Is this list added to as new inverters get approval?
Or do some inverters that were on the list get dropped? If so is there a way to see the history of all the top of the pops??
It looks like it gets updated. Looking at the Sunsynkâs, seems the new models were added a few months ago.
Hmm, Victron part of that list is getting pretty short by comparison.
Agreed!
Does anyone know of an installation that was approved when it was installed and is now no longer on the approved list?
From my understanding, the way it is supposed to work, is that if you have an inverter that is NRS097-2010 approved, and was installed prior to NRS097-2017 then it will remain compliant as long as NOTHING is changed. I donât know what exactly that means in cases where you have to get a CoC for instance when selling your house.
As soon as when you need a CoC you need to get the system up to spec with the latest regulations.
So when you sell your home after living there for 50 years, it first need to be up to the latest code before you can get the CoC and can sell it.
This sounds rather autocratic. What has changed, someone sold their house??
I have heard of an Australian initiative where a new PV installation was provided a very attractive feed in rate to encourage the installation of solar systems at a time when they wanted to grow the industry. The caveat was that you were not allowed to change the system to a bigger or more efficient system. This I understand but not the arbitrary SA one described here.
Come on Richard. 
The person having bought the house moves in and discovers the previous owner thought himself a âMaster Electricianâ and rewired the house in his âown imageâ of the regulations
This sounds ⌠autocratic?
The rules are actually very âcompassionateâ in that sense â whatever you did, if it was legal when you did it, remains legal until you pass the responsibility on to someone else, by selling the house. If you change it, that has to be legal on the day.
The alternative is that everyone in the country needs to constantly replace geysers, taps, pipes, inverters, electric circuits, etc. whenever thereâs an updated standard. Clearly thatâs impossible.
And we canât just leave stuff without updating ever. Can you imagine how expensive it would be to buy a house if you needed to hire experts to inspect and correct everything before your insurance would cover it? How many people would lose everything if they cheaped out on that? Thatâs why itâs legislated, and also why the seller has to typically pay.
It is ⌠but laws (bylaws) change.
A friend had to get permission from his neighbours to get his house listed for sale. His 100 year old house was built 30cm into the boundary exclusion zone. Cost him R3000 for the letter from the muni ;(
He needed new building plans drawn⌠muni copies burnt/lost in a fire⌠HIS Cost!
I wonât go into the other issues he had to fight aboutâŚ
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No because itâs a deal: They have stuck their necks out to encourage people to install a potentially lucrative PV system. Clearly itâs not sustainable for the utility to allow the client to max the system out as panels get cheaper. Itâs an incentive to get you into the industry.
(I was stuck on a boat in the Mediterranean with the rest of the passengers being Aussies. This was one of the few topics of conversation I could have with them. It seems they all went for the scheme and now boast about their tariff as diehard RE enthusiasts! The earlier you installed your system the greater the tariff was pegged)
In some cases it even allows things to remain untouched even when you sell. There are numerous broom closets at the feet of table mountain that still sport distribution panels with fuses. There are houses from the 60s with cleat wiring. Iâm not 100% certain about the rules (and certain things, like aluminium wiring in old cracking insulation material needs immediate updating), but if I recall, if the electrical system was legal at the time of installation, and unmodified, then you can get a CoC for it.
Maybe the rules did change tough. I remember back in 2003-ish, the place in Rosebank got a CoC without replacing the fuse panel. I have no idea if youâd still be able to get away with that.
When I sold my last place, I was told the old method of twisting earths together was no longer sufficient. They had to open 30 downlights and several switches to add a little screwy-crimp thing to every connection. And I had to pay for all that workâŚ
The system is certainly âleakyâ. The asbestos âjust donât touch itâ rule comes to mind.
Iâm currently sitting here wondering if I should get the same guy that did my sale COC to re-COC after the inverter install or get someone else⌠On the one hand, I have empirical proof that he just signs whatever is in front of him. Definitely less hassle.
On the other hand, I intend to continue living here.
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They have changed⌠its the rules on the day that count⌠and now you have this as well⌠(I have just been through it!)
https://miltons.law.za/assets/uploaded_attachments/CPA_Compliant_DEFECTS_DISCLOSURE_QUESTIONNAIRE_BY_SELLER.pdf
@mariusm, the guy who I normally use to install cupboards (ever you ever need one, I can point you towards TWO good ones) said of the electrician I always used (who sadly emigrated back to England) that he is âfull of sh%tâ, which is actually a compliment. It means the guy doesnât cut corners and can be pedantic about things. Sometimes that is the guy you want.
What I have found however, is that when it comes to house-selling time, every electrician becomes extremely pedantic. There is money to be had, proceeds from the sale, and sellers will often just âwave it onâ because it is stressful enough as it is. I do believe that many electricians actually abuse this phenomenon to inflate the bill, focusing on tiny matters while missing extremely obvious things.
I can say that the people from Electrabug, most specifically a sparky called Mlilo Last, did extremely good work. I mean, I looked over the guyâs shoulder, and although I felt that having to open every light fitting was unnecessary, I felt like I got value for money. The installation was definitely fixed when he was done. He found all the things I knew was wrong.
On the other hand â and here I will not name names, except to say the companyâs name suggests they are available at all hours of the day â did an absolute bodge job of the new place I bought, missing very obvious things like a 60A isolator in the main board instead of an overcurrent breaker (two green levers vs a green/white combo on the Samite breakers).
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Having done some further investigation I have received this reliable information from a colleague:
âHi Richard, the SMA TLâs were on CoCT approved inverter list a very long time ago. They were superseded product-wise and subsequently on the list by the AV-40s, which themselves were replaced by the AV-41âs. My 2.5 was an AV-40 model and the 5.0 is AV-41.â
So the powers that be decide that you can only install this model, even though next week that one will be replaced by a newer one. This is equivalent to saying that a car that you bought second hand cannot be driven on the roads because itâs not on the âapproved listâ
No, I think what happened (more likely) is that the NRS097-2-1 was updated (in 2017) and all inverters that were only tested to the 2010 standard were no longer admissable for NEW installs. If you had one already, you are allowed to continue using it.
The car analogy is that if you drive an original model-T, there is no problem. But if you tried to build a model T and sell it as a new car, you wonât be able to use it on public roads.
Some of the older ABB PV-inverters are in the same boat. They only have 2010 paperwork.
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While on the topic, when are we going to be able to install 8kw and 10kW Multiplus II inverters legally?
This begs the question of what actually changed in NRS07-2-1 that produced this decree to remove all legacy inverters from the list? Can you explain this to a techie?