Solar Panels Not Working after Settlement

Swiper on 05/01/2020 - 09:28

Hi Everyone,

I purchased a new home in March last year and settled on the property in September. The house has 10 solar panels in which we have been trying to determine if they work. It is an older system with a small screen display that is weathered, so we could not see anything in the inverter indicating that are on and working.

We had been told by both Jemena and our electricity provider Energy Australia that they cannot tell us until we revive our first bill. It is a True Value Solar system and they have since ceased operations in Australia.

The bill has just arrived and unfortunately there nothing on there relating to solar rebates. I have checked a number of times to see if I turned them in properly and I have as it's fairly straight forward.

On another note, just before settlement the vendor advised the central heating had stopped working and they replaced the entire unit (as these should be reasonably expected to be working at handover). I see the solar panels system as being no different, particularly if it's not working and they were previously aware of this and failed to disclose.

My question now is, what recourse do I have to get these working from the vendor as the house was advertised and sold with solar panels? I have contacted my solicitor who is currently on holidays, but thought I'd also get some feedback from the very helpful Ozbargain Community.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Home & Garden Solar Energy System

Comments

    • devpress on 06/01/2020 - 12:11

      @knchris: are there any solar monitors you would recommend ?

  • Euphemistic on 06/01/2020 - 08:15

    Step 1: ask previous owner if there has been any trouble with the system. There may be a trip switch that needs resetting. They may be unaware it wasn’t working, the heating installation might have disconnected/killed the solar system
    Step 2: get electrician to test the system and diagnose faults.
    Step 3: check quote for repair of system.
    Step 4: weigh up the costs and benefits of repair vs new system.
    Step 5: just forget about chasing compensation.

  • Swiper on 06/01/2020 - 08:59

    Thanks everyone for your advice and feedback. I think as a starting point, I will wait on the response from the vendor as I've asked for instructions on how it operates. I'm very new to this, so I will try to get an understanding from them first and go from there.

    Next step would be to have a solar technician/electrician come out and diagnose what the problem may be then go from there in terms of repair or replacement. We plan to be in the house 5-7 years so will have to weigh up if it's even worth pursuing.

    Based on the responses here, looking must likely that I will have to wear the costs myself.

    Does anyone know of a reputable solar place in Melbourne that I could contact? Any good experiences with particular companies if I require a new system?

    Thanks again!

  • BigBirdy on 06/01/2020 - 09:20

    Firstly, pre-loved (not “new”) property purchases are buyer beware, but …
    My solar system died shortly after house purchase. A google search of the inverter brand (Samil) revealed a common fault, but it required the inverter be replaced. The search also revealed the inverter had a 5 year warranty, which it turned out it was just inside of. I contacted the manufacturer who advised I could pay a sparky to remove it, post it to them, and they would “assess it”. That sounded expensive and risky. I happened to speak to my neighbour, and turned out he bought the same system, then my previous owner copied him. He’d had the same fault, but ended up getting a different brand replacement inverter. He gave me the name of the original installer. Yours may simply have a sticker or such showing this. Installer no longer existed, but I found the company that bought them out, contacted them, and they arranged the removal and replacement, free of charge. They even gave me a copy of the original contract, invoice, warranty details, etc.
    So, check for common faults, warranty, original installer, and maybe you can get a warranty fix.

  • Swiper on 06/01/2020 - 09:45
    +1

    Just an update. I've contacted my supplier Energy Australia who have advised that my system has never actually been signed off and added to the National Database and has always had the default tariff (meaning no solar rebates have ever been claimed). I thought this was very odd, but they said it's actually more common than you would believe!

    I now need to engage a solar technician or an electrician for a Certificate of Compliance and Certificate of Electrical Safety (EWR) and have my meter reconfigured as it's currently not compatible with solar.

    They will then forward all this to Energy Australia and who will sort this out with Jemena as well. Any suggestions on who to go with to do this?

    • netjock on 06/01/2020 - 11:06

      If that is the case. Someone else might say something else but might be more trouble than it is worth.

      Depending on which state you live in check if there is rebates. In Victoria you could get a 6kw system for $2k (which can be paid interest free over 4 years). Your 10 panels is probably 275W each which is 3Kw at most.

      I'd look at a new system and giving the old system away for free / nominal amount.

    • gazzathegreat on 06/01/2020 - 19:13

      google for a solar electrician for your capital city, ring them, explain your problem and you will have some idea of the cost. No one here seems to know whats going on, just the usual keyboard know it all's

    • brad1-8tsi on 07/01/2020 - 08:42

      my system has never actually been signed off and added to the National Database and has always had the default tariff (meaning no solar rebates have ever been claimed). I thought this was very odd, but they said it's actually more common than you would believe!

      This correlates with the number of people that claim to have had solar installed and it has made no difference to their electricity bills.

  • dimitryp on 06/01/2020 - 09:58

    There's a relatively cheap way (which doesnt involve calling an electrician) to check if your inverter is sending any power to the grid - get an energy monitoring clamp device. Clamps onto wires in your meter box.
    I use this one from Efergy and its pretty great. Dont need a sparky to install, but only if you're fairly comfortable opening up the back of your meter box.
    https://reductionrevolution.com.au/products/efergy-elite-cla…

    From $120 for single phase, or more for more clamps/phases.

    This will show you if there's any electricity flowing from your inverter, regardless of whether your electricity provider is receiving/paying for said produced electricity.

