No Matter how old your solar panels are, it can be beneficial to check on their condition if you’re thinking regularly, Are my solar panels working? By spotting difficulties early on, they may be fixed more easily and green, clean energy production can be resumed.

Modern solar panel systems need to notify you of any issues by sending out warnings or notifications regarding their state.

Homeowners installing solar panels can benefit from Palmetto Protect’s 24/7 monitoring by the Palmetto team, which can proactively notify you if something goes wrong.

Here is a simple guide on how to check if your solar panels are working, and what to do if your solar panels are not working perfectly.

Check If Your Solar Panels Are Working? Step By Step Guide

We advise carrying out the following actions if you wish to make sure that your system is in good working order and check its status:

Step 1 – Examine the Weather

Your PV system‘s ability to produce power is influenced by how much sunlight it receives. This is especially true when you take into account the daily weather prediction, seasonal effects over the long term, and the general climate of the region in which you live. You might have simply had a recent stretch of severe weather if you observe that your electricity generation has fluctuated recently outside of the expected ranges. 

To better understand how your solar panels will produce electricity for your home, we advise consulting records and future forecasts for the weather in your location.

Start by calculating the average amount of peak sun hours your property should receive, and then make adjustments for seasons when there may be greater daytime cloud cover that could affect your solar panels.

To compare current production rates to earlier years, you can also study historical trends with a production tracking app like the Palmetto App.

Step 2 – Examine the Inverter

The “brain” of a solar system is often referred to as the inverter. It is the component that changes DC energy (Direct current) into AC energy (Alternating current), which your home may use. String inverters and micro-inverters are the two primary categories of inverters. To find out which sort you have, check with your solar firm, but typically, micro-inverters are tiny and mounted to the back of solar panels. A string inverter will be considerably more important and can be found in a different place. 

The majority of inverters include indicator lights that let you know how well they’re working. Your solar installer should be contacted if you notice an orange or red light, which indicates that your solar panels may not be functioning properly.

Bonus: POWER RESTORATION MADE EASY: UNLOCK THE SECRETS TO RESETTING INVERTER OVERLOAD

Step 3 – Examine Your Electricity Meter

Your home’s electricity usage is tracked via your electric meter. Since your solar panels will be supplying the majority of your needs when you go solar, you should use less electricity from the utility.

Suppose you use net metering and aren’t using a lot of electricity on a sunny day. In that case, some of that surplus electricity may even flow back into the grid, and your meter will credit you for that extra energy generation.

As a result, checking your energy meter on a bright, sunny day is one simple way to determine. Whether your solar panels are functioning. There is probably something wrong with your solar installation if your panels should be providing the most.

Or all of the energy that your home requires, yet the electric meter still indicates that you’re using the grid. A solar meter that measures the amount of electricity your photovoltaic (PV) panels produce.

And displays crucial data for the homeowner and solar installer to analyze including in certain solar installations.

Step 4 – Examine your Electricity Bill

The majority of people install solar panels primarily to reduce their electricity costs. Your utility cost should be lower than it was before you built your system if your solar panels are functioning.

Your monthly payment may vary depending on how much power your household solar system produces in comparison to the quantity you use from the utility grid. You should nevertheless notice a drop from your pre-solar bill totals.

Therefore, it is possible that your solar panels are not functioning properly if your power expenses start to increase once more.

Step 5 – Check Your Breaker Switches

Because an “off” PC is one of the most common reasons for a user’s computer not operating, customer care professionals are required to ask about this. The same holds true for your home’s breaker switches, often known as its fuse boxes.

In the event of surges, faults, or overloads, these switches will trigger, preventing solar energy from either powering devices or entering the grid.

Step 6 – Examine any Obstructions

Since solar panels can only generate power while exposed to sunlight. It’s important to avoid topics that can obstruct their ability to do so, such as:

trees with recent foliage that can obstruct light. In this situation, you might need to prune certain branches. dust, trash, and pollen buildup can gradually worsen over time and block sunlight from reaching your PV panels. Here are some free guidelines for correctly cleaning solar panels.

Make sure there are no obstructions lurking beneath the panels, too. Reduced energy production is one outcome of mice, birds, and other pests making a home in your PV system. Therefore, it’s vital to clean up the mess. A pest guard should be installed to prevent further infestations.

Additional Tips

1. Keep track of your solar panel system’s maintenance schedule and perform regular maintenance as needed.
2. Consider using a solar monitoring app to track your system’s performance in real-time.
3. If you live in an area with harsh weather conditions, consider investing in protective covers for your solar panels.

Conclusion

The checklist in this conclusion will assist you in resolving 80% of the majority of solar-related problems. And it’s a good idea to repeat these procedures periodically.

Because over the 20 to 25 years of the panels’ warrantied lifetimes. Dust accumulation, pest infestations, and tripped switches are all inevitable.

Solar monitoring, on the other hand, is the simplest and most hands-off method for determining when and why your solar panels aren’t functioning if you’re concerned about safeguarding your clean-power investment.

When properly configured, solar monitoring can track the performance of your PV system and notify you when action is required.

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