Monitoring the performance of your solar system and your electricity use, is vital to the ongoing management of your solar investment.
If you are planning to buy solar panels, or already own them, it’s recommended that you take note of your electricity consumption. Knowing how much electricity you use, and when you use it, is key to figuring out how many panels you need and calculating your potential savings from a solar system.
Once you have installed solar panels, monitoring the energy production from your system is important to maximise ongoing savings and lookout for any potential operational issues.
Both electricity consumption and solar production can be recorded by a solar monitoring device. Most inverters and batteries come equipped with monitoring devices, while some third-party apps provide more detailed data to help with maintenance and decision making.
In this article, we explain how to monitor your solar system performance and energy consumption habits to maximise your savings and ensure your solar system operates at peak efficiency.
How solar monitoring works
A solar monitor tells you exactly how much electricity your system is producing at any given point in time. They provide hourly, daily and monthly production figures.
The graph below shows typical production figures for an 8kW system in Brisbane:
Production figures vary based on a number of factors, including the size of your system, the angle of your roof and sunshine hours in your given location. Our solar calculator is able to provide average annual production figures for any system size on any roof in any location in Australia. But, it does not provide real time data based on live weather conditions. A solar monitoring device can.
How to monitor your system’s performance
There are two different methods for monitoring your home solar system:
- Via your inverter or battery
- Via an app
Most systems come with basic solar monitoring
Most systems come with basic solar monitoring functionality via the inverter. Many inverter brands provide good, free monitoring apps like Fronius Solar.Web and mySolarEdge. If you install a battery, you’ll find that some batteries provide quite sophisticated monitoring of your system’s performance.
There are also independent third-party apps that provide high-level monitoring.
A good installer may monitor your system externally
It may be possible for your solar installer to monitor your system’s performance externally. A thorough and conscientious solar company can typically do this for you. If an issue arises, or there is an unexpected dip in performance, your installer may be able to detect it first.
What you can expect to see from your monitoring device
The information you see on your monitor will vary slightly between providers, but typically you can expect to see:
- Overall system performance
- Power consumption and energy usage pattern
- Solar system efficiency
- Grid frequency and voltage monitoring
- Diagnostics and alerts
In addition to these metrics, the monitoring on your inverter may show system status and any fault codes or errors.
Benefits of solar monitoring
There are several benefits to solar monitoring and it is wise to be across your system’s performance as a solar owner.
1. Track solar production
Regularly monitoring your system’s performance will give you a better handle on how much electricity your solar panels produce on a daily, monthly and annual basis. There is a strong correlation between sunshine hours and solar panel production. Naturally, average sunshine hours vary from month to month and the weather changes daily. Being in tune with your system’s performance can help you pair electricity usage with production and alert you to any potential issues.
However, solar panels will even generate electricity when it’s cloudy.
2. Maximise self-consumption
Monitoring your solar consumption provides valuable insights that can be used to increase solar savings. Using solar generated electricity directly (self-consumption), is the best way to make saving from your solar system. Understanding peak solar production hours and adjusting the usage patterns for major appliances in your home can help significantly reduce your energy bills and maximise self-consumption.
3. Detect changes to performance
Day-to-day, solar energy production will vary in line with local weather conditions. However, over the course of a month and year, figures will average out. Once you’ve collected baseline data over the course of a few months, you can track changes in production patterns to assess any potential issues with your system. A good solar panel monitoring system will establish “normal” production figures for your system and can even factor in the local weather to notify you of any changes to performance.
Changes to performance could be indicative of system issues, or solar panels not working properly that may be covered by your warranty – so it’s important to stay on top of any changes.
4. Measure your investment
The average cost of residential solar in Australia ranges from around $4,000 for a13kW system up to $12,000+ for a 13kW system. A solar monitoring device can help you measure and understand the savings your system is making, allowing you to assess your return on investment. Solar monitoring can also help you determine whether additional investments, such as a solar battery, are worthwhile.
5. Ensure safety
Monitoring your solar system isn’t all about savings and performance; it can help keep your home and family safe. Home solar panel systems are typically very safe; however, if something is to go wrong, early detection via monitoring can help to nip any potential risks in the bud.
Benefits of app-level solar monitoring
In addition to the benefits outlined above, solar monitoring apps can provide additional advantages, these include:
Ability to customise your data – depending on whether you use the app from your hardware supplier or you opt for a more granular third-party app, you can customise the data that you see.
Provide advanced data insights – App data provides a more detailed breakdown of your solar production and consumption habits, making it easy to adjust your consumption patterns.
Provide remote access – App monitoring allows you to monitor your solar system performance and consumption habits from anywhere. For homes equipped with smart switches, having remote access can help to further optimise consumption by remotely turning devices on or off.
How often should you check your solar system and consumption?
The more you monitor your solar system’s performance the better. There is no need to monitor it daily, but it does keep you engaged with energy generation and usage. It’s recommended to check in at least once a week so that you can spot any irregularities.
Most solar users check their solar production every few days to ensure it is running as expected. Solar panels typically require little maintenance, but regular monitoring checks allow users to spot any changes to production or consumption and ensure that they optimise their energy use accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Monitoring your solar system production and consumption can help you make informed decisions about when and how you use electricity to maximise savings. Regular monitoring can help identify any issues, improve efficiency and ensure you get the most from your solar investment.