# Interest group forums > Energy and Resource Conservation Forum >  Solar Borehole Pump - COC?

## Melwin

Good day.
Could anyone tell me if I need a CoC on the following installation?

A few Solar Panels connected in Serie, connected to a On/Off Switch, connected to a Borehole Pump.
This is the description that I got from a friend.

The installation is on a farm on a area with no power grid, hence the solar installation.
No batteries, no Inverter, no Charger controller.

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## Melwin

The pump is a 3" Grundfos SQF Pump(Solar powered pump) and it seems like it is connected directly to the switch, which in turn is connected to the Panels.

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## Dave A

From the Electrical Installation Regulations (2009):

7. (1) Subject to the provisions of subregulation (3), every user or lessor of an electrical installation, as the case may be, shall have a valid certificate of compliance for that installation in the form of Annexure 1, which shall be accompanied by a test report in the format approved by the chief inspector, in respect of every such electrical installation.

(2) Subject to the provisions of subregulation (3), every user or lessor of an electrical installation, as the case may be, shall on request produce the certificate of compliance for that electrical installation to an inspector, a supplier or, subject to regulation 4(1), an approved inspection authority for electrical installations.

(3) Subregulation (1) shall not apply to an electrical installation that existed prior to 23 October 1992, and where there was no change of ownership after 1 March 1994: Provided that, if any addition or alteration is effected to such an electrical installation, the user or lessor of the electrical installation, as the case may be, shall obtain a certificate of compliance for the whole electrical installation, whereafter the provisions of subregulation (1) shall be applicable to such electrical installation.

The definition of an electrical installation is:

"electrical installation" means any machinery, in or on any premises, used for the transmission of electricity from a point of control to a point of consumption anywhere on the premises, including any article forming part of such an electrical installation irrespective of whether or not it is part of the electrical circuit, but excluding

(a) any machinery of the supplier related to the supply of electricity on the premises;
(b) any machinery which transmits electrical energy in communication, control circuits, television or radio circuits;
(c) an electrical installation on a vehicle, vessel, train or aircraft; and
(d) control circuits of 50 V or less between different parts of machinery or system components, forming a unit, that are separately installed and derived from an independent source or an isolating transformer;

So it would seem there would need to be a COC issued on the portion of the installation from the point of control (main switch) to the point of consumption (pump).

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Melwin (02-Jul-15)

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## AndyD

It looks like a self contained installation, solar panels only with no DB connection or external power supply in which case no CoC required.

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Melwin (02-Jul-15)

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## Melwin

Thank you guys. At the end it seems like quite a controversial issue as ther are no direct regulations for installation of Stand-alone systems like these.
But to be on the sfe side it would be better to have the CoC, even if they only test a small part of the installation.

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## AndyD

Lol, I just saw now that you got two conflicting answers but I'm guessing Dave didn't see the spec sheet in the third photo. Voc = 44.2 Volts. It's classed as ELV and from the reg Dave pasted above would fall under exclusion D.
_(d) control circuits of 50 V or less between different parts of machinery or system components, forming a unit, that are separately installed and derived from an independent source or an isolating transformer_  and hence wouldn't be classed as an 'installation' for purposes of Coc requirements.

I don't think it's a bad thing to certify the system but I don't believe it's an actual requirement that it must be certified. That's just my opinion and I wouldn't be surprised if Dave has something up his sleeve I might have missed.

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Melwin (14-Jul-15)

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## Dave A

> I wouldn't be surprised if Dave has something up his sleeve I might have missed.


Is it a control circuit or a power circuit?

To be honest, I'm on the fence on whether this *has* to have a COC in terms of the EIR or not. My kneejerk reaction was much the same as yours - a self-contained unit. But upon reflection, the EIR's don't clearly exclude the possibility that they're applicable either.

And if someone did get injured somehow, I see it as a possible CYA measure.

It might also be worth looking at the Electrical Machinery Regulations 2011, particularly section 18. This also places responsibilities on the employer or user.

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AndyD (03-Jul-15), Melwin (14-Jul-15)

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## Melwin

Was out of the office last week.

Exactly because of the fact that the Department and me cover ourselves against someone getting injured because of whatever reason, I advised them to rather get a CoC and they know they are covered.

This is what I replied back to Department of Education....
*".......Therefore, my conclusion is, that there are no direct regulation for an installation we have here, but to be on the safe side and to cover the Department against any future claims that might arise from accidental injury, a CoC would be advisable including the Supplier/Installer commissioning certificate that the system have been installed and working correctly."*

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## Melwin

Thank you Dave and Andy for the Help....

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## SilverNodashi

> Lol, I just saw now that you got two conflicting answers but I'm guessing Dave didn't see the spec sheet in the third photo. Voc = 44.2 Volts. It's classed as ELV and from the reg Dave pasted above would fall under exclusion D.
> _(d) control circuits of 50 V or less between different parts of machinery or system components, forming a unit, that are separately installed and derived from an independent source or an isolating transformer_  and hence wouldn't be classed as an 'installation' for purposes of Coc requirements.
> 
> I don't think it's a bad thing to certify the system but I don't believe it's an actual requirement that it must be certified. That's just my opinion and I wouldn't be surprised if Dave has something up his sleeve I might have missed.


I know this is a very very old post, but though I'd chip in: Those 3 solar panels are probably all setup in series, giving roughly 108V, which will then most likely mean a COC should be given.

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## AndyD

Those Grundfos pumps can run as low as 30 volts DC voltage range so the panels could be either series or parallel if they're connected direct to the pump with no charge controller. 

**edit** Scrap that last statement, just re-read the whole thread and I didn't previously see that he stated the panels are in series in the opening post.

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