The 2 Most Important Stickers In Solar

Your solar and battery installation comes with a lot of stickers. Warning labels, voltage signs, shutdown procedures, danger signs, restricted access notices. The standards (AS/NZS 5033 and AS/NZS 5139) mandate a small library of signage.

But two of those stickers matter more than all the others combined.

They’re both green. They’re both circular. They’re both reflective. And they both go in the same place: on your main switchboard.

Sticker #1: The Green “PV” Sign

AS/NZS 5033:2021 Clause 5.4 requires every solar installation to have a circular green reflective sign, at least 100mm in diameter, with the letters “PV” on or immediately adjacent to the main metering panel and main switchboard. It must be readily visible to approaching emergency workers.

Underneath “PV”, there’s a sub-code that tells you what kind of isolation the system has:

• AC means low-voltage DC (under 120V) with panels close to the inverter. Lower risk. Think Enphase.
• SW means there’s a load-break switch that can be flipped to isolate.
• DP means there’s a disconnection point, that can be pulled apart. This is the most common.

Sticker #2: The Green “ES” Sign

AS/NZS 5139:2019 Clause 7.3 requires every battery installation to have a circular green reflective sign, at least 100mm in diameter, with the letters “ES” (Energy Storage) on or immediately adjacent to the main metering panel and main switchboard. Again, readily visible to approaching emergency workers.

Underneath “ES” goes the UN number for the battery chemistry:

• UN 3480 = Lithium-ion (including polymer)
• UN 3090 = Lithium metal
• UN 2794 = Flooded lead-acid
• UN 2800 = VRLA / AGM / gel
• UN 3496 = Nickel-metal hydride

That UN number links to SAA/SNZ HB 76, the reference guide that first responders use to figure out how to handle hazardous materials. Different chemistries mean different hazards: a lithium-ion thermal runaway is a very different beast to a lead-acid electrolyte spill¹.

Why These Two Are The Most Important Labels On The Job

Every other label mandated by these standards gives you detail about a hazard you already know exists. The danger signs, the arc flash labels, the shutdown procedures, the toxic fume warnings, they’re all mounted on or near the battery system or inverter. They’re useful, but they all assume you’ve already found the equipment and you’re standing in front of it.

The green PV and ES stickers are the only ones that tell you the hazard exists in the first place.

They sit at the one point every person interacting with the electrical installation will begin their work: the switchboard.

The Irony Of Getting It Backwards

Here’s what I see too often: an installer plasters the battery stack with every label in the kit, including the green ES sticker, then walks past the switchboard, packs up the van, and drives away.

It’s like putting a “beware of dog” sign inside the dog’s kennel.

The round, green sticker should be on the switchboard.

For Fox sake.

Please, Just Stick Them On The Switchboard

These two green stickers are protecting firefighters, future sparkies, and homeowners for the next 20 years. They take two minutes to walk over and stick on the switchboard. That’s all anyone is asking. Two stickers, two minutes, and every person who ever interacts with that switchboard will know what they’re dealing with before they find out the hard way.