Engineering Solar Systems

Some noises have started to arise that unannounced inspections of rooftop solar panel installations need to be conducted to counteract heightened work health and safety risks as demand soars.

With the surge in demand and the appearance of fly-by-night installers, this may have some merits.

Businesses that sell, design, and install solar systems have a duty to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe.

Those thinking of “becoming energy independent” may be tempted to settle for affordable solutions and installers, without verifying credentials, which may prove a very expensive decision.

The installation and management of solar PV systems is a complex and highly skilled undertaking, installed on top of your most expensive asset. It is therefore important to ensure that the electrician can provide you with a CoC, which confirms that they complied with the rules and regulations in place to ensure safe installation.

Scientifically Based Designs and Calculations

What is even more important is that the design of a Solar Energy Systems are not as simple as calculating the roof space, dividing that space by the area of Photovoltaic (PV) Modules, assuming it would produce 100% – or even a certain percentage – for the entire day and then base the rating of the system on that.

Power Quality Monitor

Under normal circumstances, we install a Power Quality Monitor to record the power consumption over a specified period – read more on why this is important. Based on the results I obtained with this instrument, we then know what the peak demand for that period is and whether there are other important aspects that must be considered, which could ultimately affect the performance of the Solar Energy – or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) – systems, and in particular the Inverters.