INVERTER INUNDATION
Waterlogged and isolated Dramatic images of flood affected regions earlier this year gripped the nation. The devastating inundation spared few homes in a region that is otherwise known for its solar resources and popularity of rooftop PV.
BRISBANE-BASED SOLAR PV INSTALLER Steve Lee was in the thick of things during the deluge that engulfed swathes of southeast Queensland and northern NSW during late February 2022. His rain gauge in the city’s western suburbs registered levels of 700ml over four days. The amount of rain was highly unusual and unsettling for all, he said. “Had the ground been dry much of the water would have soaked in but the ground was already
energy systems, some with batteries, so there may be different shutdown procedures, Geoff said, noting too that new industry Standards do not require the DC isolator to be on the roof. “There are many different system variations so you can’t just give a general statement to turn off the DC isolator because there might not be one. That is why it’s best to follow the shutdown procedure that’s written
waterlogged so it ran off, straight to rivers and
on that system.”
streams,” Steve said. The four days of rain saw water levels in the local dam rise from 55-60 per cent to 180
Where to for those with damaged systems?
per cent, causing widespread inundation.
When equipment is wrecked, the first port of call
The region that is normally blessed with sunshine
is the insurer, it’s not the problem of the inverter
has one of nation’s highest uptakes of solar PV which
manufacturers, Steve Lee said. However in some
meant thousands of inverters were destroyed during
cases manufacturers have kindly donated a new
the floods, as illustrated on this page.
system, for example where insurance was absent and
What to do
homeowners were in financial strife.
Forewarned is forearmed and PV system owners need
flood prone regions were significantly bumped up, in
to take necessary steps when heavy rain and likely
many cases by 20 per cent, which made it unaffordable
flooding is forecast.
for some,” Steve said.
Basically you want to shut the system down, said Geoff Bragg of Sunman Solar who runs the Smart Energy Council Installer roadshows. “In which case follow the shutdown procedure that’s written next to the inverter. There’ll be a sign there that indicates shut down and you know if it’s safe to do
“Following the last flood, insurance premiums in
PV systems are generally written off once submerged, they are not designed for that, he said. “Though they have a high water rating you don’t expect the junction boxes to be submerged and suffer water ingress,” Steve said. “PV panels form part of the building insurance
so. Also, if there are rooftop DC Isolators next to the
(rather than contents) and I tell people to specify
solar panels, and it is safe to do so, turn them off. Only
replacement for the full value, that is taking into
people experienced at getting on a roof should do this,
account the government grants.”
and never get on a wet roof. If there are any doubts, get an industry professional. “I’ve seen worrying pictures of people sheltering on IMAGES: STEVE LEE
Today there are so many combinations of household
He concluded by commenting on the frequency of the ‘highly unusual once-in-one-hundred year events’ that now occur every few years.
a roof waiting to be rescued during a flood, right next
“I accept that weather patterns have always been
to a solar array. Always be careful around solar panels
cyclical, but what we are doing is not helping, we need
as they contain dangerous voltages, especially when
to address wider factors relating to the causes of
there’s water everywhere.”
climate catastrophes which means tackling emissions.”
IMAGE: NICOLA CARD
IMAGE: SELECTRONIC
Most mains switchboards and inverters prominently feature a notice of shutdown procedures which are reasonably straight forward and as depicted here
48 WINTER 2022
