Solar panel repairs in Hereford
Panels stopped generating? Inverter showing a fault, or nothing at all? We repair and service existing solar systems across Herefordshire, including plenty we did not install. £90 covers the callout and the first hour, and most faults are found inside it.
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What usually goes wrong
Panels themselves rarely fail. It is almost always something between them and your fuseboard.
- Inverter fault or blank display. The most common call by a distance. Inverters are the working part of the system and they do not last as long as the panels do.
- Generation has quietly dropped. Often a failed string, a corroded connector or a shaded panel dragging the rest down. You notice it on the bill before you notice it on the roof.
- Tripping when the sun comes out. Usually a DC side fault or moisture where it should not be.
- The isolator has failed. Rotary isolators fitted outside are a known weak point once water finds its way in.
- The app or monitoring has stopped reporting. Sometimes just a router change. Sometimes the first sign of a real fault, which is worth knowing either way.
- Birds under the array. Pigeons nest in the gap between the panels and the tiles, and the mess and the noise are only half the problem. They chew cable.
Your installer has probably gone
This is the call we get most, and people are usually apologetic about it, as though it is their fault.
A lot of the solar fitted around here went up during the boom years, and a fair number of the firms that fitted it are no longer trading. Of the ones still going, plenty are national operations who will not travel to a system they did not install, or who quote a price for looking at it that is more than the repair.
None of that matters to the kit. An inverter is a replaceable part. So is an isolator, a connector, a length of DC cable. You do not need the original installer, you need an electrician who can find the fault and is still going to be here next year.
What a visit costs
| Job | Price |
|---|---|
| Callout and fault-finding, including the first hour on site | £90 |
| Each hour after that | £50 |
| Replacement inverter, isolator or parts | at cost, priced before fitting |
| Bird proofing fitted to an existing array | quoted after a look |
| Roof access where the fault is up there | quoted separately |
Prices exclude VAT. We start at the inverter and the isolators because that is where most faults are and it keeps the bill down. Nothing goes on the invoice that we have not told you about first.
Servicing, not just breakdowns
Solar is often sold as fit-and-forget, and mostly it is. But a system quietly making less than it should costs you money every month without ever announcing itself, and most people only find out years later.
A check-over covers the inverter and its readings, the isolators and connections, the DC and AC sides, the earthing, and what is going on under the array. You get told what is fine, what is worth watching and what wants doing, in writing.
If you are also thinking about adding storage or panels to what you already have, that is on the solar page.
Where we come out to
Hereford and the county: Ledbury, Leominster, Ross-on-Wye, Bromyard, Kington, Credenhill, Weobley and the villages between them. Rural properties are a good chunk of the solar round here, and we are used to the drive.
Solar repair questions
My panels were fitted by someone else. Will you still look at them?
Yes, and most of the systems we get called to were fitted by somebody else. We do not need to have installed it to find out why it has stopped working. Bring us whatever paperwork you have, and if you have none, that is not a problem either.
The company who fitted it has gone bust. Am I stuck?
No. A lot of solar firms that were busy ten years ago are no longer trading, and plenty of the national ones will not come out to a system they did not install. The kit is still repairable. Inverters, isolators, cabling and connectors are all replaceable parts, and none of it needs the original installer.
How do I know if something is actually wrong?
The usual signs are an inverter showing a fault or no display at all, generation that has dropped off compared with the same month last year, a circuit that trips when the sun comes out, or an app that has stopped reporting. If you are not sure, send us a photo of the inverter screen and we will tell you whether it is worth a visit.
What does a visit cost?
The same as any of our callouts: £90 covers the callout and the first hour on site, then £50 an hour after that. Most faults are found inside the first hour. Parts are charged at cost and we tell you the price before fitting anything.
Do you go on the roof?
Only when the fault is up there and it is safe to do so, and that usually means scaffolding or a tower, which we price separately. A good many solar faults are at ground level: the inverter, the isolators, the connections and the consumer unit. We start there because it is cheaper for you.
Can you fit bird proofing to panels that are already up?
Yes. Mesh fitted around the array edge after the event is a common job, usually once pigeons have already moved in underneath. We clear what is under there first, then fit the mesh so they cannot get back.
Panels not doing what they should?
Send us a photo of the inverter screen and a line about what it is doing. We'll tell you whether it needs a visit or whether it's something you can sort yourself.