“Cheapest” solar panel system melts at Costa del Sol home

The circuit breaker—supposed to protect a solar energy system from power surges—had melted and stopped functioning.

The system’s cables were “too small” and also beginning to melt.

“The homeowner was as little as three weeks from the entire sub-board melting and an electrical fire,” said Adam Millington, co-owner of Marbella-based Marblanc Solar, who was called in to fix the system.

“The system was a ticking time bomb with only one fate: burning the house down.”

Adam said the correct-sized cables for the system would only have cost the installer “about €30 more”.

“But I don’t think this was done on purpose,” he said. “Looking at how the system was installed, it was done by an unqualified electrician who was guestimating what cables to choose.”

Adam, a qualified electrician, said the installation was just one of at least six call-outs his company received in June from homeowners with faulty solar panel systems.

He said it’s a common problem on the Costa del Sol where homeowners get recommended a “local handyman” to install the cheapest system, but they have “no clue” what they’re doing.

Following this serious fire hazard, Marblanc Solar are raising awareness about the hidden costs of choosing the “cheapest solar quote”.

According to co-owner Roman Mitchell, the most common issue is an unlegalised system.

Roman said the homeowner initially called to ask for Marblanc Solar to legalise the solar panel system, as they were unable to access a solar feed-in tariff and virtual battery.

“The homeowner couldn’t sell electricity back to the grid or get better electricity rates, so he wasn’t seeing as much savings,” Roman said.

“They had chosen a quote €1,500 cheaper without realising the long-term costs of not properly legalising the system. It’s an amount they would have recovered very quickly had they swapped electricity providers.”

It was only when inspecting the system that Marblanc Solar discovered the melted circuit breaker and incorrect cables.

“We also noticed the solar panels weren’t placed in the right location on the roof for the system to work as promised,” Roman added. “The installer chose the placement by eyesight, instead of creating a drone scan and selecting placement through state-of-the-art solar software as we do.”

Roman said that his solar energy company has helped all six homeowners to legalise their systems, subject to thorough inspections and necessary upgrades.

He warned that in extreme cases—for example, where there’s a serious fire risk—the homeowner can end up “paying twice” for a solar panel installation that meets minimum safety requirements for legalisation.

To help educate homeowners on the risks of faulty solar panel installations on the Costa del Sol, Marblanc Solar has prepared a series of questions to ask.

They recommend asking all ten during a sales call or site visit with the solar company’s representative.

Some of the questions are simple, such as: “What qualifications does your installation team have?” and “Are you capable of legalising the system yourself, or through a third-party?”

But other questions are designed to give you ultimate confidence when installing solar panels on the Costa del Sol.

These are questions like: “How much are you insured for?” and “Can you put us in touch with past clients who achieved the savings you are promising?”

Marblanc Solar, for example, spent “months” negotiating with insurance companies to raise their insurance coverage to €15 million.

“We work with many high-value properties on the Costa del Sol, and our mission is to provide the professional service that clients deserve. We’ve completed over five hundred installations and never had a piece of equipment melt, a fire hazard or any damage to a client’s property we didn’t immediately fix,” Roman added.

He said they give every client a direct WhatsApp channel to him and his team following an installation, and last month sent a Marblanc Solar electrician to a property at “11pm on a Saturday” to check a client’s electrical issue.

Roman hopes that the guide will help readers get the savings they’re promised, without the long-term costs of choosing the cheapest solar panel installation.

Marblanc Solar, the trading name of Marblanc Electrical Group S.L., is a solar panel installer based in Calle del Calvario, 8, 29601 Marbella, Málaga. They have an in-house team of certified survey engineers and qualified electricians and legalise all solar energy systems they install.

More information:

Visit marblancsolar.com and visit Resources > 10 Questions to Ask Your Installer for a full list of questions. You can also request a site visit and system proposal by visiting marblancsolar.com/free-solar-survey/.