If you’ve recently noticed water dribbling from your hot water system, don’t panic, it may not be a leak you need to worry about.

In the heat of summer, the valves in your hot water system can drip. In fact, hot water systems are designed to release a small amount of water (particularly on hot days) to regulate pressure in the water tank, ensuring it doesn’t over pressurise. However, if the amount of water that your system releases is more than the occasional drip, you may have a serious leak on your hands. In this case, you’ll be paying to heat water, only for it to go to waste.

How will I know if my hot water system is operating normally or if it needs repairs?

If your hot water system is dribbling water it is either releasing pressure from the water tank (which is a normal safety feature) OR the valve is faulty. Here’s how to tell the difference between the two. Hint, the main things to monitor are:

• the amount of water that’s dribbling from your hot water system
• how often it’s leaking

Pressure relief valves

If your system is only leaking every now and then, and only small amounts, it’s likely your pressure relief valves are simply doing their job. There are two safety valves on a hot water cylinder:

• A Pressure and Temperature Relief (PTR) valve
  During the heating cycle, the PTR valve discharges drops of hot water to the drain line in order to relieve the pressure generated by overheating. This can also occur when the outside temperature rises (such as on hot summer days). The PTR valve is a safety mechanism designed to prevent your hot water tank from over pressurising.


• An Expansion Control Valve (ECV)
  The ECV will open and release water if the pressure from the main water supply exceeds the pressure of the ECV. Unlike the PTR valve, though, the water it releases is cold, which is less energy consuming and extends the PTR’s life span. In certain areas of Australia, it is even compulsory to have an ECV fitted to the cold water supply line.

Both of these valves are designed to allow a small amount of water to drip from your hot water system (particularly on hot days), to ensure the pressure in the water tank doesn’t build up too high. However, it’s important to note that the amount of water being lost should only be minor and it should only happen intermittently. If your tank is constantly dribbling water, it’s likely your system has developed an actual leak requiring repairs.

What could be causing my hot water system to leak?

There are a number of common faults which can cause hot water systems to leak:

• If your valve is constantly dripping, there may be tiny particles of grit caught in it. More specifically, the seal in the valve is probably damaged (by small bits of sand or minerals) and will no longer seal properly. It is worth noting that PTR valve seals don’t last forever, and we recommend having them inspected once or twice a year, to ensure they’re sealing properly. Solargain can help you clear the valve or replace it if necessary and remedy the problem.
• If the water stream is stable and lasting and if you have particularly high water pressure at your house, this can also cause your system to leak. In this case, you’ll probably just need a Pressure Limiting Valve (PLV) installed. We can test the pressure of your water supply, determine if you need a PLV and install one all in the one visit.
• If a high volume of hot water is pouring from your system, there are a multitude of possible causes. Depending on whether you have an electric boosted or gas boosted system, the shutdown procedure will differ too.

In dire circumstances like this (and to save you from losing any more hot water and money down the drain), we suggest you give us a call to arrange a visit with one of our experienced technicians. They’ll inspect your hot water system, identify what’s causing the leak and have it fixed in no time.

Troubleshooting your hot water system

The simplest way to tell whether your hot water system is simply relieving pressure or if it’s faulty, is by putting an empty ice-cream container under the pipe for an hour and measuring how much water you collect. Once you know roughly how much water your system is losing, call us on 1300 73 93 55 or contact us and we’ll help you determine what’s causing the leak and will fix the issue.

Do you want your solar PV system to produce as much energy as possible? Increasing the array-to-inverter ratio, using a technique known as ‘maximising’, can help ensure you’re getting the most out of your system.

What is maximising?

Maximising is when you install a solar array that has the ability to generate more electricity than your inverter’s maximum output capacity. For example, you can pair a 6kW solar panel array with a 5kW inverter (assuming it is operating safely within the inverter's voltage parameters).

How does maximising work?

Firstly, it is important to understand how solar panels work during the course of a day and also over a 12-month period. It is very rare that you will achieve 3kW output from a 3kW solar array. This is because, in Australia, solar panels generally produce around 80% of their nominal output capacity in the middle of a summer day, and even less during a good day in other seasons. Remember too that this will reduce over the years as the panels degrade.

Along with seasonal differences that occur as a result of fewer daylight hours, your solar array’s output also depends on factors like:

• shade or dust on your panels
• humidity levels
• daily temperatures
• the pitch and orientation of your roof

Next, we need to look at how solar panels are actually rated. The system for determining a solar panel’s maximum output is measured using ‘Standard Test Conditions’. This involves directing 1000 watts per square metre of light at a perfectly perpendicular panel, in a temperature-controlled room ensuring a cell temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and free of loses from things like dust, cables and any degradation. As you can imagine, this is unlikely to occur in a residential setup unless you put some extremely expensive provisions in place. So, for this reason, the panels don’t produce their nominal output capacity in any real world scenario.

Maximise your inverter to increase your solar output

Solar panels generate DC electricity that your inverter turns into AC. Given the likelihood that a regular solar panel installation will only be producing around 50-80% of its maximum level, it makes sense to increase the capacity of your solar array to make up for the shortfall. (So, instead of connecting 5kW worth of panels to a 5kW inverter, we recommend you maximise it with 6kW worth of panels, to maximise the amount of energy your system can harness.)

Good quality inverters can accept more DC power than the maximum capacity of AC they are specified to output. Fronius will actually warrant up to double the DC capacity to AC maximum output, provided it’s done correctly. When maximised, they will increase the voltage and decrease the current of the DC electricity travelling from the solar array. This prevents the output from exceeding the maximum AC level the inverter was designed to handle. Remember as well, the inverter will allow slightly more power coming from the panels than its maximum AC output, which allows for conversion losses within the inverter.

Why is maximising beneficial?

As we’ve already touched on in a previous blog post, maximising your inverter is particularly beneficial, especially if you have panels on different roof orientations.

It is also handy if you have access to Time-Of-Use (TOU) tariffs, as you extend the number of hours your system is producing electricity to include periods when electricity is in high demand (such as later in the afternoon).

Financial benefits are probably greatest for new installs, as the price tag for panels continues to reduce and installation costs are offset by the increased productivity that comes with a larger solar array.

How can I maximise my inverter?

The first step in maximising your inverter is to contact a reputable solar company to inspect your specific needs. Every situation is different, so you need to seek advice from a qualified and experienced installer who can crunch the numbers and design a solar PV system that takes your details into account.

If you’d like to speak with a Solargain consultant about getting the most out of your inverter, you can reach us on 1300 73 93 55 or get in touch with us here.

Cell optimisers vs panel optimisers vs micro-inverters

Once upon a time, if you were installing solar panels on a home with an unusual roofline or shaded areas, you’d use micro-inverters to ensure your system was delivering as much energy as possible. Micro-inverters allow for panel level optimisation, which enables panels to be managed individually - ideal for these challenging installations. Even on roofs ideal for solar, the panel level optimisation in micro-inverters provide about 5% extra yield. However, now there are new and alternative technologies on the market that also enable panel level optimisation. These are power optimisers and cell optimisers.

When weighing up the best solar panel technology for your home, power optimisers and cell optimisers may be an option worth considering. They offer many of the benefits of micro-inverters and can have some other features in addition, including being more cost effective.

Here’s a quick overview of the differences between micro-inverters, panel optimisers and the exciting new revolutionary cell optimiser technology.

Micro-inverters

In a traditional solar PV system, solar panels on the roof convert the sun’s energy into DC electricity which is sent to a standalone solar inverter unit (often mounted on the garage wall). It converts the electricity into 240V AC power which can be exported onto the main grid or used to run appliances in the home.

In contrast, a small micro-inverter mounted on the back of each solar panel, converts the DC power into AC on the spot, making them safer to work with (as AC is considered safer than DC). This design means micro-inverters eliminate the need for a separate main inverter unit. They also do away with HD DC conduits between the panels and the inverter, reducing your installation costs. (These conduits are laboursome and therefore costly to install and are often visible, particularly in two-storey installations). Micro-inverters also enable you to utilise different roof orientations, as they’re not restricted by minimum and maximum string sizes like a traditional inverter.

Micro-inverter systems like the Enphase S Series, perform much better in shady conditions than traditional string inverters. The moment a single panel is shaded in a traditional set-up, the whole system’s productivity is reduced. Whereas, in a micro-inverter system, if one panel is shaded, the rest of the panels are not affected, meaning the unaffected ones will continue to produce electricity for your home.

The downside to this flexibility is the price tag. Micro-inverters are more expensive than traditional string inverter systems.

Panel Optimisers

Much like micro-inverters, panel optimisers are attached to the underside of individual solar panels. However, instead of converting DC power to AC, products such as the SolarEdge panel optimisers boost power output by ensuring each module is operating at its maximum power point (MPPT), regardless of shade or positioning.

While this technology works much differently to micro-inverters, it is similarly priced and achieves the design flexibility and superior shade management of micro-inverters. SolarEdge is a company that has been using this technology for a while, but now, companies manufacturing string inverters are allowing optimisers to be incorporated into their systems. SMA are an example of this, allowing the integration of Tigo optimisers into their string inverters.

These technologies are growing in popularity and, in some cases, more cost effective than micro-inverters. However, neither micro-inverters nor panel optimisers have achieved the benefits of panel level optimisation with the same cost effectiveness of our next technology – cell optimisers.

Cell Optimisers

Taking power optimisation to the next level, cell optimisers like the Jinko Maxim are solar panels with three Maxim chips embedded inside. Each solar panel is divided into three, meaning that partial shading or dust on one section of a panel, won’t affect the performance of other sections of the same panel (unlike panel optimisers).

