Solar Panels

Owners Corporation Committee of Management approval is required prior to installing solar panels. The Committee is likely to approve an application but may ask that the visual impact be minimised as much as possible. Pagewood Park has a community element and owners need to be mindful and considerate when applying for any external changes. The visual impact of an external change on the look of the Estate and on neighbours is considered important. An application should give Committee members an idea of how the panels will visually impact neighbours and the Estate. The Committee does not want an application full of tedious confusing technical details which distract from assessing the visual impact. Examples: number and location of panels ~ Yes please. Details of generating capacity, performance, efficiency, expected lifespan, cost, etc. ~ No thanks, not required by the OC. 

Minimising Visual Impact. Any work on non-Sun collecting components to make a solar installation blend in better is best done during the installation process while workers are already there. Example: deferring painting of exposed support rails to a later date will inevitably cost more.

Edges Of Solar Panels. Some edges have a shiny reflective metallic appearance.  A darker coloured edge on the solar panels dramatically reduces the visual impact of the panels on neighbours as many panels are viewed partly side on. Some panels can be purchased coated a darker colour to closely match the panel's surface colour. Other panels may require painting of the metallic looking edges.

Panel Support Rails. The support rails of some installations may extend well beyond the edges of the panels, see example picture below, making them a visual eyesore. Ideally these should be cut off flush with the panel edges but some solar installers are price and time sensitive and so will not bother to trim them. Visible support rails should be painted to blend in with the roof tiles.

Electrical Isolator Switches and Cables

• From late 2021, and an update to the AS5033 standard means (in many cases) rooftop DC isolator switches are no longer mandatory. An alternative option in the latest standard is a disconnection point, see this article ~ https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/disconnection-point-vs-dc-isolator/ 

• Some may argue that the plastic electrical isolator switch should not be painted. Certainly warning signs and any printed info on the switch should not be painted over. One can argue that any other parts which are exposed to the weather can be painted as they are built to resist driving rain. Painting may in fact protect the isolator from Sun (UV) damage. 

• The electrical isolator switch normally comes with a metal shield to protect the switch from direct sun and rain. It is ok to paint the outer metal surface of the switch shield because this has nothing to do with the electrical circuitry. In addition switch shields are rain resistant and as such will not be effected by modern water acrylic based paints, in fact the cured (dried) paint will actually protect the shield from the elements.  It is probably best to choose a colour which closely matches the roof tiles.

• Please ensure any blue plastic covering is removed from the switch’s protective shield. Some lazy installers will not bother to peel this blue coating off. The blue plastic is intended to prevent surface scratching during transport, like the thin clear plastic peel off cover one gets on a new phone screen and other gadgets.

• Exposed electrical cabling (usually a white colour) or conduit on the roof and walls is visually unattractive but can either be painted to match the roof tile or wall colour or covered with a painted duct to make sure the cables do not stand out.

History

The issue of solar panels was first raised at the 2009 AGM. Owners voted against solar panels, both electrical generating photovoltaic (PV) panels and hot water modules, primarily because of the visual impact on roofs. The Estate has long had a "clean roof policy" as indicated by the details in the Estate specific Rules 4b, 4c, and 4d. After several further attempts to introduce solar PV panels at following AGMs they were finally approved by a majority of owners at the Nov 2017 AGM on the condition that the application was first reviewed and approved by the Committee of Management. The first application was in May 2018 and those panels were installed in July 2018.

Final Notes

Watch out for companies which don't hang around to honour warranty claims, see this Aug 2022 story ~ Rooftop solar panels, costing thousands of dollars, deemed fire hazard - ABC News

There is a push to replace roof mounted electrical isolator switches with ground based ones as they can be a source of technical problems and someone has to climb onto the roof the isolate the panels in an emergency such as a house fire, see: 

• • • • Continuing Push For Rooftop DC Isolator Requirement Review (June 2019) - https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/rooftop-dc-isolator-mb1097/ 

      • 13 March 2018.  Rooftop Isolators: Should they stay, or should they go? | One Step Off The Grid - https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/rooftop-isolators-stay-go/