Our tips for keeping your solar power system in top shape

Our tips for keeping your solar power system in top shape

When you’re not well, you see a doctor. If your pet is sick, you take it to a vet. The same goes for your solar power system. If you’ve noticed it’s not performing as it should, it probably needs a check-up.

Faulty solar panels, worn out wiring, an ancient inverter and unusual grid issues can cause all kinds of headaches for your solar power system. To make matters worse, it can be particularly hard to diagnose exactly what’s causing your system grief unless you’re a solar professional. In much the same way that we count on our family doctor for their expert knowledge and advice, it pays to have a CEC accredited electrician perform an annual health check on your solar system, to ensure all is in good working order.
Regardless of who installed your system, one of our fully licenced technicians can inspect your installation, then detect, diagnose and resolve any issues. They can also offer advice on how to get the best out of your system and preventative measures that will help reduce downtime in the future.

Here’s a more in-depth look at what a solar health check entails:

1. We gather information to assess the symptoms and diagnose the cause

When you book a solar health check with Service My Solar, we make a note of:

• when your system was installed (and by whom)
• how often it has been serviced; and
• any issues you’ve had with your system in the past.

All of these details help us make informed decisions about your system. If you’ve noticed your solar power system is behaving unusually, let us help you get to the bottom of it.

Here are four common issues we come across when carrying out solar health checks:

• If your inverter switches off during the day and tries to restart, the grid tolerance parameter may be set too low, or your property’s grid voltage may be set too high, or you may have a faulty meter.
• If your isolator has burnt out and the amount of power you export to the grid keeps dropping, your cables may be polarised, loose or poorly terminated.
• If your inverter is only running at a small percentage of its full capacity, one of your panels may be to blame, going into open circuit and causing a diode to fail.
• If you notice your inverter doesn’t start on summer days, hot temperatures (and therefore hot panels) may be the issue. We recommend spraying your panels with cold water to cool them down or installing additional panels to compensate for lost productivity.

These are just a few of the countless issues we can troubleshoot during a solar health check.

2. We examine your system and test its performance

Just as your doctor checks your blood pressure and weight, our experienced team will go over your solar power system with a fine toothed comb, checking to ensure it is operating correctly, is in good working order and is well maintained. These checks include close inspections of your:

• inverter
• panels
• cables (including all fly leads and any pinched cables)
• isolators (including all wiring termination, polarity and tightness)

They will then measure your system’s voltage and conduct a series of tests including inverter live and dead tests, VOC and ISC checks.

3. We save you money with our preventative treatments.

A solar health check isn’t just about resolving current issues. It’s also about taking steps to improve the performance of your system, saving you money in the future.
We can help optimise your power consumption
We help you reach your financial and environmental goals by providing helpful tips on how to get the most out of your system. For example, we may recommend you use high powered electrical appliances during the middle of the day (when your system is most productive) to avoid paying more for electricity later in the day when energy costs may be higher.

We can clean your solar panels while we’re there

While it’s important to wash your solar panels as part of your maintenance routine, why pay for someone else come and carry out soiling tests and clean your panels when we can take care of it during our visit. And don’t be fooled by window washing companies that say you should have your panels cleaned every 3 months! The supposed improved performance simply doesn’t justify the fees they are asking for this service. A regular shower once every six months (from the rain will do) is more than enough to keep your panels working well.

We leave you with the best system possible

A good inverter is critical to your solar success. Our team are fully trained to identify and resolve all kind of inverter related issues, to get your system back on its feet as soon as possible. We can repair minor faults on the spot and will happily provide an onsite quote for more complex repair jobs.
If your inverter has taken a turn for the worse and needs replacing, we can still help, even if it’s no longer covered by warranty. We carry a range of replacement inverters (starting at $750 for a 1.5 kW unit) and can swap your faulty one for a new one all on the same day, eliminating additional callout fees.

Don’t wait until it’s too late – book your solar health check today

Be proactive about maintaining your solar installation. Call Service My Solar on 1300 496 278 or book here to schedule your solar health check.