    • Euphemistic on 06/01/2020 - 13:26

      Or you could spend that $120 hour n a sparky and probably have any faults rectified or diagnosed up front. The meter will tell you it’s working or not, not what is wrong. It might cost a little more for the sparky depending on what they find though.

    • akyeeeahdude on 07/01/2020 - 10:08

      Good device but I think you'll find that legally, only an electrician can install that device. An alternative is installing a monitor that analyses the flicker rate of the LED on the metre (assuming that it is a newer metre which has this LED) and can determine the electricity usage rate based on this. Those devices don't need an electrician to install.

  • RocketSwitch on 06/01/2020 - 11:06
    +2

    This sounds like me.

    Do not make the same mistake I did.

    Is there a feed-in meter at the property, Jemena and the electricity provider was able to tell me this.

    What happened to me was the previous owners never followed through with the solar request.

    I later found out because they needed to upgrade my electricity board as it was not safe so they didn't install the meter.

    However, the electrician I got said the solar panels are working, but not feeding in for a rebate.

    True Value Solar at the time had no idea, literally fraudsters so be glad they're gone!

    What my recommendation for you is this:
    1. Call Jemena and ask them if there ever was a solar request at your property or if your meter has been configured for solar? If not, it begs the question, why they didn't follow through. Looks like the electrician found an issue and was too expensive to fix.

    Once you find the answer above you can:
    If YES, a solar request was done and configured, you will need a electrician to find out why it's not working

    If NO, you can:
    A) Get a electrician to do the necessarily documents and check your system and meter, submit to Jemena and if you need a truck appointment, they will tell you. This costs $465 and WILL require your electrician to be present. If your meter is safe and need it to be configured, the electrician does this bit too. If the electrician says he doesn't need to be there and Jemena couldn't do their job, you WILL be charged $465 regardless! I took Jemena to the Energy Ombudsmen for a year and didn't pay a cent, thanks to my electricity provider.

    B) OTHERWISE, cut your losses! If you intend to be there for a short time, just don't worry about it. However, if money isn't an issue, get a proper electrician and follow his advise and/or contact a reputable solar company and let them start again for you.

    DO NOT STUFF AROUND WITH JEMENA! They will charge you for every truck appointment, be careful here! Do it right first time, slow and steady.

    I too wanted to see if the vendor had any responsibility, but it's pretty hard to find out if the solar is connected to your property. In the end, I didn't bother, it was too much of a hassle. All they said was it had solar panels, whether or not they're in working condition or feeding in, not their problem. They can get you on the wording.

    • Swiper on 06/01/2020 - 12:10

      This is great advice and I will follow through will this. Thank you so much

  • voiletmay on 06/01/2020 - 12:11

    This happened to my friend (also in Victoria) and she just got a solar service guy out to fix it. Wasn't as issue.

  • UltimateAI on 06/01/2020 - 14:21
    +1

    Just replace the solar system, wouldn't waste money getting it inspected.
    That Solar Power Nation mob had systems from 6.6kw systems from $2.3k. For a small fee, they removed my old system without hassle.
    I have had mine for almost 2 billing cycles and it's going much better than I expected.

  • tasty-falafel on 07/01/2020 - 12:34

    So what is the advice for home buyers who can't properly verify whether something like solar is working until after they have received the keys?

    Get a stat dec from the seller advising that it is in working order?

    • lgacb08 on 07/01/2020 - 19:23
      +1

      Quite a few way to check, quick is visiting the property on a sunny day and have a glance at the inverter screen to see if it show anything. But this depends if you can spot the location of the inverter, or if the screen can be easily read. Fronius is very easy to spot, but most other brand very difficult.
      Or more detailed way is visiting the property twice and take note the reading in the meterbox. Most meter nowadays are digital and will have dedicated readings for import and export. But this is quite intrusive method.

    • GourmetFoodie on 07/01/2020 - 20:09
      +1

      Ask for copy of most recent power bill to see solar rebate.

  • imcold on 07/01/2020 - 17:31

    The fact it was installed by a likely phoneix company says a lot about the installation. These companies install shoddy solar panels that will only last a few years, then declare bankruptcy to avoid warranty claims, then they reopen up as a new company with no prior warranty commitments. You should have bid on the property as though the solar system was not working.

  • GourmetFoodie on 07/01/2020 - 20:05

    Unfortunately this issue has comes up multiple times in the forum. I know people that have bought houses only to find out oven is broken, dishwasher is broken etc etc. You have no recourse unless it was written into the contract of sale.

    I learned this the hard way myself on a much more minor issue though (owners left a load of rubbish behind and next time I'd specify in the contact that the house and grounds must be cleared).

    On the upside, you are lucky they fixed the heating! That would have been expensive to fix. Also the solar system sounds old and with only ten panels you wouldn't be getting much return anyways. Don't be too hard on yourself….live and learn.

  • bodymovin on 08/01/2020 - 07:37

    You should probably just contact your energy company and ask them about this. With the the time you wasted posting this you could already have had an answer by now. Worst case the system doesn’t work at all you could either then call another company and have them repair / replace the system. Either way you have already been through settlement there is no recourse for you to have the previous home owner repair the system. Best case it’s just a metering issue anywhoo I’ve gotta cleanse my bowels now so excuse me.

  • systmworks on 14/01/2020 - 14:41

    Forget the old tiny system - its not worth wasting $1 on (especially given who installed it).
    Even if it was working, it would only generate a few hundred dollars a year in savings.

    For under $3K you can have a system that is 4 to 7 times larger, that will pay for itself in less than 2 years (probably less than 1.5 yrs), and get brand new warranties.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join