In the present Solar-rooftop era, the role of a Solar EPC or a system Integrator is inevitable. It is a billion-dollar question in the minds of all solar project developers when it comes to solar rooftop systems who should be the system installer and what should be my evaluation criteria for choosing the right installation partner?
The life time of a Solar power plant is 25 years. In order to get maximum benefit from your investment on Solar power plant, it is very important to keep your solar power plant running for 25 years. Down time of the Solar plant should be minimized as far as possible. So, it is very crucial to have a reliable solar partner.
Points to be considered when choosing a Solar Partner
- Track record of the company you choose to perform the Solar power plant integration. Number of satisfied customers, financial position, number of technicians available in your city. Technical Credibility of critical components used in the system.
- Is the company approved by Government Authorities like MNRE or ANERT? How many years has the company been in Business?
- Qualification and experience of the promoter and his team in the field of Solar power plant Design, Installation & Commissioning of the plant. Is the installer familiar of the statutory requirements, state policies and regulations?
- Is the company capable of providing you service for the next 25 years?
- How accurate is your system design and does it suit your requirement? Have a shading analysis been done for your roof to find the correct location for your panels. The number of Installation and the KW capacity done by the company in the past years?
- Is the company providing best in class service to its customers after installation? Get the contact details of the customers who are being serviced by the company earlier and get their feedback.
- The quality of the product used. Is the modules IEC/BIS Certified? With lakhs of rupees investment on the system, few bucks on quality is definitely worth it considering the life time of 25 years.
- Is the module from a Tier 1 company? Will the module manufacturer survive for 25 years to provide warranty for the modules as claimed by the manufacturer?
- Is the Power Conditioning Unit supplied by a reliable company having vast experience in On Grid & Off Grid Inverters? Indian Grid condition is very poor and frequent failures are anticipated. The service company engaged should be capable of rectifying and clearing the faults at reasonable time.
- The Supporting structures should be hot dip galvanized structures or Aluminium Structures with enough wind loading strength to with stand 25 years of the life time of the Modules.
Madhu Pathanipadam
CEO-SolarTech
Energy Auditor (EA-9921)
Solar Energy Expert
Mob: 9744076402
