Solarbank has developed a 6 point quality check to give you an idea of the smaller things we think about to ensure that your installation goes as smoothly as possible.
Point 3: Rooftop Isolator Protection
Isolators are a critical (and often overlooked) part of a solar system. Solar systems have been known to fail in many instances where a poor quality isolator was installed, an isolator was installed incorrectly or not at all!
Australian Standards
Australian Standards require solar power systems to have isolators (switches) on the roof, at the inverter and in the switchboard. This applies to both DC and AC systems. Rooftop isolators have been the source of many solar system failures primarily due to water ingress into the switch after it has deteriorated in the sun.
IMO DC Isolators
At Solarbank we only use IMO DC isolators, which are made in Austria and in our opinion are one of the best available. In addition to using the highest quality isolators we also install all rooftop isolators with a metal housing to shade the isolator and limit the exposure to the harsh Australian elements.
Here are some images to give you an idea of what a solar rooftop isolator looks like:
