Back up what you say about Latronics 100% Gordon. We too have a 1.3Kw off-grid system starring a 48V Latronics LS3548KX. Been installed and running 12 years. The unit is solidly built and utterly bulletproof. Minor failure in year 11, serviced by the good folks at the factory, 200Km away, for $209 … and will almost certainly soldier on for another decade now. Had no problems disassembling the unit myself for transport.
We have a 5kw Solax Inverter with a LG 6.5kw battery… The Inverter failed a couple of months ago when not quite halfway through the 5yrs warranty, Solax in last email offered to relace Inverter and battery[ their own brand] as they use different voltages or something like that. To add to the problem we had a severe hail storm which wrecked all the PV panels so now I have nothing. Insurance will fix that part, I wonder what is normal time for warranty work replacements, its been down since 7-03-2020, Solax offered replacements on 30-03-2020 but no word yet. I realize the VIRUS has affected all work time tables.
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We live in the Cairns area and a neighbour over the road ordered a new solar system some weeks ago and it was installed several days later.
Sounds like a coronavirus cop out. Perhaps get someone you know to call and play customer and enquire how long this crowd would take to supply and install the same system.
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Hard to say how much of the delay is due to COVID-19, but it would not surprise me to see it being used as an excuse to delay warranty replacements.
It is possible they need to replace the battery as their currently available inverters do not work with the voltage of your existing battery.
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Thanks Gordon, that sounds like what Solax said, I’ve pasted a line form email here " So the old system - ‘SK-SU + 6.5 RESU battery’ will be replace with new system - ’ X1-Hybrid + 6.3 Triple Power battery’. " as well as “The old LG battery is low-voltage one, and the new Triple Power battery is high-voltage one”
I originally didn’t know if this was a sales pitch but sounds all above board now , just waiting their next response to my email which is going to their office in China
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It can take many months…if where is widespread local area damage, could be 6-12 months. It can also take longer if there is a high demand for trades or parts.
Insurers may prioritise those residence which have major damage, to make them secure or need repairs to make them fit for ongoing habitation.
It is worth contacting your insurer to see if they have a schedule or timetable for your repairs to be completed.
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HI phb, you are correct there as the first assessors first checked if the solar system was isolated correctly, any glass was not going to be dangerous. Lucky in our case was hail smashed all downpipes to tanks so glass contaminated water couldn’t reach the tanks. Back to PV system, fixing of system should be easier as all the time consuming infastructure is already there and unlikely to be damaged ie wiring ,isolators ,roof brackets to name some. One problem coming up is what to do with all the damaged PV panels as I don’t know if a recycling system for these has been set up yet, I’ll have about 20 panels here.
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Don’t make assumptions anything ‘still standing’ will be reused. It is common when Company B replaces anything Company A installed, especially when it has been damaged, that they want to do everything new to avoid potential liability from either bad work or damaged or degraded parts. Doing the work should still be within a day for 20 panels even if they rip out everything old to put in everything new. How your insurer will deal with that is not your worry, but could become your worry if the accountants prevail over the tradies.
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Hi phb, my concerns about recycling 20 damaged PV panels comes from reading about people who were first in line for Solar PV on their homes are now near end of life so this is going to be a big problem, I don’t know if PV panels have much in the way of Rare Earth Minerals.
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Recycling may be a concern. For an insurance repair or job the scope should include removing all waste from site. We’ve had several roof repairs and one internal repair as insurance work in Qld, post storms. All the removed roofing materials, internal plasterboard etc was taken away by the contractor for disposal. It’s all commercial waste.
Your local council and the PV repairer should both be aware of any arrangements in place for that type of E-waste. If there is a cost for disposal it should be included In the insurance quote/s. It may be that for your location there is no recycling arrangement available for PV panels other than landfill.
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There is always recycling available for the Aluminium frame, even if you can’t find anyone interested in the Silicon wafers.
Whether or not a metal recycler would be willing to take the entire panels is another matter, or perhaps you could DIY once they are taken down.
https://reclaimpv.com/ might be worth investigating
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Solar quotes suggested that after removing any copper and aluminium, landfill might be a greener option for the remainder.
They have also recently commented that some councils have been charging to handle them, $20 each.
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BBG- that was an interesting read,I had thought Lithium was a rare Earth mineral ,aparently not, maybe its supply isn’t endless, isn’t CSIRO looking at salt water batteries again?
mark_m we have 6 different bins at our place for separating recycle stuff,we don’t have a rubbish pickup service after Cyclone Marcia the Insurance quotes all included a skiff bin.
gordon- our landfill is free for recycle stuff, I just took some old windows smashed by hail to landfill after separating the glass from aluminium frame, I’ll look at the PV panels when they come down to see if possible.I can get paid out by insurance to do some of the work I’m capable of.
Back to original issue ,when my 6.5kw LG battery is replaced with a 6.3 SOLAX battery, I wonder if that will be recycled and if the replacement SOLAX X1-Hybrid inverter will have a 5yr warranty like the old one.
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There is probably nothing wrong with the battery after <3 years use, other than slightly reduced capacity. I’d be asking to keep it if possible. You could set up a small off-grid system with separate panels, charge controller and inverter, or a suitable battery charger in place of panels and charge controller, using your existing array, and use it to power your fridge or other appliance. Alternatively you may be able to sell it.
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Just end of the warranty period for production. They will still work for many decades (if looked after and no faults occur), but their generation may be significantly less than that when bought/installed.
I suspect that most will leave the panels in place rather than replacing them early…and replace when a fault occurs of the inverter needs replacing.
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Hi (@gordon) Gordon,I will check if I can keep the LG battery, my first PV system I asked for it to be able to take a Battery at a later date, they neglected to say it would only take the then rare as Hens teeth Tesla Powerwall so when I had the LG battery installed I also had to upgrade to a Solax Hybrid Inverter, I still have the ABB Inverter in the shed, couldn’t sell it here, its not a Hybrid Inverter so more work to setup I’d guess, I’m Rural setting and our pressure pumps are one of our power users so what you suggest could be for these Pumps, saves putting an Inverter and Battery in Landfill/recycle system.
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Update to my Hail damaged PV system. I took my 16 PV panels to local landfill for free, I think they only recycle the aluminium frames at present.
My dead Solax Inverter with a 5 yr warranty, even though it was only 2.25 yrs old the warranty isn’t worth the paper it is written on, no response from Manufacturer and Installer in 8 months. So Solax Inverters are not on my list of future buying, of course all my workmates and family know this as well.
A local installer has a system, 8kw with 9.8 kw LG battery which I hope to add my existing 6.5 kw LG battery if after being isolated since March this year will still hold a charge. I won’t be going for a cheap Inverter for sure when I get a assessment and quote next week, cheers.
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Thank you for the update. Hopefully the next set will be better and a better experience for you.
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