Quick answer: Every Australian solar and battery installation needs two green, circular, reflective switchboard stickers — a PV sign (AS/NZS 5033) and an ES sign (AS/NZS 5139) — both mounted on or beside your main switchboard where emergency workers will see them first. They’re the two most important labels on the job, but they’re not the only ones your system legally needs.

Why Two Small Green Stickers Matter More Than the Rest of the Kit

A usual solar and battery installation is packaged with several safety warning labels like danger warning labels, arc flash warning labels, shutdown instruction labels, and isolator labels. All of these are affixed directly or nearby the equipment involved, and thus become useful to those who have already discovered the danger.

PV and ES labels stand out because they are the only labels that need to be installed in the one location that everybody coming into contact with your electrical systems will pass through first – the main switchboard. This is what gives them an absolute practical importance in the whole label collection – all others assume that you know that you have some PV or ES system on board.

The 2 Most Important Stickers In Solar

Sticker #1: The Green “PV” Sign

AS/NZS 5033:2021 Clause 5.4 requires every grid-connected solar installation to carry a circular, green, reflective sign — at least 100mm in diameter — with the letters “PV,” mounted on or immediately adjacent to the main switchboard and metering panel. It must be clearly visible to an approaching emergency worker.

Underneath “PV,” a sub-code tells responders what kind of isolation the system uses:

Sticker #2: The Green “ES” Sign

AS/NZS 5139:2019 Clause 7.3 requires every battery storage installation to carry the same style of sign — green, circular, reflective, minimum 100mm — this time with the letters “ES” (Energy Storage), again mounted on or immediately next to the main switchboard.

Underneath “ES” goes a UN number identifying the battery chemistry, which links directly to SAA/SNZ HB 76 — the hazardous materials reference first responders use on-site:

Getting this right matters: a lithium-ion thermal event is handled completely differently to a lead-acid electrolyte spill, and the UN code is how responders know which procedure to follow before they open the battery enclosure.

The Most Common Mistake: Right Sticker, Wrong Location

It’s not the lack of a sticker; it’s the wrong placement of the sticker. Everything is labeled: every sticker that comes with the installation kit is placed on top of the battery, but the switchboard has nothing.

That’s just the opposite of what was meant by the idea. The green ES sticker will be useful only for those who have found the battery and are standing right next to it, but not for a person standing next to the switchboard and getting ready to work on it. There it does its work.

When performing self-checking of your installation, all you need is two minutes. Stand at your main switchboard, and if you cannot see any green PV sticker (and also green ES sticker in case of the presence of the battery) from there, their location is wrong.

The Other Labels Your System Needs (Beyond the Two Green Stickers)

Although the PV and ES signs are by far the most important due to their location, AS/NZS 5033 and AS/NZS 5139 specify a greater number of labels as required by an installation. A properly labelled system would also have:

• DC isolator labels – at the array and the inverter, informing that DC cabling can be live during daylight hours even if the AC side has been isolated
• AC isolator/main switch labels – labelling the point of isolation between the inverter and the switchboard
• Shutdown procedure labels – the order of operations required to de-energise the installation, installed on the inverter
• Battery hazards and emergency isolation labels – placed either on or next to the battery enclosure (along with, rather than instead of, the switchboard ES sign)
• Dual supply warnings – when the consumer unit has a supply from both the mains and from the PV and battery sources

More of these labels are often required for commercial installations and bigger residential installations than just a basic roof-top installation – additional DC isolator labels, junction box labels, and emergency switching procedures are common for multi-array or hybrid installations.

What Happens If the Stickers Are Missing or Wrong?

This isn’t just a tidiness issue. Incomplete or incorrectly placed signage can affect:

• Compliance sign-off — installations are inspected against AS/NZS 5033 and AS/NZS 5139; missing switchboard signage is a common defect noted at inspection.
• STC and rebate claims — under the Clean Energy Council accreditation framework, non-compliant installations risk issues with STC creation, which underpins solar and battery rebates.
• Insurance and resale — a building or contents insurer, or a buyer’s pre-purchase inspector, may flag missing safety signage as a defect during a claim or sale.
• Emergency response time — the practical, human cost: a firefighter or electrician who doesn’t know a battery is on-site before opening a switchboard is working with incomplete information in a genuinely hazardous situation.

Where to Get Compliant Replacement Stickers in Australia

Labels fade — reflective vinyl exposed to Australian UV for a few years is a common failure point, and a peeling or illegible UN code is functionally the same as no sticker at all. If yours has faded:

1. Ask your original installer first — many keep compliant label stock and can replace them during a routine service visit.
2. Source AS/NZS-compliant replacements from an Australian electrical safety signage supplier (not a generic UK or US label supplier, since the standard, sign format, and required wording differ from other regions’ PV signage rules).
3. Have a licensed electrician re-apply them if your board also needs any other compliance check — it’s a two-minute job when it’s already been actioned as part of other electrical work.

FAQs 

Q: What are the two most important stickers on a solar and battery installation?

A: The green circular “PV” sign (required under AS/NZS 5033:2021) and the green circular “ES” sign (required under AS/NZS 5139:2019), both mounted on or immediately next to the main switchboard where emergency workers and electricians will see them first.

Q: Where should the PV and ES stickers be placed?

A: On or immediately adjacent to the main switchboard and metering panel — not on the battery, not on the inverter, and not tucked away in a cupboard. They must be readily visible to someone approaching the switchboard, including emergency responders.

Q: What does the UN number on the ES sticker mean?

A: It identifies the battery chemistry so first responders know how to handle it safely — for example, UN 3480 for lithium-ion, UN 2794 for flooded lead-acid, and UN 2800 for VRLA/AGM/gel batteries. Different chemistries carry different hazards and require different emergency procedures.

Q: Are the PV and ES stickers the only labels my solar system needs?

A: No. They’re the most important because of where they’re mounted, but a fully compliant system also needs DC and AC isolator labels, shutdown procedure labels, battery hazard labels at the battery enclosure itself, and dual-supply warnings where applicable.

Q: What happens if my solar stickers are missing or faded?

A: It can be flagged as a compliance defect at inspection, may complicate STC/rebate claims or insurance assessments, and — most importantly — leaves emergency responders without the information they need before working on your system. Faded or missing switchboard stickers should be replaced as soon as you notice them.

Q: Can I replace faded solar safety stickers myself?

A: You can source AS/NZS-compliant replacement labels from an Australian electrical safety signage supplier, but having a licensed electrician apply them (especially alongside any other switchboard work) ensures correct placement and compliance.

Shah Tarek, Solar Energy Consultant

Shah Tarek is a Solar Energy Consultant with 10 years experience in solar system design and solar consultancy field at Australia. He is now a Director, Operation & Consultancy Division at Aussie Solar Tech, a leading Australian solar retailer and installer. Here he is writing informative and engaging solar content that educates the community on the benefits of solar power. His work supports Aussie Solar Tech’s mission to promote sustainable energy solutions and foster a greener future for Australia.