Common (Fixable!) Issues With Your Solar System
While we can go on and on about the benefits of solar power, we can acknowledge that no system is perfect. Ultimately, solar is an excellent option for those looking to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. But there are a few things that can go wrong with solar… luckily, they’re all easy to fix! If you’re having issues with your solar system, it’s likely one of the below problems.
Solar breaker may have tripped. If this happens for some reason, you can try resetting the breaker. If that works, great! If not, there may be an arc fault. Do NOT attempt to fix this on your own. This is something that a licensed electrician should handle. If this is the case, contact your solar installer right away.
An obstruction on the panels. This is a common issue that happens to solar homeowners. This could include debris from trees or excessive dust, smog, or snow that is blocking the panels from producing. If this is the case, and if it’s safe to do so, you can attempt to clean off the panels. Of course, you can always contact a professional to go on the roof and do this for you.
Many manufacturers will recommend that your solar panels be cleaned on a semi-regular basis. Most solar panels are tilted and will have sufficient cleanings from regular rain, even in the driest parts of the country like the desert in Arizona. If you do have an excessive build-up of dust on your panels, an annual or every other year cleaning is a good idea.An issue with the internet connection. If you change your internet provider or equipment, you may lose the Wi-Fi connection to your solar monitoring equipment. Rather than getting a notification that the system is disconnected, it may just appear that the solar system is not producing. But this is because the system is no longer reporting the production to the monitoring system. Make sure that if there is a change to your Wi-Fi or internet that you change it on the monitoring system as well. In some monitoring systems, contacting the installer is required in order to update the Wi-Fi information.
Luckily, all of these issues can be easily resolved. And, in terms of other ongoing maintenance for your solar system, nothing else is needed. In fact, the best part about solar is that the only movement that happens to produce electricity is at the electron level. There are no other moving parts to worry about; there is no need to oil or lubricate or swap out worn-out parts.
Sit back and relax and let the sun do its thing! Just be sure to check your system every week or month to make sure that it's producing correctly.