{"id":90138,"date":"2025-03-06T08:29:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T22:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=90138"},"modified":"2025-03-06T08:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T23:24:07","slug":"cyclone-alfred-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/cyclone-alfred-solar\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclone Alfred: What To Do With Your Solar And Battery"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As everyone will be aware, Cyclone Alfred is bearing down on some pretty populated parts of Queensland and New South Wales. Solar installers have been posting useful links, so without adding to the information overload we’d like to put a few of the best tips we’ve found together.<\/p>\n

If You Have Standard Grid Connected Solar<\/h2>\n

Energex are putting out blanket advice to turn your solar power off. It’s really not necessary and it’s really pissed off the installer industry in Brisbane because the phone just won’t stop ringing.<\/p>\n

AS4777 mandates that when the mains power goes off, so does your inverter. It’s not essential to turn solar systems off.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless your system has a rooftop isolator, (which nobody should be looking for in 100km\/h winds<\/em>) switching the DC off at the inverter really doesn’t achieve anything. By disconnecting the safety functions for earth leakage inside the inverter, arguably it makes the system less safe<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To quote Brisbane Solar Repairs;<\/a> Your inverter is a very clever bit of machinery – it can detect when the power is out or the grid has become unstable and turns itself off without any intervention by you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turn The AC Off First; Then The DC<\/h2>\n

Of course, if it makes you more comfortable you can shut the system down as a precaution.<\/p>\n

It can be worthwhile if there are likely to be lightning strikes, power poles blown over or trees striking power lines.<\/p>\n

In each of these scenarios, you could have a monumental voltage fed down your street. Trees can drop feeder lines, crossing them with the 230 volt street distribution system, causing a sustained injection of 11,000 volts, while a bolt of lightning may be a million more volts.<\/p>\n

However the general advice is to have a battery-powered radio tuned to ABC local<\/a> and put some ice in your freezer to transfer into the fridge if the power goes out.<\/p>\n

\"energex

This has kicked off a storm of needless fear and unnecessary phone calls<\/p><\/div>\n

Energex may have reasons for telling people to turn off solar, but they’re not explaining it properly.<\/p>\n

Using temporary HV generators or piggyback network feeders, deployed as stop gaps when trying to get things back up and running means network stability can be difficult.<\/p>\n

However, Energex’s explicit instruction to people with batteries to turn off the DC solar for “safety” reasons is just wrong.<\/p>\n

If You Have A Battery<\/h2>\n

Lucky you: it’s worth testing the blackout function (assuming you have that option enabled at install time) by turning off the mains power.<\/p>\n

In your main switchboard there should be a “Main Switch Normal Supply” or “Main Switch Grid Supply” or perhaps “Meter Isolator” and these should be a different-coloured label to all the rest.<\/p>\n

Turning off the supply from the street simulates an outage so depending on your system, the lights should stay on, or they may take up to 40 seconds to come back, accompanied by a clunk from the switchboard.<\/p>\n

Batteries May Need Some Management<\/h2>\n

Thanks here go to Scott Su at Sungrow, who has been proactive on social media in explaining how to make sure you have a full battery before the grid might go down.<\/p>\n

Follow the red highlights to navigate the app and make sure your battery is fully charged, or try the YouTube guide here.<\/a><\/p>\n