As solar adoption in South Africa grows rapidly, a concerning trend is emerging: many systems are installed but then left unattended. And over time, this neglect comes at a price.
AWPower has established a focused services division of experienced engineers and electricians to provide specialised servicing and support for solar PV installations, and this service is now available nationwide.
This newsletter focuses on the facts around the do’s and don’ts of solar maintenance, and we trust that you will benefit from extracts from the diaries of the AWPower servicing team’s experience of installing and supporting over 500 solar installations over a period of 11 years.
SolarSupport 26
AWPower recently launched SolarSupport 26 (previously called SM&SA 26), a technology-driven solar maintenance & support programme, developed in collaboration with Fidelity SecureFire and Santam. We believe no solar PV installation should be without this service as it provides enhanced safety, conformance, and performance to your solar system.
SolarSupport 26 options includes HeatWatch, an early-warning remote system, that keeps a 24/7 watch on your lithium batteries and other potential heat generators like fuse boxes, with monitoring services by Fidelity SecureFire. It will send alerts with optional fire response services when abnormal temperature changes are detected.
HeatWatch is about the size of a mobile phone and can be easily installed by the user. It has a long-life battery and can be attached to a battery or fuse box with a gum strip, after which it can be connected to Fidelity’s Sigfox, which is a network providing national SA coverage mostly focused in areas where there is economic activity and population, which is very similar to the SA cellular network coverage. Sigfox SA coverage is shown in the map below:
In this Sigfox SA coverage map, any area covered in blue (average), green (good) and red (excellent) has coverage with different levels of signal quality. Sigfox also has coverage in Botswana and Namibia for possibly future expansion of AWPower.
The Hidden Cost of Solar Systems That Aren’t Audited
If you’ve invested hundreds of thousands into a solar solution, shouldn’t you be sure it’s working at its peak? Unfortunately, too many systems aren’t. And the consequences are silently adding up: lower performance, safety risks, and insurance issues. We recently audited a solar installation where a single faulty string connector was causing a 15% drop in production, unknown to the owner. That’s a chunk of savings lost every month, simply because no one checked.
Free Solar Systems Audit
If you subscribe to SolarSupport 26, and your system was not installed by AWPower, we’ll include the full on-site Systems Audit with 60-point scorecard in the first on-site visit.
Is your solar system performing?
Our MD, Christiaan Hattingh, writes:
“Now and then, someone tells me, ‘Our solar system is fine. It’s working…’ I always smile and ask, ‘How do you know?’ – In many cases, nothing is ‘obviously’ wrong. Their lights stay on, and the inverter is running. The monitoring app shows generation. On the surface level, everything looks ‘fine’, BUT, when we dig a little deeper, the story often changes.”
Gel-type Lithium Battery Extinguisher
We believe no solar PV installation should be without Fidelity’s FireBlock 9L gel-type Fire Extinguisher. See in the video how it kills lithium fires quickly and effectively compared to other types of extinguishers.
See it in action below:
Promotion
When taking advantage of the ground-breaking lithium fire safety services now offered to SolarSupport 26 subscribers, you will receive a 10% discount on the total amount when including at least 1 x Heatwatch device plus Fidelity SecureFire Monitoring in your agreement.
Closing date for this promotion is 31 March 2026.