My Givenergy battery stopped working nearly a month ago. After unsuccessfully reaching out to my installer, who looks like he's also busted, I found Solar Tech Support on a Google search. They fixed my issue in a couple of hours. Any frustrated Givenergy customers, I highly recommend these guys.
Brilliant support to get my solar battery working again. I didn’t expect help on a Saturday but Ron answered the phone, listened and sent me the information I needed to get it going, answered questions etc. A brilliant service I’d happily recommend.
Contacted Solar Tech about my Givenergy battery storage system that wasn't working. Battery status was "idle". Given the company Givenergy had gone bust, I need independent quality technical help. Very patient and clearly very knowledgeable about battery systems Ron diagnosed possible issues and suggested several possible remedies. Worked our way through them and fortunately it began to work. The fault was very specific and only an experienced engineer would have thought to check. Suffice to say I'll be back if I need independent support again. Lastly you only pay if there is a solution. Outstanding.
I have a GivEnergy system consisting of two batteries, two inverters and a controlling EMS (Energy Management System) which has not worked since Nov 2025. After six months I discovered Solar Tech Support, reached out to them and Ron phoned me back – how often do you get that service? Could not be more helpful – worked directly with me over the phone, outside what I would call normal working hours. Lucid explanations and we were able to discuss the issues and history using camera and email history. As this was a very rare setup, Ron was able to access an EMS expert in the field to confirm the solution. One sunny day in, I am now only paying for standing charge and a few pence for spikes in grid consumption while battery catches up with house demand.
Excellent response to diagnose a problem on our SolarEdge installation. Kept us informed at every step. Diagnosis quickly completed and solution implemented.
Contacted Ron with a problem and he sorted it out quickly with no problems at all. Very knowledgeable on anything solar/ batteries. I would recommend him to anyone
Unlike grid faults or communication errors, AFCI events must not be reset and walked away from. An arc fault means the inverter has detected current patterns associated with an electrical arc on the DC wiring — a potential fire hazard. The correct immediate response is full isolation of both DC and AC sides, followed by inspection by a qualified engineer. Do not touch any DC wiring, connectors, or open the inverter enclosure.
Work through these in order. The first two steps take less than a minute and make the system safe to leave.
Before you do anything else, confirm exactly what the system is reporting. Open SolarEdge Go on your phone via Bluetooth (stand within 3–4 metres of the inverter) or log in to monitoring.solaredge.com. Navigate to the Alerts or Status section. You should see one of the following:
SolarEdge Go will also show which optimiser position the fault is attributed to. Take a screenshot — this is important information for the engineer. Do not dismiss or acknowledge the alert.
If you see a different code (G70–G99 grid faults, P404 communication loss) — see the red light guide for those fault types. This page covers AFCI only.
This is the most important instruction on this page. Do not press any reset button on the inverter. Do not switch the AC isolator off and on. Do not try to clear the fault code in SolarEdge Go. Resetting an AFCI fault without fixing the underlying cause has two outcomes — both bad:
The system powers back up with a live arc fault in the DC wiring. The AFCI will likely trip again — but in the interim, the arc can cause further insulation damage or generate enough heat to start a fire.
The system appears normal — but the fault is still present. It will return, possibly days later. You've lost the original fault log data that would have helped locate the cause.
The only exception is a single isolated trip following a confirmed direct lightning strike to the property or a significant power surge — but even then, an engineer should verify this before recommissioning.
Find the DC isolator switch. On most SolarEdge installations it is mounted on the wall immediately adjacent to or below the inverter, inside the property (often in the loft or utility room). It is usually a red or yellow rotary switch or a large toggle labelled "DC" or "String Isolator". Turn it to the OFF position.
SolarEdge uses SafeDC — a built-in safety feature where the power optimisers on each panel automatically reduce DC output to approximately 1 volt per panel when the system shuts down or loses communication with the inverter. By the time the AFCI has tripped and you locate the DC isolator, SafeDC is already active. Switching the DC isolator off completes the isolation. The cabling is safe to be near, but still should not be touched or disturbed.
If you cannot find the DC isolator, do not continue looking near the inverter. Proceed to Step 4 (AC isolation) and ask the engineer to locate and switch the DC isolator when they arrive.
Go to your electrical consumer unit (fuse board / distribution board). Find the solar PV circuit breaker — it is usually labelled "Solar PV", "SolarEdge", "PV Inverter", or "Generation". Switch it to the OFF position. This disconnects the inverter from your household AC wiring and the grid export connection.
The system is now fully isolated — DC side down via the isolator, AC side down via the consumer unit. You can leave it in this state safely until an engineer attends.
Get in touch with a qualified solar PV engineer. When you call, tell them:
Do not attempt to investigate the DC wiring, connectors, or roof fixings yourself. Do not open the inverter enclosure. These tasks require specialist equipment and training.
