solar panel fix near Houston
September 13, 2024 3:31 PM
Hello Hive!
Does anyone have a good recommendation for an electrician near/south of Houston to take a look at why our solar panels are not generating?
long story: the company who we purchased the panels through is out of business and so our warranty is worthless. When Hurricane Beryl came through, we lost power for days and the panels have not done anything since then. Another fly-by-night company came and offered "a fix" which basically required us to default on the loan for the panels, but their "credit repair" team would fix it.
As we actually have pretty decent credit, my partner and I were in no way wanting to do that, and when I pushed them on putting any of their promises in writing... well, guess who I never heard from again.
Hence, asking AskMe instead of just calling a random electrician. I hope to hear of a trustworthy company who is experienced specifically with solar to address our issue.
As always, thanks for any assistance.
long story: the company who we purchased the panels through is out of business and so our warranty is worthless. When Hurricane Beryl came through, we lost power for days and the panels have not done anything since then. Another fly-by-night company came and offered "a fix" which basically required us to default on the loan for the panels, but their "credit repair" team would fix it.
As we actually have pretty decent credit, my partner and I were in no way wanting to do that, and when I pushed them on putting any of their promises in writing... well, guess who I never heard from again.
Hence, asking AskMe instead of just calling a random electrician. I hope to hear of a trustworthy company who is experienced specifically with solar to address our issue.
As always, thanks for any assistance.
I'll try not to threadsit. no one turned anything off. all the panels looked fine. got on the roof to confirm. worst was a couple of bird poop spots. no broken cables. everything is protected via metal conduit. only thing i changed was this (middle box) from on (n/s) to off (e/w) just now. I'm going to move it back as we're going to a movie and don't want to risk coming home to... no home.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:40 PM on September 13
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 4:40 PM on September 13
90% likelihood this is a dead inverter. SolarEdge warranties their equipment independent of any warranty your installer offered. If your installer was still around and had to replace a dead inverter, they would have gone to SolarEdge to have the part replaced under warranty, but you can do it yourself. You'll still need someone to diagnose the problem and do the installation.
I'd go to SolarEdge directly, figure out whether your inverter is still under warranty, and identify someone from their list of recommended technicians. The actually have a whole guide for what to do if your installer went out of business.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:08 PM on September 13
I'd go to SolarEdge directly, figure out whether your inverter is still under warranty, and identify someone from their list of recommended technicians. The actually have a whole guide for what to do if your installer went out of business.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:08 PM on September 13
And one more thing: the SolarEdge warranty will just be for the equipment; you'll still have to pay for installation. Labor on an inverter replacement this spring cost me $550.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:11 PM on September 13
posted by mr_roboto at 5:11 PM on September 13
A solar installer company will be better suited to repair this, not a regular electrician.
You should clarify whether you have one (or two ) big "string" inverter(s), i.e. mounted in your basement or garage, or whether you have a larger number of micro-inverters, which are little book-sized things mounted to the back of each rooftop solar panel. Since your whole system is down, you probably have a single string inverter and it has failed.
Twist: you might have both, which is common with SolarEdge (which, note, the OPP did not mention). In that case, you have a big string inverter inside somewhere, but also a little thing at each panel called a "DC optimizer". I really don't need to explain that technology further, but you should figure out which of these three kinds of systems you have, just as a baseline so you can get steered in the right direction.
Look up what the make and model of your string inverter is, and then ask the inverter manufacturer who their recommended solar installers are in your region. Go down that path and you'll find a company who can troubleshoot and fix. If you want specific help, tell what who the inverter mfg is.
posted by intermod at 9:36 PM on September 13
You should clarify whether you have one (or two ) big "string" inverter(s), i.e. mounted in your basement or garage, or whether you have a larger number of micro-inverters, which are little book-sized things mounted to the back of each rooftop solar panel. Since your whole system is down, you probably have a single string inverter and it has failed.
Twist: you might have both, which is common with SolarEdge (which, note, the OPP did not mention). In that case, you have a big string inverter inside somewhere, but also a little thing at each panel called a "DC optimizer". I really don't need to explain that technology further, but you should figure out which of these three kinds of systems you have, just as a baseline so you can get steered in the right direction.
Look up what the make and model of your string inverter is, and then ask the inverter manufacturer who their recommended solar installers are in your region. Go down that path and you'll find a company who can troubleshoot and fix. If you want specific help, tell what who the inverter mfg is.
posted by intermod at 9:36 PM on September 13
SolarEdge (which, note, the OPP did not mention)
It’s in the photo they posted in their update.
posted by mr_roboto at 7:35 AM on September 14
It’s in the photo they posted in their update.
posted by mr_roboto at 7:35 AM on September 14
I believe the OP has a Solar Edge system which has per-panel DC optimizers with Rapid Shut Down (RSD) and a String Inverter.
RSD is a newer (last ten years ish) requirement that kills the DC voltage production at each solar panel for safety, but can also be flaky.
For example here is a thread of a person in a similar situation, where their system fails to come back online after a power outage: Link. They used a smartphone app to connect to the system to get an error code.
OP: if you have any web based on App based system monitoring you might find similar error codes…
posted by soylent00FF00 at 6:29 AM on September 15
RSD is a newer (last ten years ish) requirement that kills the DC voltage production at each solar panel for safety, but can also be flaky.
For example here is a thread of a person in a similar situation, where their system fails to come back online after a power outage: Link. They used a smartphone app to connect to the system to get an error code.
OP: if you have any web based on App based system monitoring you might find similar error codes…
posted by soylent00FF00 at 6:29 AM on September 15
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Assuming that you have a Grid-Tie solar inverter (by far the most common type), these always stop producing when the grid power is off.
But they should start up again as soon as the grid is back on.
Is there any chance this is something simple, for example someone in your household disconnected the solar array and forgot to flip the switch back on?
If there is actual hurricane damage, you may be able to see that from the ground by looking up at your panels and looking for dislodged panels, broken wires, etc.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 3:49 PM on September 13