-ons? I ask because I had nine panels installed on a property in 2022, and it cost a little over £3k. £12k suggests either an unusually complex system or a hugely inflated cost.

Paging @Martyn1981 and @Screwdriva and @Solarchaser who might also have thoughts.

Aylesbury_Duck

Don't spend anything yet. Everything is very vague and there might not even be a problem. You spent £12,000 on solar panels, you only "feel" your bills have reduced slightly and it's taken over three years for you to check if they're actually generating electricity. Forget the money side of things, what's happened to your grid electricity consumption since they were fitted, in kWh per month, for example? Do you have any records to show what your consumption was prior to the installation, and assuming your lifestyle is similar, what's the current "run rate" of consumption? That should tell you whether or not some or all of them are functioning.

nd2650

Hi all

thanks for inputting into this.

The supplying company are solar edge - the inverter and the optimisers for sure.

The installing company are green gen.

I’ll have a look at the meter today and see what it says.

The system does have battery storage. At the time from the initial quote, to contemplating to getting a new quote and ordering the price went up by a fair bit and it coincided with financial spkes in everything at the time.

I am sure my annual bill went from 7500kw - to 5400 - roughly - I was expecting more than that - but obviously weather etc also impacts that:

Vitor

OP should work through Solar Edge's guide - Troubleshooting: the replies to the most common questions

Keep_pedalling

Sorry to go off tangent somewhat, but it also sounds like you have not set up an export tariff with anyone otherwise you would have seen that you were not exporting anything either through you suppliers app or you would have noticed that your SEG payments would no longer appear on your bill. If this is the case then you need to get that sorted because SEG payments provide a significant saving to your overall energy costs.

Who is your current electricity supplier?

Screwdriva

I have helped 200+ homeowners with SolarEdge systems (pro bono) and own one myself. A few suggestions I have:

- SolarEdge pays a reduced rate for replacement of components (within warranty), including towards the cost of roof access, per a rate card installers are given. It's not what installers expect to be paid for their time and many will moan about it but it is not insignificant. Remind them of this.

- The balance should be covered by your workmanship warranty. Do you know the duration?

- The SolarEdge app should show you each panel's generation in 2nd tab. This will allow you to identify how the entire string(s) have performed this month, as an example. Panel level performance by day/ week/ month / year and lifetime is probably one of the greatest strengths of SolarEdge/ Enphase systems.

- Your system is under warranty for 12 years (inverter) and 25 years (optimizers) by default.

- If the installer does not agree to resolve the issue at their cost, threaten Section 75 action and immediately share your thoughts on Trustpilot and Google with images of their correspondence as evidence. While this may seem aggressive, it can put pressure on them to address your legitimate concerns.

As a note to anyone else reading this, SolarEdge is an excellent solution and the company is one of the few that does honour warranty claims (Fronius, Enphase and Tesla being some of the others I recommend). That said, selecting an installer who offers a 10 year workmanship warranty and the extended warranty on the inverter are essential for long term peace of mind. Always pay with a credit card, even if it is just the deposit.

Hope this helps!

nd2650

that’s all really helpful thanks

I am off work tomorrow so will liaise with Green gen then. They say their workmanship warranty is only 2 years but this I have not seen anywhere on any documents.

My generation meter shows 8698.61- don’t has obviously been producing at some stage.

I am with octopus and did set up an export tariff and I have contacted them and they a re going to go through it all with me - hopefully tomorrow as I am about.

QrizB

My generation meter shows 8698.61- don’t has obviously been producing at some stage.

That's a fairly good sign.

In 2023 most installers were fitting panels of about 350W each, so nine panels is around 3kW total. Generating ~8700kWh from 3kW of panels over three years is about what I'd expect. (Do you know the total capacity of your system? Is it around 3kW?)

So if you do have a fault, it's a recent one. But there might not be anything wrong.

Around here tomorrow and Saturday are forecast to be cloudy and terrible for solar, but Sunday will be sunny. Is your forecast similar?

If so, checking the generation meter again on Sunday evening should show an increase.