Solar & Related Industries Nameplates
Decades of UV, wind, and temperature
Nameplates, rating plates, and warning labels for solar and renewable energy equipment installed outdoors for its whole service life. Metal identification built to withstand up to 25 years of outdoor exposure, specified against the actual mounting surface.
U.S. Nameplate Co. has the capability and experience to manufacture products that withstand the most extreme weather conditions — which is the entire requirement in solar and renewable energy. Our equipment nameplates can be built to withstand 25 years of outdoor exposure, and some products are guaranteed for 25 years or more. Quotes are free.
Identification for a 25-year design life
Solar installations are unusual among the industries we serve, because the asset and its identification are expected to last the same length of time. A plant is financed, warranted, and modelled over decades of continuous outdoor exposure, with no shelter and very little maintenance attention.
Which sets a demanding and very specific requirement: the rating plate on an inverter, the serial tag on a combiner box, and the warning label on a disconnect all have to remain legible for the operating life of the plant. Equipment nameplates can be built to withstand 25 years of outdoor exposure, and some products are guaranteed for 25 years or more.
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Inverters, optimizers, and power conversion equipment
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Combiner boxes, disconnects, and balance-of-system hardware
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Racking, mounting, and tracker assemblies
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Monitoring, metering, and control enclosures
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Energy storage enclosures and battery systems
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Wind energy and other renewable generation equipment
Outdoor service conditions
Companies across the energy industry — oil, gas, fluid power, nuclear power, wind energy, and coal — rely on us because we manufacture products that withstand the most extreme weather conditions. Renewable installations concentrate all of those stresses at once.
Continuous UV exposure
The defining factor. A site chosen for maximum sunlight is also the harshest possible environment for a printed image, and fading is the usual failure.
Daily thermal cycling
Panel and enclosure surfaces heat and cool every day for decades, stressing adhesive bonds and ink films at every cycle.
Weather and moisture
Rain, snow, ice, and condensation, with no shelter and no cleaning regime.
Wind-borne abrasion
Sites in open or desert terrain are scoured by grit, which consumes surface-printed marking.
Salt
Coastal and offshore installations add corrosion to everything above.
Materials and processes
For this service life, marking that lives in the metal is the specification. A printed image is the first thing to go.
Metalphoto® — .003″–.125″The image is developed inside the anodic layer and sealed over. Fire, abrasion, and corrosion resistant, UL recognized, and the most durable aluminum substrate available. See
Metalphoto processing.
Metal etchingThe legend is recessed into the metal and color filled, so abrasion has to remove metal to remove information. See
metal etching.
Anodized aluminum
Sapphire-hard surface, insulative and static resistant, with roughly 20-year exterior life.
Stainless steel
2B mill finish, for coastal and corrosive installations.
EmbossingRaised characters that stay legible long after any printed image on the same plate has gone. See
embossing and forming.
Mechanical fastening
Holes machined to your print in almost any location from .05″ to 3.5″, which outlasts adhesive across decades of thermal cycling.
Safety and compliance identification
Electrical hazard, arc flash, and isolation labelling on solar hardware is read exactly when it matters most — by someone working on live equipment, often years after commissioning, frequently in glare.
That argues for the most durable construction you can justify rather than the cheapest that passes inspection on day one. We are a UL authorized label supplier and a recognized supplier for UL system I and II labeling and marking systems. See custom safety labels and our UL authorized label supplier reference.
Identification components
Rating and data platesElectrical values, capacities, and operating limits, frequently carrying an approval mark. See
rating plates.
Serial and asset platesTie each unit to its record across a site containing thousands of near-identical assemblies. See
serial plates.
Safety and warning labelsElectrical hazard, arc flash, and isolation identification. See
warning labels.
Control panels and enclosure facesOperator and service interfaces built for full outdoor exposure. See
aluminum control panels.
Component and string tagsIdentification for the sub-assemblies inside a larger installation. See
data tags.
How a solar order runs
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Tell us the equipment and the design life. Including any approval mark the plate must carry. Our seasoned art department turns a blueprint or artwork into a press-ready proof at no charge.
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We recommend the construction. Material, marking method, and fastening chosen against the exposure and the number of years the information must survive.
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You approve the proof. Including the placement of approval marks and any variable data.
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Production. Most jobs finish 7–10 days after the proof is approved, in an ISO 9001:2015 certified facility. Rush work runs 3–5 business days for an additional fee.
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Repeat supply. Parts can run against a stocking program so releases arrive as your build schedule requires.
Solar RFQ checklist
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The equipment, and where the identification mounts
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Drawings or artwork, with plate sizes and hole positions
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The design life the identification must reach
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The site environment: desert, coastal, high altitude, snow load
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Any approval mark or standard the plate must carry
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Whether values change between units, and how that data reaches us
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Quantity and your timing, including the date the line actually needs parts
If you do not have all of that yet, send what you have and call 319-895-8804. Customer service is open 8:00 AM–4:30 PM CST Monday through Thursday and 7:00 AM–3:30 PM CST Friday, and you will always reach someone in person.
Since 1946
Family-owned and operated in Mount Vernon, Iowa
3,000+
OEMs supplied across the U.S. and abroad
25 years
Outdoor exposure, some products guaranteed longer
7–10 days
Typical production after proof approval
$0
Tooling fee on in-house equipment
Why U.S. Nameplate Co.
Why solar & related industries manufacturers choose U.S. Nameplate Co.
One partner, one roof
Metal identification and flexible labels are produced under one roof in Mount Vernon, Iowa, so a single supplier covers plates, tags, overlays, decals, and safety labels instead of three.
No tooling fee on in-house equipment
U.S. Nameplate Co. does not charge a tooling fee for any in-house equipment. A one-time charge applies only when a tool has to be created for your order.
You reach a person
Customer service representatives are available 8:00 AM–4:30 PM CST Monday through Thursday and 7:00 AM–3:30 PM CST Friday. You will always reach someone in person.
Built to outlast the equipment
Metal nameplates are built to withstand up to 25 years of outdoor exposure, with some products guaranteed for 25 years or more. Safety labels are UL authorized and OSHA compliant, produced in an ISO 9001:2015 certified facility.
Family-owned since 1946
Supplier of choice to more than 3,000 original equipment manufacturers in the U.S. and abroad, with team members averaging 10+ years of service.
One piece or one million
The 55,000 sq ft climate-controlled facility is equipped to handle orders from a single plate to production volumes, on repeat release schedules.
Request a quote for solar & related industries nameplates and labels
We offer free quotes on all solar & related industries identification orders. Send the drawing, artwork, quantities, application, and timing you have today — our art department turns a blueprint into a press-ready proof, and we will tell you what is still open.
Most jobs finish 7–10 days after the proof is approved. Rush orders can be produced in 3–5 business days for an additional fee. Orders ship within a 10% over/under quantity standard.
Request a Quote or call 319-895-8804 and you will reach someone in person.
