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Renewable Energy News

TUESDAY 10 AUGUST, 2010 |

Aero-Sharp Inverters Recalled By Australian Solar Provider

by Energy Matters

Some solar power system owners in Australia are scrambling to check the make of their inverters after a provider issued a national recall on an entire range of Aero-Sharp (not to be confused with Sharp) grid connect inverters.

The company, Beyond Building Energy, issued a recall statement on its web site on August 5. The statement reads in part:

"Beyond Building Energy is conducting the recall due to dissatisfaction with the product's level of quality. After internal audits were conducted quality issues arose due to some systems displaying slow start up times and involuntary shut downs"

Beyond Building Energy said that while the issues with Aerosharp inverters were not serious faults, it would replace all Aerosharp grid connect inverters it had installed with another brand.

An inverter is an integral part of a solar power system, converting DC current produced by a solar panel array into AC power, suitable for use by home appliances.

According to Energy Matters co-founder Max Sylvester, the Aero-Sharp inverter recall incident is a reminder to consumers shopping for solar power systems to exercise caution.

"As with solar panels, not all grid connect inverters are created equal, even among those approved for use in Australia. There has been an influx of new players in the Australian inverter market and some of these products have had little testing in Australian conditions compared to the more established brands such as SMA and Fronius."

"While it's good to see providers faced with such unfortunate issues being proactive in their response, the inconvenience to customers in replacing sub-standard equipment, particularly an inverter, is considerable. It's a situation where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure from the customer's viewpoint."

Mr. Sylvester says the problems could possibly extend beyond inverters carrying the Aero-Sharp brand. "The issue of re-branding was raised in Energy Matters' community forums. While we have no specific information in relation to these inverters, it's not unusual for solar power equipment to be re-branded, so we advise concerned solar power system owners to contact their supplier to ascertain whether their inverter is a re-badged Aerosharp."

Energy Matters provides a solar power consumer's guide to help raise awareness of issues relating to the purchase of solar power systems.