Poor Quality systems a hot topic across the country

THOUSANDS of new solar power systems are failing because of poor quality components, in another blow to the countries green energy vision.

Research shows us that many consumers were unaware the cheap systems they had bought were faulty or not performing efficiently. They said some faced a costly "time bomb" as warranties ran out and low-cost inverters failed, leaving them with replacement bills of about $2000.

The problems relate to customers unknowingly being sold poor-quality inverters. Inverters are an important component in solar power systems, converting energy generated from roof panels into power suitable for households and the grid.

They are also expensive, so the use of cheaper ones can save more than $1000 even on a standard 1.5kW system. However, many of the cheaper models have a high failure rate and also don't extract the optimum energy from panels.

Master Electricians Australia's chief executive Malcolm Richards said he was aware of issues with cheaper products being used in solar systems.

Mr Richards said a key issue was many systems were not operating efficiently because the size of the inverter was not ideally matched to the panels.

"There has been a shortage of 1.5kW inverters because of demand, so 3kW inverters were sold as an up-sell to customers. They still work but with less efficiency and require more electricity to run so this detracts from the performance of the system," he said.

The Office of Fair Trading has received 256 complaints about solar since January 1 - 56 more than last year.