Advice

Solar Maintenance Checklist

Top tips for solar maintenance

Get your panels serviced
Clean your solar panels
Correct placement of solar panels
Check for damage
Make sure the inverters are flashing green
Check the day-to-day performance

1. Get your panels serviced

It is best to do this at least once a year. This way, you can keep on top of any nasty financial surprises, whilst making sure that your panels are generating enough power to save money on your bills. Our care plans include an annual in-depth assessment and health check.

2. Clean your solar panels

Solar panels work by converting light into electricity. If there is dirt on the surface of the solar panel, it can reduce how much light is absorbed by that area, reducing efficiency.

3. Correct Placement of solar panel

Placement is everything. Your panels' energy production becomes inefficient if they are in the shade. As well as shading the panels, overhanging branches should be cleared to remove any threats, such as falling branches or bird muck.

4. Check for Damage

You should always check your solar panels for weathering, rust, and damage at least twice a year. If there are cracks in the vacuum-sealed back sheet of your solar panel and they become wet with water or dirt, then rust will likely start spreading and cause permanent damage.

5. Make sure the inverters are flashing green

When the light on your inverters is flashing green, it means there are no faults in your solar energy system. If they are not flashing, it could mean there’s an underlying issue. If an alarm is beeping continously there may be an overload or a problem with the cooling fan.

6. Check the day-to-day performance

Make sure to track how much energy has been generated at the same time each day, as this will help you identify any problems quickly.

Solar system faults to look out for

Signs solar panel maintenance or repair may be necessary

There are some obvious warning signs that you may be experiencing and should look out for that may show that your solar panel system could have a fault.

The solar panels have stopped generating
Electric production has fallen
Generation (solar) meter has stopped going up or is blank
Inverter display shows an error message
Your FiT payments have reduced dramatically
The circuit breaker for your solar panels has tripped

The Main Solar System Components

1. Solar Array

Solar panels are very reliable as they dont have any moving parts. It is however possible that DC cables that join them together or the connectors can be damaged by water ingress or pests.

3. Battery & Battery Charge Controller

Most home solar systems in the UK are built with a battery backup included for when the sun does not shine such as on dull days or at night.
The battery charge controller ensures that a consistent amount of electrical power is sent to the batteries so that they are not over charged, and to ensure that the backup batteries do not discharge back through the system at night.

3. Inverter

A solar inverter transforms the energy output from solar panels and converts it into electricity that can be fed into your home to operate your appliances.
The most common component to fail within a solar system is the solar inverter. Sometimes it is obvious that the inverter has failed by the error code but often it requires an solar engineer to check the system to see were the fault lies.

4. Generation Meter

A generation meter or solar power meter allows you to see how much free solar power is being supplied to your home from your solar panels.
If the meter is blank then typically a switch has tripped in your fuse box. Otherwise it will probably need to be replaced. If the meter has stopped going up it means that something has failed within the system.