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Solar Repairs & Maintenance

Call the Solar Doctor today! 47793379 

If your solar system is more than 5 years old, then you need to book an inspection.

Over the last 10 years the solar industry has had numerous issues of faulty panels, dodgy Inverters and fires in rooftop dc isolators. These have resulted in reduced output and severe safety issues.

By having an expert solar technician inspection your solar system you can ensure its safe and performing as expected.

Increasingly, new home owners are purchasing homes with existing solar systems that are not performing or are unsafe. Only once taking possession of the home are they realising the solar system is in fact a lemon, and requires replacing. To prevent this happening to you, get your solar system inspected.

Burnt out rooftop Isolator most likely caused by ingress of water or loose connection.

Faulty or loose wiring causing hot joint and spreads to solar panels.

Solar panels hot spot cause excessive heat and burn outs.

We have 3 types of Solar Inspections available.

1. The Bronze Inspection is perfect for if your solar system has shut down or has stopped producing. Use this if you have an Error code or the inverter has a red light.

2. The Silver Inspection is the 'Basic Solar Safety Inspection'. This is a computer generated professional report that provides additional detail and is designed for yearly inspections to ensure your system is safe and performing as expected. It is also used for Pre Purchase inspections if buying a home. This will prevent buying a lemon and also give you leverage if the system requires replacement.

3. The Gold Inspection is a detailed Safety and Performance inspection and should be used for Pre Purchase house inspections, or if you believe the system is underperforming or has a safety concern. 

Bronze

Fault Inspection/Error Codes/System Shutdowns

$99

  • Includes same day professional Inspection Report
  • Inspect Solar panels- determine if panels are in working order or requiring replacing.
  • Inspect Inverter- check operation state, condition, mounting location, alarms, faults and production
  • Followup- Provide quote for repairs, maintenance or replacement. Rebates available.

Silver

Basic Solar Safety Inspection

(Most Popular)

$199

  • Comprehensive report and professional data capturing tool
  • Same day results of inspection report emailed
  • Inspect Solar panels- looking for imperfections, dirt, corrosion, bird and bat droppings
  • Inspect Inverter- check operation state, condition, mounting location, alarms, faults and production
  • Inspect rooftop cabling- making sure cable is not laying on roof and is supported
  • Check if system is performing as expected
  • Check condition of rooftop dc isolation devices- check for water ingress and deterioration of enclosures
  • Inspect configuration and setup- check that system is setup correctly according to solar panel layout.
  • Inspect panel supports, rails and racking- making sure panels are securely attached to the rails and that the rails are secure to the roof.
  • Check shading- looking for any obstruction, like trees, pipes and antennas
  • Check Inverter DC and AC isolation devices- looking for water ingress, and deterioration
  • Following up of results, quotes and actions required
  • Add a panel clean - Only $8 per panel

Gold

Detailed Safety and Performance Inspection

$399

  • Includes Bronze - Basic Solar Safety Inspection
  • Detailed Safety inspection with professional reporting
  • Insulation resistance testing -Looks for deterioration of solar panels, cabling and equipment
  • Free Bypassing or disconnection of faulty panels
  • Free Minor rectification works- if we discover something that we can fix quickly or make safe, we do it.
  • Voltage leakage testing- identifies low resistance panels
  • Earth testing of Inverter- ensure inverter has been earthed
  • Check size and rating of AC and DC cabling- determines if cable is sized currently.
  • Detailed performance inspection- checking output against other similar systems
  • Solar optimization – checking if Hot water system and pool are configured for solar usage
  • Multiple MPPT level checks- checking separate strings and orientations
  • DC Voltage and current checks- confirm that voltage and current is withing range
  • Meterbox safety check- check for safety switches, loose wiring, rodent damage, water ingress
  • Energy bill analysis- checking power bill for energy usage and solar export
  • Includes cleaning of panels (Up to 22 panels)

To book an Inspection you can either:

  • Call 07 4779 7798
  • Email your enquiry to [email protected]
  • Submit your enquiry on the Form and check the box ' Repairs and Maintenance'

Let us know which type of inspection you would like and we can book a day and time to get the job done.

