EEVblog1626 - YOU HAD ONE JOB! (Solar Power Install FAIL)

That's a small problem, Dave. Here in NZ a maintenance crew removed ALL the bolts in three of the four legs of a 220kV transmission tower. When it fell over the northern part of our country lost power for several days. And you think it's difficult to get good staff!!

Of course it doesn't work! Switches on the roof says "NO"! 🤣

If you want a job done properly, do it yourself.

Oh, the classic "it will sort itself out after I leave". Sad to hear installers in Australia are the same as here.

Had a roof replaced and had the attic fan replaced at the same time. This was in the fall. Spring rolls around and the attic fan isn't coming on. I went up there, pulled the cover off and it wasn't connected.... I called the guy and told him about it and he said, "I'm not an electrician. I don't connect them." I connected it, sent him a bill for $100 for my time and he never paid it. I paid $10,000 for the roof and he couldn't add in an electrician to wire the fan? Or at least tell me about it?! What if I were an 85yo widow lady who wouldn't know the difference? She would have paid for the fan and higher AC bills for the rest of her stay in that house because of this guy.

Unfortunately it is not unbelievable. As a retired electronic engineer I am constantly being asked to look at installation screwups and simple problems with equipment that are easily solved where the installers and 'repair technicians' say the whole system has to be replaced. The thing that worries me is most non technical people will take the advice given to them from these 'experts', why should they know any differently! Maybe its just me becoming a grumpy old man but it seems to me that allot of installers/technicians only seem to be able to follow manufacturers instructions or wiring standards without really understanding what they are doing or how the gear they are installing/fixing actually works.

After our installation in 2019 I discovered that only half of the array was switched on at the roof. The thing is, with it "half on" the inverter was outputting something and the installer claimed the low output to be "normal" due to my panel orientation not being ideal. I had to wait a week to collect some data, then review the logs myself to see that the output curve was only producing for half the day. After asking the company again, and them again refusing to do anything, I went up on the roof myself and found the second switch to simply be off. Switched it on and all was well. So yes, it absolutely does happen, and my installer failed to take responsibility. Imagine someone less forthright paying thousands for an installed array, being told it's all "normal", and then going ten+ years with only half of it turned on! I'd put money down that there are dozens of such installs in place right across Australia.

Incompetence is everywhere....

This is complete madness. The only reason you found this is because you're able to figure out and diagnose stuff, and thought to look inside the box - and aren't afraid to open it. Imagine being Mr & Mrs Random Homeowner who doesn't have a clue. It'd take weeks to figure this out. Especially if they think the system is working.

We recently had a solar system installed, and the guys forgot to put 3 roof tiles back in place... the next day we had heavy rains.

A few years back I had a door to door solar sales guy tell me he could get the new German panels that worked at night. Not the smartest nut in the solar industry. Next time I am going to tell the guy that I am interested but could they mount the panels in the attic, they are ugly on the roof.

"But have you already tried updating your phone with the latest firmware? And try resetting your phone first. Also, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. It can take up to a week before the new data is visible - that's a normal delay, since the app's AI needs to learn about your new inverter. No worries! Good luck with your new system. Bye!"

Obviously it's the new Wireless upgrade.

it's a new safety feature to stop potential overloads, I would explain it, but it is a little complex you wouldn't understand.

Now, that is quite the error. That would be hard to miss.

The fact they dismissed the lack of readings as the software not working tells me what I need to know about their trust in their smart system...

Local solar outfit up here in Utah, U.S.A., struggled to hook up solar to the mains. 3 weeks later It was working. But not before I installed a whole new mains electrical service to the house! Ooops!

I live in USA and our state has a HUGE problem with the private home solar panel sales/installer companies being mostly grifters, selling people stuff that will never benefit them long term. They promise cheap subsidized panels and installation, and leave normal homeowners who fail to understand the system holding a huge bag of debt unexpectedly. A house's roof isnt ideal for solar? eh fuck it, lets sell this elderly widow a massive system anyway, eluding to a good ROI. The boomers only realize later that they can't even power their house on it when the grid is down

The best part of all this is that many installers (and their companies) are going to hear about this video, watch it and hopefully learn something. Well done Dave!

Mate - we all know any more than 3 wires is too much for sparkies. They get confused.