How Do I Know If My Solar Panels Are Working

Fading fading fading don t let this happen to your panels.

How do i know if my solar panels are working.

This loss of power can also be experienced if a couple of your panels are extra dirty or shaded. As most solar panels are 12 volts the solar panel test methods are basically the same. You will want to ensure that you place the positive to positive and negative to negative when attaching your multimeter to the connection on the back of your solar panel. If your solar panels continuously output 5kw of power for a whole 60 minutes you will have produced 5kwh of energy.

Know your inverter if solar panels are the brawn of your solar energy system then the inverter is the brain. Set the meter to above 200 vcd to ensure you get the most accurate reading possible. While solar panels work on cloudy and rainy days their output won t match that on clear sunny days. If your panels are fairly new you should compare your kwh output to the monthly kwh estimate that your solar provider gave you with your initial design.

Your inverter makes the direct current dc produced by your solar panels useable as alternating current ac for your home. The inverter is the first place to check to make sure your solar energy system is working properly. When you re logged into your secure monitoring portal you can see the daily weekly and monthly kilowatt hours kwh that your solar energy system has produced. Power is measured in watts w or kilowatts kw.

Accessing your solar output data online. Check this during the day when your system should be generating and if it is lit you may have a problem with a part of your solar system. What matters is how much sun your home gets year round. Most generation meters will have some sort of indication light that will let you know instantly if your system is not functioning correctly.

In this kind 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.