AFCI trips in SolarEdge systems fall into three categories. Understanding which type you're dealing with helps the engineer plan their investigation.
MC4 connectors are the snap-fit waterproof connectors used throughout SolarEdge systems — on every panel, every optimiser, and along the string cable. Over time they can develop problems:
DC string cables run from the roof, through the roof structure, and down to the inverter. The insulation can be damaged in several ways:
SolarEdge power optimisers are fitted to every panel. Optimiser failures can trigger AFCI in two ways:
The advantage of SolarEdge is that SolarEdge Go can identify which optimiser position the P700 fault originated from — which narrows the physical inspection to a specific panel or the short section of cable between adjacent optimisers.
SolarEdge Go (available free on iOS and Android) connects to the inverter via Bluetooth. It can show the AFCI event log and which optimiser position the fault was detected on. This information is valuable for the engineer — it narrows a whole-roof inspection down to a specific panel or short cable section.
Search "SolarEdge Go" in the App Store or Google Play. Open the app. Earlier documentation may refer to this as SetApp — SolarEdge Go supersedes SetApp with the same Bluetooth functionality. Stand within 3–4 metres of the inverter.
SolarEdge Go connects to the inverter directly via Bluetooth — no WiFi or internet connection needed. Once connected, navigate to the Status or Alerts section. You will see the active P700/P701 fault with a timestamp and — critically — the optimiser serial number or position identifier attributed to the fault.
Take a screenshot of the alert including the optimiser ID. If you have access to the layout map in the monitoring portal (the visual panel layout view), you can cross-reference the optimiser ID to a physical position on the roof. Pass this to the engineer — it tells them which panel to start their physical inspection at.
In SolarEdge Go's event log or the MySolarEdge portal's Events tab, check whether this is the first AFCI trip or whether previous events were recorded. Multiple trips over days or weeks — particularly from the same optimiser — strongly indicate a real wiring fault at that location rather than a one-off transient event.
The optimiser ID from SolarEdge Go tells the engineer which panel to start with. They will perform an insulation resistance (IR) test on the DC string from that point — measuring the resistance between the cable and earth at various points along the string to locate where insulation has broken down. MC4 connectors in the identified section will be inspected and tested individually. If the optimiser itself is suspect, its output characteristics can be measured. The combination of SolarEdge's digital fault localisation and traditional electrical test methods makes SolarEdge arc fault diagnosis significantly faster than on brands without optimiser-level monitoring.
Very rarely — and this assessment must only be made by a qualified engineer, never by the homeowner. Here is the full picture.
Even in false positive scenarios, an engineer must verify the system before recommissioning. This requires insulation resistance testing of the DC string — you cannot determine a fault's presence or absence by eye, and SolarEdge Go cannot perform IR testing. The engineer's IR test gives a definitive answer: if the insulation resistance is within specification, the fault was a transient and the system can be safely restarted. If not, the fault is real and must be repaired.
A genuine AFCI trip that is "cleared" by cycling power and then left without inspection is the most dangerous scenario — the system appears to recover but the arc fault source remains in the wiring.
SolarEdge includes Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) protection as a standard feature on all HD-Wave inverters sold in markets with AFCI requirements, including the UK. It is built into the inverter hardware and cannot be disabled by configuration. It monitors the DC current waveform from the panel strings and applies signal processing algorithms to detect the irregular, high-frequency current patterns associated with electrical arcing.
AFCI is categorically different from every other SolarEdge fault type. Grid faults (G-codes) are safe external events — the grid is briefly out of specification and the inverter disconnects to protect itself. Optimiser communication faults (P404) are connectivity issues — the optimiser is physically intact but not communicating. An AFCI trip is the inverter reporting that it has detected a potential electrical hazard in the DC wiring — wiring that, on a typical UK installation, runs across the roof, through the roof structure, and down through the property.
The SafeDC feature works in conjunction with AFCI. When the inverter shuts down — whether due to an AFCI trip or any other reason — the power optimisers automatically reduce their DC output to approximately 1 volt per panel. This means the DC string voltage drops from its operating level (typically 200–500V depending on system size) to a safe low voltage. SafeDC activates automatically without any action from the homeowner, and the system maintains this safe state even if the inverter is powered down. It does not substitute for full isolation, but it significantly reduces the DC hazard during the period between the trip and isolation.
For the homeowner, the practical distinction is simple: arc fault events require isolation and engineer investigation before any restart. This is non-negotiable regardless of whether the system appears to restart successfully — a successful restart after an AFCI trip without investigation means the hazard is still present in the wiring.
This is a brand-specific version of our general inverter red light guide, which covers all brands.
We handle SolarEdge AFCI investigations using SolarEdge Go for fault localisation, followed by insulation resistance testing and physical inspection of the affected string. Most arc fault sources are identified and repaired in a single visit.
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