Solar repairs and fault finding

If your Byron Bay solar system is producing less than it used to, or nothing at all, the first step is to compare this month’s output in your monitoring app with the same month last year, then note any error code on the inverter. That comparison tells a solar electrician whether the problem is a sudden fault or a slow decline, and the fix is almost always work for a licensed electrician rather than the homeowner. Panels generate DC power whenever there is daylight, so leave the hardware alone and send the data instead.

Is the system really underperforming?

Solar output swings with the seasons and the weather, so a low week in a wet March is not a fault on its own. Byron Shire’s wettest months run from January to May, and a run of cloudy days can cut generation sharply without anything being wrong. Before arranging a visit:

1. Open your monitoring app or inverter display and find total generation for the current month.
2. Compare it with the same month last year, not last month.
3. Look at a few clear days in a row. A healthy system draws a smooth curve on a sunny day; a jagged or flat-topped curve can point to a problem.
4. Check whether your bill shows less export than the same quarter a year ago.

A steady fall of a few percent over many years is normal panel ageing. A sharp step down, a flat line or a curve that stops at midday deserves a closer look.

What usually causes a drop in output?

You do not need to diagnose the fault yourself, but describing the symptoms clearly helps a provider bring the right parts. The common categories:

What you see	Possible causes a provider will check	What to note for the enquiry
Nothing in the app, inverter screen blank	Inverter fault, tripped solar breaker or isolator, lost Wi-Fi only	Whether the screen is lit, and any lights or codes
Error code on the screen	Inverter fault, earth fault on the DC side, grid voltage out of range	The exact code and how often it appears
Output lower than last year on clear days	New shade, dirty panels, a failed string or panel, a degrading inverter	Month-by-month figures and any new trees or buildings
Output stopped after a storm	Damaged panels, cabling or connectors, water in an isolator	Photos of the roof from the ground
Output cuts out on bright afternoons	Grid voltage limits, inverter overheating	The times it happens

Shade is easy to overlook. Trees grow quickly in the hinterland’s rainfall, and a palm or eucalypt that cleared the array five years ago may now cover a row of panels in the afternoon. One shaded panel can pull down a whole string on a standard string inverter. Ask whether trimming the tree, moving a few panels or fitting panel-level electronics would be the cheaper fix.

If the cause turns out to be the inverter itself, the solar inverter replacement page covers whether to repair or replace, and a like-for-like replacement averages $1,500 to $3,000 on Energy Matters figures. For routine checks that catch problems before output drops, see solar maintenance inspections.

What should a homeowner never touch?

Solar panels make DC electricity whenever light reaches them, and you cannot switch the panels themselves off. DC faults can arc and start fires, and the voltage on a residential string is dangerous. For that reason:

• do not open isolator enclosures, junction boxes or the inverter case
• do not climb on the roof to inspect or unplug panels
• do not hose down an inverter or isolator that has water in it
• if you smell burning, see smoke or hear crackling from any part of the system, keep everyone clear and call 000

Following the printed shutdown procedure next to your switchboard or inverter is as far as a homeowner should go, and only if it is safe to reach. Leave everything else to a licensed electrician with solar accreditation.

What happens after a flood, storm or long shutdown?

Storm damage to the array or water reaching the inverter or isolators means the system needs testing before it runs again. Flooding is a real risk in parts of the shire; the Mullumbimby area page covers the 2022 floods and what they meant for that town.

NSW has a specific rule for installations that have been switched off for a long time. Under the NSW Government’s electrical compliance requirements, a home switched off for six months or longer must pass a safety inspection before anyone restores supply to it remotely. If your home has been empty or the system has been off since a flood or a renovation, mention how long it has been off.

Who should you contact first about a fault?

Start with the paperwork from the original job. If the system is recent and the installer is still trading, a fault inside the warranty period goes back to that business, and calling someone else first can complicate the claim. If the installer has closed, the panel or inverter maker handles product warranty claims directly, though it usually needs a local electrician to remove and test the faulty part.

For older systems out of warranty, any licensed solar electrician can do the diagnosis. Have the installation date, the inverter model and serial number, and the panel brand ready, because those decide which warranty, if any, still applies. Keep every report and invoice from the visit: a maker assessing a claim will ask what was tested and what was found.

What does a fault-finding visit involve?

A methodical solar electrician usually works through these steps:

1. Review the monitoring history and the inverter’s fault log before climbing anywhere.
2. Check the AC side: the solar supply main switch, the breaker and the AC isolator.
3. Measure each string’s voltage and current at the inverter and compare them with what the panels should produce.
4. Test insulation resistance on the DC cabling to find earth faults.
5. Inspect the roof for damaged panels, cracked glass, loose connectors, rodent-chewed cable and new shade.
6. Report what was found, what was fixed on the day and what needs quoting separately.

Ask for that report in writing. If parts are replaced, the electrician lodges a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work, because any electrical wiring work in NSW needs a licence. The NSW electrical licence page explains who can do that work.

There is no published price benchmark for fault finding on its own, since the time involved varies so much with the fault and roof access. Ask how the callout and diagnosis will be charged before the visit, and whether that amount comes off any repair that follows. With your monitoring figures ready, you can book a fault-finding enquiry and have the provider confirm its rates first.

Any solar business that answers your enquiry is an independent local operator setting its own prices and terms; how this site works explains the referral arrangement.

Next step

Send a solar fault enquiry with your suburb, a photo of the inverter screen showing any error code, monitoring screenshots for this month and the same month last year, the system’s age and size, and whether anything changed recently, such as a storm, new trees, roof work or a long power-off.

Send a job enquiry