1 reviews | Active since Feb 2024
Affordable Power Solutions Solar Installation Complaint
I engaged Affordable Power Solutions in Boxburg during March 2023 to install Solar Pannels to my exixsting Inverter/Battery which had been running for a few years without any issues. After installation there were issues with the continuously flickering. APS then recommended that the System should be re-wired which I went along with. The Team that installed the wiring came to my house with the necessary wiring to install it. The electricity mains were switched off and after completion of the installation APS tried to switch on the System but could not get it to operate. After a few visits APS sent my MECER Inverter to the Agents to have it assessed with the result that it was diagnosed as 'normal wear and tare' that the circuit board was damaged. I do not accept that switching a machine off and on again is normal wear and tare( default diagnoses) APS would not accept responsibility for the damage. I paid for the repair of the Inverter and APS sent a Master Installer to assess the installation. It was recommended that the System be re-wired which I had to go along with in order to get the System operating. I believe that the first APS installer made in error in that he did not seperate the AC/DC wiring which I understand is a requirement.. The re-wiring, repair and Distribution Board re-wiring was at great cost to me and APS would not accept any responsibility. The Ombud for Solar Power also did not engage with me and the Complaint died.
Mr Coetzee's existing installation was not compliant, and his inverter was an entry level Axpert type (Mecer) inverter that was more than 4 years old that he bought second hand from someone.
His question is why did the inverter only malfunction after we added the solar panels and switched it on?
Answer: Your cheaper entry level Axpert type inverters, which include the Mecer as a rebranded Axpert inverter, make use of fans to cool down the PC Board. With the cool air dust also comes in and accumulate on the PC Board of the inverter. Because the inverter was on all the time, the dust particles will be electrostatically repelled from the electrodes on the PC Board.
So, the moment you switch the inverter off (like we did to connect the solar panels) the dust implodes because there is no more static electricity to repel it. If there is very little dust on the PC Board, it might not be enough to let it arc, but clearly in this case it did. So, the moment the inverter was switched on again it arcs and therefore stopped working.
More expensive inverters have its PC Boards in a sealed compartment, so that no dust can enter. The fan on these units uses air to cool down the heat fins, and not the PC Boards itself.
The report from Mustek, the Agents for Mecer, mentioned "dust" and "component failure" and "normal wear and tear". I was told that about 60% of breakdowns on these inverters was caused by dust that caused the components to arc.
We have submitted the report from Mustek to the ombudsman, and it was explained to Mr Coetzee, as well as the fact that he can't keep APS responsible for this unfortunate event.
Mr Coetzee however persisted that he wants APS to pay for the inverter. Over a two-month period and sometimes up to 3 or 4 e-mails per day from Mr Coetzee, the ombudsman and I realized that you cannot reason with Mr Coetzee, and subsequently stopped communicating with him, as you can only say the same thing so many times.
The rewiring of his DB Board was to make his installation compliant, and obviously it was for his own cost.
The only thing APS does not and will not accept responsibility for is for the replacement cost of Mr Coetzee's old inverter.
Knowing Mr Coetzee I expect him to answer this response, and then going forward and backwards for the next few months, however, I will not engage any further in this matter.
Ben Janse van Rensburg
CEO/Director
Mr Coetzee's existing installation was not compliant, and his inverter was an entry level Axpert type (Mecer) inverter that was more than 4 years old that he bought second hand from someone.
His question is why did the inverter only malfunction after we added the solar panels and switched it on?
Answer: Your cheaper entry level Axpert type inverters, which include the Mecer as a rebranded Axpert inverter, make use of fans to cool down the PC Board. With the cool air dust also comes in and accumulate on the PC Board of the inverter. Because the inverter was on all the time, the dust particles will be electrostatically repelled from the electrodes on the PC Board.
So, the moment you switch the inverter off (like we did to connect the solar panels) the dust implodes because there is no more static electricity to repel it. If there is very little dust on the PC Board, it might not be enough to let it arc, but clearly in this case it did. So, the moment the inverter was switched on again it arcs and therefore stopped working.
More expensive inverters have its PC Boards in a sealed compartment, so that no dust can enter. The fan on these units uses air to cool down the heat fins, and not the PC Boards itself.
The report from Mustek, the Agents for Mecer, mentioned "dust" and "component failure" and "normal wear and tear". I was told that about 60% of breakdowns on these inverters was caused by dust that caused the components to arc.
We have submitted the report from Mustek to the ombudsman, and it was explained to Mr Coetzee, as well as the fact that he can't keep APS responsible for this unfortunate event.
Mr Coetzee however persisted that he wants APS to pay for the inverter. Over a two-month period and sometimes up to 3 or 4 e-mails per day from Mr Coetzee, the ombudsman and I realized that you cannot reason with Mr Coetzee, and subsequently stopped communicating with him, as you can only say the same thing so many times.
The rewiring of his DB Board was to make his installation compliant, and obviously it was for his own cost.
The only thing APS does not and will not accept responsibility for is for the replacement cost of Mr Coetzee's old inverter.
Knowing Mr Coetzee I expect him to answer this response, and then going forward and backwards for the next few months, however, I will not engage any further in this matter.
Ben Janse van Rensburg
CEO/Director