Visual Defects of a Solar Installation (Part One) – Common Defects

These are the defects Pat sees again and again as a licensed electrical inspector: isolator placement, unmarked conduit, cables in the rail channel, earth lugs on the wrong channel, single-screw brackets, unground tiles, loose fixings. This course shows you each one, why it matters, and what compliant looks like.

Most solar defects aren’t exotic. They’re the same handful of things done in a hurry or the way someone was once shown — and each one can mean a rectification notice, demerit points, a voided warranty or, in the worst cases, a fire. Because they’re visual, they’re also the easiest to catch before sign-off if you know what you’re looking at.

Working through real examples, Pat covers the requirements behind each defect — the AC isolator adjacent to the inverter, inverter fixings and manufacturer instructions, ‘SOLAR’ conduit marking, the roof-cavity exclusion zone and vertical drop, damaged array cabling, earth connections, disconnection point labels, tile brackets and grinding, array fixings and end clamps, and the documentation you owe the system owner. Part Two continues with the defects that are more commonly overlooked.

What you’ll learn

• The visual defects most often found on solar installations, and the clause behind each one
• Where AC isolators, inverters and rooftop equipment must be installed and fixed
• Conduit marking, the roof-cavity exclusion zone and the vertical drop method
• How cabling, earth lugs and end clamps damage panels — and how to avoid it
• Tile brackets, grinding, fixings and the documentation you must hand over

Course content

Inverter and AC isolator

The adjacent-isolator rule, secure fixing, locking screws and AS/NZS 3000 clause 4.1.2.

DC conduit marking and the exclusion zone

‘SOLAR’ every two metres, what adjacent means, the 1 m and 1.5 m zones, and the vertical drop.

Array cabling and earthing

Cables in the rail channel, insulation damage, and earth lugs contacting the panel back sheet.

Disconnection point labelling

The yellow warning label within 300 mm, and label quality that survives the weather.

Roof fixings

Two screws not one, grinding tiles, secure fixings and correctly sized end clamps.

Documentation

What must be provided to the system owner, and why subcontractors are still responsible.

This course includes

• 15 CPD points (SAA accredited)
• 30 minutes of on-demand video
• Certificate of completion
• Real defect examples from inspections

Your presenter

Pat Southwell — Licensed Electrical Inspector

Pat inspects solar and battery installations across Victoria every week as a Licensed Electrical Inspector, with more than 7,000 inspections behind him. He co-hosts the Solar Sidekicks podcast and has trained over 1,000 installers through Southwell Solar Training.