Cell optimisers work by replacing the three bypass diode in the solar panels. Traditionally, these bypass diodes would allow a string of cells (20 of the 60 cells in a standard panel) to be bypassed in extreme shade or failure. While helping slightly, this doesn’t address the issue anywhere near as well like the other technologies mentioned in this article. By replacing the bypass diode with a Maxim chip, you have far fewer components compared with standard optimisers. Also, there’s three optimisers per panel, not one. This design makes them more reliable, higher performing and easier to install than other panel level optimiser technologies. In fact, cell optimisers are the least expensive of all three options we’ve discussed here.

Being inverter agnostic, Jinko Maxim cell optimisers can be retrofitted to existing systems making them readily accessible to everyone. Unlike some optimisers which only work with their own brand of inverter, Jinko Maxim cell optimisers are compatible with all brands. This is great if you have a preference for a particular brand of inverter or if you need to replace your inverter in the future. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that your optimisers will work with whichever inverter you choose, regardless of the manufacturer.

Another benefit of Jinko Maxim cell optimisers is that they are suitable for partial deployment. For example, if only a few of your panels are affected by shade and if you don’t need to optimise the whole array, you can choose to install say, half Jinko Maxim panels (in the shade-affected areas) and half regular panels, saving you money along the way.

The only drawback with cell optimisers is the fact that they don’t support panel level monitoring. However, this only tends to affect people who want to compare individual panel output or measure losses due to shading.

And in breaking news…

We are happy to announce that Jinko Maxim Cell Optimisers have landed and are now available at Solargain! This solar panel has changed solar forever. Never before has a form of panel technology changed the way we think about solar installations quite like this. Shade management, multiple orientations, longer strings, better degradation handling – it’s all possible with Jinko Maxim Cell Optimisers. The best part is the price – it’s only fractionally more than our already competitive Jinko Eagle range.

Need more details?

If you’re interested in learning more about this exciting and revolutionary technology, get in touch with Solargain today by calling 1300 73 93 55 or by contacting us online.

Want to add more panels to your solar PV system? Here’s what you need to know.

On 9 October 2016, changes to AS4777.2:2015 (the Australian Standard for ‘Grid connection of energy systems via inverters - Inverter requirements’) took effect which are likely to influence your plans to upgrade your existing solar PV system.

What has changed?

Legislation regulating solar power installations (which is guided by AS4777.2:2015) now states that you will only be entitled to receive STC (small-scale technology certificate) discounts for new solar panels if you meet the following requirements:

• Your system needs to be installed in accordance with the new standards. Most installs prior to 2013, for example, won’t have the panels earthed, the DC cables are unlikely to be in conduit, and other standards won’t have been met.
• Your existing panels must have been tested for Fire Safety Class C. Check if your panels are on the Clean Energy Council’s (CEC) approved list here.
• Your inverter must be on the CEC’s latest approved list, regardless of whether your inverter was CEC approved when you originally installed it. Check if your inverter is on the list here.

You can earn new STCs (small-scale technology certificates) by upgrading your system

The Clean Energy Council works closely with the organisations responsible for the safety and regulation of Australia's solar PV industry, including state electrical bodies, the Clean Energy Regulator (the Government body that regulates the solar industry) and Standards Australia (the organisation that sets the safety standards).

When the Australian standards were updated to improve the safety of solar PV installations across the country, the relevant laws (which determine how STCs are issued) were updated too.

The CEC isn’t responsible for updating the standards or for enforcing the legislation, it simply maintains the list of approved modules and inverters that meet Australian Standards.

What’s the best way to meet the new standards when upgrading my system?

The first thing you need to do is contact Solargain to arrange a health check of your existing system, regardless of when your system was originally installed. (You can book your health check here.) This will make sure your existing system is compliant before we start on your upgrades; otherwise, Solargain is legally obliged to rectify any non-compliance issues. (Although our experienced sales consultants can offer a lot of guidance on the best system for your needs, only an on-site visit from a Solargain technician can confirm whether your installation meets the new standards.)

While we understand that these regulations have made it difficult for customers wanting to upgrade, the current STC regulations allow new STCs to be created for customers who upgrade their systems with higher efficiency panels and inverters.

Solar panels are now approximately one tenth of the price they were five years ago, so Solargain can offer you a very competitive price when you decide to trade your old system in. By upgrading, you’ll get a chance to pick your size again, achieve better performance, a new warranty for your panels, inverter and workmanship, and have a new installation that meets the current standards.

When you trade your existing system in for a new one, we’ll happily remove and dispose of your old system free of charge. You can keep the original system if you like, although we’re required to decommission it and remove it from the roof. (In the case of particularly large systems, there may be an additional fee to remove it.)

Let us help

We understand how frustrating these changes are; however, we can help you make the most of the situation. Contact our customer service team on 1300 73 93 55 or fill in this quick form to upgrade today.