Ricky Barone installed a solar system on his roof in 2014 to make the most of the North Queensland sun and save money on his electricity bills.
Key points:
- Ricky Barone has been told his installation is a fire hazard, but the retailer will not remove it.
- Various regulatory bodies are receiving complaints about solar retailers, manufacturers and installers.
- Some of the main issues raised relate to price, quality and high pressure sales.
However, since its installation it has cost thousands of dollars and years of sleepless nights.
It wasn’t until a so-called solar doctor inspected his roof panels this year that the Mackay man realized the potential danger he was living under.
“The [the solar inspector] He basically said it’s installed wrong and there’s a good chance it’s going to catch on fire,” Barone said.
“I was so angry and haven’t been sleeping well thinking about it.”
Barone said it was a two-year wait for a local company to install a solar system, so he turned to a Melbourne-based company.
He said the problems started after about six months and then he had difficulty replacing parts, such as when the inverters failed after 18 months.
On one occasion, a neighbor called Mr. Barone to notify him of a fire.
“They blew up the meter box,” he said.
“It should have clicked from day one… we’ve had nothing but problems with it.
“The system has never worked…we got it to try to save money to do other renovations, but we haven’t been able to.”
Barone said he wanted the company to uninstall it, but ABC understands the company hasn’t sold solar power in several years.
“They keep saying someone will get in touch and they never do,” Barone said.
“They have a complaint site and there are a lot of people in the same boat.”
The company has been contacted by ABC for comment.
What is a sun doctor?
Jemal Solo started his own solar inspection business in Mackay because he said no one was advocating for homeowners with solar installations.
“We hold installers and manufacturers accountable for their products and workmanship,” Solo said.
“We took this on because we saw no one was addressing this…and when it comes to retirees that’s when you really get mad that people buy this to save money.”
Solo, who installed solar panels and conducts inspections for the Clean Energy Regulator, said installers had a five-year defect liability period to fix their work.
“It’s really your own fault if you find out six years later that it hasn’t been installed correctly,” he said.
“The problem is that there is no feedback loop… no one is reviewing the work of the installers.
“Solar retailers don’t really care as long as they get paid.”
Brian Richardson of the Queensland Electrical Safety Office said there had been cases where interstate companies came to Queensland without proper licences.
Who can consumers turn to?
Australia does not have a national authority responsible for electrical safety.
Barone said he had referred his case to the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, as well as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
He is not alone.
The Office of Fair Trading deals with approximately 350 complaints per year related to sunscreen products.
The Queensland Power and Water Ombudsman (EWOQ) deals with complaints about solar billing and metering.
EWOQ’s Jane Pires said that in the 2021-22 fiscal year she received 142 complaints about solar billing errors, a 92 percent increase from the previous year.
It passed 153 cases related to installation and 17 related to solar warranties to the Office of Fair Trading.
Delia Ricard, vice president of the ACCC, said her organization was also receiving a high volume of complaints about consumers’ experience with installation and retail solar panels.
“If it’s a small local regulator, we’ll likely refer it to Queensland Fair Trading,” he said.
“When it comes to a larger or more systemic national problem, we may take enforcement or regulatory action.
“The Clean Energy Council and the new technology codes are designed to raise the bar in terms of solar system manufacturing and installation.
“While they are voluntary codes, in most states where there are rebates, you can only get the rebate if the system was purchased from someone who is under the code.”
There are currently no state or territory requirements for electricians to have additional qualifications for solar energy.
A scheme introduced 22 years ago by the federal government was meant to tackle this, but it will be phased out by 2030.
The Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme administered by the Clean Energy Regulator provides households and businesses with financial incentives to install solar systems approved by the Clean Energy Council.
The scheme’s general manager, Matthew Power, said he had been consulting with states and territories to integrate some of the scheme’s aspects into normal state and territory electrical rules.
“The Commonwealth scheme establishes an obligation beyond the state and territory requirements that already exist,” Power said.
“The system must be installed by a Clean Energy Council-accredited installer who has undergone additional qualifications and training above and beyond their normal electrical license.”
Complaints of ‘shoddy workmanship’
Ms. Ricard said that some of the main issues that came up at the ACCC desk involved misrepresentations about price and quality, as well as unsolicited high-pressure sales.
“There are a number of issues that people are complaining about, including shoddy workmanship,” he said.
Ricard said several regulators were investigating cases where the retailer had gone bankrupt.
Jemal Solo agreed that he had seen too many retailers “come and go.”
“Usually what happens is the manufacturer disappears and the homeowner doesn’t know who the installer is,” he said.
“In 30 per cent of the cases we deal with, the manufacturers have already pulled out of Australia, so here you are years later with paper with a worthless guarantee.”
That is of little comfort to Ricky Barone.
“I just want the solar system to be taken away from me.”