King Price and Auto & General warnings about solar power shortcuts

Jan

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What to know before installing a solar power system

South Africans looking to mitigate the impact of load-shedding by installing a solar system for their home must do so through an accredited installer or electrician to avoid insurance claim issues if something goes wrong.

This is according to King Price client experience partner Wynand van Vuuren, who said the onus is on homeowners to ensure that their installation is 100% correct.
 
I've never seen a solar panel catch fire. Never heard of a solar panel catch fire by itself.

Other bits may, but solar panels are quite frankly not flammable.

For reference.

Can someone prove to me this isn't an "advertorial" for insurance?
Then you should look again. They are highly flammable. they whole backing is a rubber material and burns.
 
Then you should look again. They are highly flammable. they whole backing is a rubber material and burns.
Are you sure it's not a silicon based rubber, should be pretty flame retardant
 
I've never seen a solar panel catch fire. Never heard of a solar panel catch fire by itself.

Other bits may, but solar panels are quite frankly not flammable.

For reference.

Can someone prove to me this isn't an "advertorial" for insurance?

Here is another reference if the last one didn't convince you. You might be surprised!

Beyond a bad installation solar panels pose little risk. Various news media having been pushing this crud for the last few days.
 
Then you should look again. They are highly flammable. they whole backing is a rubber material and burns.
No

Being flammable is not the reason they occasionally catch fire - that's down to heat and electricity.
As for the frequency

"The risk of fire from solar panels is extremely low and is lower than the risk of arson from burning fossil fuels. According to one study, it was found that "the number of fires caused by solar thermal collectors in Germany over the past 15 years was only 0.01%, or one out of 100,000 installations.""

100-150 deaths a year due to solar panels.
 
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A coc will help with insurance yes but man on the street thinks it means it will work as it should if you have an coc . We don’t install 3kw systems anymore as the house wives like their hair dryers too much . My point is that correctly spec the system is as important as a coc

There are much less installation electritians out there than people think . If you want to work on a three phase board you need to be an installation electrician. I used to run a compliance company . I got out you can’t have first world rules in a third world country . There is no clarity in sans on what is exactly required as essentially the rules have not kept up .and everyone has own ideas Can share a link if anybody interested .
 
What I would like to see is MyBB to spell out clearly and properly what the the NRS and SANS specification requirements are for a solar installation, and what those implications are, and why they are insufficient and unhelpful generally.

It would be far more informative than punting insurance.

Insurance implications are already covered in the applicable rules with an applicable CoC and your interaction with your insurance broker / company WRT house value.

MyBB might start here.
 
I've never seen a solar panel catch fire. Never heard of a solar panel catch fire by itself.

Other bits may, but solar panels are quite frankly not flammable.

For reference.

Can someone prove to me this isn't an "advertorial" for insurance?

Solar panels produce DC. DC is not AC. An AC circuit that has a poor connection is very forgiving, DC isn't. It will arc for a very long time, and generate huge amounts of heat. If you heat anything up to a high enough heat, it will burn, even concrete. DC fires are caused by loose connections, corrosion, water ingress, animals and the use of incorrect AC rated switchgear.

australia-solar-panel-fire.jpg


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Solar-Panel-Fire-Risk.png


iu


 
What I would like to see is MyBB to spell out clearly and properly what the the NRS and SANS specification requirements are for a solar installation, and what those implications are, and why they are insufficient and unhelpful generally.

It would be far more informative than punting insurance.

Insurance implications are already covered in the applicable rules with an applicable CoC and your interaction with your insurance broker / company WRT house value.

MyBB might start here.
You sound quite demanding. You should go and ask the "Minister Of Electricity" where the SANS standards are, and why they have been in draft for 6 years. :laugh:
 
What to know before installing a solar power system

South Africans looking to mitigate the impact of load-shedding by installing a solar system for their home must do so through an accredited installer or electrician to avoid insurance claim issues if something goes wrong.

This is according to King Price client experience partner Wynand van Vuuren, who said the onus is on homeowners to ensure that their installation is 100% correct.
So how do we actually 'vet' the installer and verify the CoC?
 
So how do we actually 'vet' the installer and verify the CoC?
There used to be ways to report a bad electrician and get his number revoked from the dept of labour (who issues it), but the ANC has wrecked that process too, good luck getting through to them, even more luck needed if you actually want the tub of lard to get off his fat behind and do anything.
There is an industry association (https://ecasa.co.za/ ), but membership is voluntary, so they are pretty toothless.

SAPVIA have a "green card" cerification and manufacturers also provide lists of qualified and trained installers, but these are merely an indication that the installer has been trained. Which is better than nothing, but also no guarantee of good workmanship and ethics.

The best way is by word of mouth, and due diligence, go and visit and inspect those reference clients that he claims that he installed at over 2-3 years ago, engage with the people, ask questions, ask to see the installation. Also verify bona fides on the powerforum.co.za
 
I've never seen a solar panel catch fire. Never heard of a solar panel catch fire by itself.

Other bits may, but solar panels are quite frankly not flammable.

For reference.

Can someone prove to me this isn't an "advertorial" for insurance?
Amazon head quarters US have had endless problems with solar panels catching fire, I believe they are not using solar anymore at the main office
 
Solar panels produce DC. DC is not AC. An AC circuit that has a poor connection is very forgiving, DC isn't. It will arc for a very long time, and generate huge amounts of heat. If you heat anything up to a high enough heat, it will burn, even concrete. DC fires are caused by loose connections, corrosion, water ingress, animals and the use of incorrect AC rated switchgear.

australia-solar-panel-fire.jpg


90


90


Solar-Panel-Fire-Risk.png


iu


Are you sure the first picture is not from the looting that happened in KZN last year?
 
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