Solar and electrical contractor in Corndale, NSW
Corndale, farm by farm
Corndale is a tiny rural locality of around 360 people, spread across rolling hills and farmland in the Lismore hinterland. It has macadamia orchards, grazing paddocks and patches of remnant rainforest, and the properties along Corndale Road and Arthur Road sit well apart. Our work here is on working land, a farmhouse, a machinery shed, a pump at a dam, rather than on a street of houses, and one property can hold several separate buildings that each need power.
Access in Corndale is by farm gate. There may be several gates between the road and the house, a cattle grid, paddocks with stock in them or a locked gate that needs a key or a code, and we close each one behind us as we find it. Meter boxes can be at the road, at the house or at a shed, and a farm often has more than one supply point. We find them by following the lines or asking you to walk us round. Wet grass tracks matter for the van.
Corndale land is open and mostly clear, so there is usually room for a ground mounted array, and the big roofs of sheds often face well for panels. Distances are long, though, and a shed motor, a dam pump and a workshop welder each pull on the supply in their own way. The farmhouse is often on the same supply as the sheds. Open ground also means exposed lines in storms, so we look at protection and earthing as well as the panels.
What we do here most
What Corndale farms keep needing
A farm is power in several places at once, and the jobs here tend to start with a shed, a pump or a switchboard. Panels come after those.
Commercial
Solar on a macadamia shed roof
A shed roof is one of the biggest flat surfaces on a farm, and an orchard that dries and handles nuts uses power during the day. We check the sheeting and framing, the switchboard in the shed and the supply it is fed from. We ask which machines run when, so the system matches the load and not just the roof size.
Electrical
Dam pump and shed power on one farm supply
A pump at a dam, a workshop and a farmhouse can all hang off one supply that was never planned for them together. We trace the cable from the pole to each building, check the size of the cable and the protection and work out whether each end gets enough power. Sometimes a separate switchboard at the shed solves what a bigger cable cannot.
Repairs
Storm damage to a farm shed switchboard
Exposed lines on open ground take a lot in a storm, and a switchboard in a shed can be hit by moisture, insects or a surge. After one, circuits may stay dead or appliances may fail. We test each circuit, check the earthing and replace what is damaged. We also tell you what we can see about why it happened, and what could be fitted to cut the chance of a repeat.
Batteries
Battery for a farmhouse and its workshop
A farm that is a long way down the line can lose power when a branch comes down somewhere else. A battery can keep the house and a few key circuits running, and we ask what must stay on, such as a fridge, lights and a water pump. A workshop welder or large motor is usually left off the battery, and we say so before you choose.
If it is urgent
If the power fails on a Corndale farm
- 1Look at the switchboard from outside, not inside, and see whether the house is dead but the neighbours still have power, which points to something on your side of the pole.
- 2Do not open a shed switchboard that is wet, scorched or buzzing, do not touch a fallen line over a paddock fence, and leave inverters and batteries alone if anything smells burnt.
- 3When you call, tell us which farm gates are locked and where the key or code is, which building has no power, and whether any stock are in the paddocks between the road and the house.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Which areas do you cover?
The Northern Rivers of New South Wales, from our base at Dorroughby, between Lismore and Byron Bay. Twenty places have their own pages on the service areas page, but they are a starting point rather than a boundary. If you are not sure we reach your address, call and we will check.
Do you answer the phone after hours?
Yes. The phone is answered at any hour, every day, on the number at the top of this page. Call with your address and what you are seeing, and we will tell you what to leave alone and what happens next.
Do you work on farms and businesses as well as homes?
Yes. The work runs from a single house roof to sheds, workshops, shops and farm buildings, on mains power and off it. Tell us what the building is used for and when it is busy, because that decides when the work can happen.
What should I send when I enquire?
A photo of your switchboard with the door open, a photo of the roof or the spot where equipment would go, and a recent power bill if you have one. If you already have a system, add a photo of the inverter and any error on its screen. Photos let us give you straight answers before anyone visits.
Will my solar keep working in a blackout?
A standard grid-connected system switches itself off when the grid goes down, even in full sun, and that is a safety feature. To keep some power on during an outage, the system needs a battery set up with a backup circuit. Which circuits go on that backup is decided with you before the work starts.
Can I add a battery to the solar I already have?
Often yes, but it depends on the inverter you have now and how the system is wired. Some inverters take a battery as it is, and others need replacing or adding to first. Send a photo of the inverter and we will tell you which it is likely to be.
What is the difference between grid-connected, hybrid and off-grid?
A grid-connected system works alongside the street supply and has no battery. A hybrid system uses one inverter to run the panels and a battery together. An off-grid system has no street connection at all, so the panels, battery and a backup generator input carry the whole property.
Can you work on a system someone else installed?
Yes. The first step is finding out exactly what is there, which means opening the switchboard, checking the cabling and reading what the inverter reports. After that we tell you what can stay, what should be repaired and what should be replaced.
Why does my solar system keep switching off or showing an error?
There are many possible causes, from a failing part to a loose connection or a fault on one string of panels. We trace the fault step by step and read the error codes before anything is replaced. Send a photo of the inverter screen and tell us when it happens.
What should I do if I see damage or smell burning near electrical equipment?
Keep clear of it and keep children and pets away. If there is fire or smoke, call emergency services first. Then call us, tell us what you saw and where, and leave the equipment alone until it has been checked.
Will the power go off while you work?
For most solar, battery and switchboard jobs the power is switched off for part of the day. We tell you when it will go off before we start, so you can plan around fridges, medical equipment and anything else that needs to keep running. Ask about it when you book.
Do you work on properties with no mains power?
Yes. Off-grid work starts with a list of what you run and when, because that decides the size of the panels, the battery and the inverter. We also look at the site itself, including shade, access and how far the equipment sits from the house.
Everything we do here
Services in Corndale, NSW
These are the twenty things we do across the Northern Rivers, and on a Corndale farm the sheds, pumps and long supply lines decide which of them come first.
Local, and on the phone
Solar and electrical work on a Corndale farm
Call or email with the road name and tell us how many separate buildings on the property need power. That count decides how many switchboards and cable runs we plan for. A photo of the main shed switchboard with the cover closed would also help.
0417 415 47424 hours a day, 7 days a week
Not urgent? Send us the job instead