How Can I Decide If My Solar Panels Are Working Properly?

So, finally you’ve got a shiny new solar installation by the best Solar power customer reviews holding company on your roof, and it’s just started kicking out the kilowatts. How can I know that every panel is producing up to its potential? What if my one or more of solar panels break? Will the others keep working?

All of the above questions are excellent, and, fortunately, they’re also pretty easy to answer. Let us discuss the terms in detail:

With One Inverter;

Generally, for a traditional solar panel system, panels are placed on the roof, and rows of panels are wired in strings. Then the strings are connected at one end of the system and the wires are run to a central inverter, which takes the DC electricity from the panels and converts it to AC electricity that can be used by your home appliances and the rest of the electrical grid.

In such a type of system, if a single panel isn’t working, the whole string goes down, kind of like if you cover half the panel on a solar calculator with your finger, the calculator won’t work.

This kind of power loss can also be experienced if a couple of your panels are extra dirty or shaded. You’ll get to know if a panel in your system has problems because the system output in kilowatt hours (kWh) will be lower than it should be. Many solar power reviews companies that install solar panels offer some kind of system monitoring software that can help.

In case your panels have been up for a while, you might be able to tell easily by looking at your electric bill whether your system is producing, but if you had panels just installed, you’ll have to go by estimates provided by your installer.

Always keep in mind that even a little shading on a couple of panels in a string can cause a big dip in production for that string.

With Micro-Inverters;

A number of modern solar panel systems with good solar installer reviews are installed with micro-inverters attached to each panel. At one hand, such micro-inverters can be more expensive than a single, centrally-located inverter, they also separate each panel’s production, meaning when one goes down, the others keep working great.

For the kind of systems that use micro-inverters, there is even more advanced monitoring software that can detect when one panel goes out.

So, when you’re talking to a good solar company reviews installer about getting a system, examine the micro-inverter option carefully. There is a possibility that it might cost you a bit more up front, but it pays for itself in the peace of mind and risk avoidance. Contact horizon for any kind of solar power purchase agreement, from solar panel design to solar installation and monitoring, we take care of everything from start to finish. You can contact us via the given numbers below:

Residential: 855-857-2567

Commercial: 844-728-3710