Payments can be process over the phone or via direct debit.

Things we do
  • Faulty Inverter replacements
  • Inverter warranty processing
  • Thermal Drone Solar Inspections
  • Solar panels replacements
  • Solar panel upgrades
  • Solar panel warranty processing
  • Solar system replacements
  • Rooftop Isolator replacements
  • Performance audits
  • Safety inspections
  • Diagnostics of solar systems
  • Bird Proofing solar panels
  • Solar Panel cleaning

Your first point of call should be to the person or company who installed your solar system, if they are not around or are unable to provide you with a suitable solution, then True North Solar can help.

A lot of these issues have forced many solar companies to close their doors, leaving home owners with no one to turn to in getting these issues resolved.

At True North Solar we have many thousands of solar systems installed in Townsville and throughout North Qld . We continue to look after these customers and provide warranty and maintenance solutions. If you can’t track down who installed your solar system and are having issues, call True North Solar, we can help you.

Try to keep an eye on your inverter to ensure its output is as expected. Once a week or once a month is fine. Although the output varies throughout the year and weather conditions you should expect 4kwh per kw installed. Meaning if you have 5kw of solar panels capacity (20 x 250W) then you would expect 20kwh per day. If you are continually falling below this, then you could have an issue.

Here are some things you can do yourself
  1.  Look to see if your inverter is working. Can you see a solid green light. Ensure the ‘Solar Main switch’ is in the on position.
  2. Does the Inverter have any alarms. These alarms may appear intermittently on the screen of your inverter.
  3. Are there any strange sounds coming from your inverter. Sometimes a faulty inverter can make some ticking noise.
  4.  Do you have any shading issues, trees and shrubs can grow quickly and introduce shade onto the panels, this will severely limit the output
  5. We don’t recommend cleaning panels yourself, there have been a number of electrocutions resulting from homeowners cleaning panels and then falling of the roof- get a licensed professional to do it. Never use high pressure! This can damage the panels.
What else we do
  1. Check for any recalled components inc Inverters, solar panels and batteries.
  2. Inspect your solar panels for hot spots, water ingress and discolouration.
  3. Ensure isolation switches all function properly.
  4. We can follow up on any warranties they may be available
  5. Quote to replace solar panels, inverters, and bird proofing.
Call the Solar Doctor today for your full health check.

The Solar Doctor can check your investment is safe and is generating what it should be. By analysing your solar system and checking its safety and performance can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over its life. Call the Solar Doctor today to help you get the most out of your solar system.

Full money back Guarantee - If we are not able to identify the problem or fix the problem, increase the performance or make the system safer then when we first arrived, you get your money back. Nothing to lose.

Call the Solar Doctor today on 4779 7798 to book in your solar health check.

What do I need to do with my solar panels if there is a Cyclone?

Nothing. If your system is in good working order and installed correctly there is a low chance of problems occurring unless you have major structural damage to your property.

The system will in most cases shutdown or not work in the event of damage. Even if the system is shutdown or turned off there is still voltage present. With this in mind, if you notice any damage, loose wires or panels, do not attempt to fix yourself, call a professional.

If you feel more comfortable shutting the system down, please follow the shutdown procedure for your system, which is usually:

1. Turn off Solar Supply Main Switch located in the Meterbox or Inverter AC Isolator located beside Inverter.

2. Turn off PV DC Isolator

3. Do not disconnect any DC cables

Ergon severe weather recommendations including generator safety:

https://www.ergon.com.au/network/outages/storms-and-disasters/keeping-safe-in-severe-weather

Once the cyclone has past, and power is present, check your system that it is working and producing power. Usually a green light on the inverter is a good indicator of a healthy system. If something is not quite right or for peace of mind you want a post cyclone solar inspection, please give us a call or submit an enquire via our form and ask for a Post Cyclone Solar Inspection, usually $199, but for a limited time will be $99. 

Faulty MC4 connections can short out and damage Inverter

Loose connection cause burning.

Delaminating of solar panels.