Congratulations if you have already installed a solar photovoltaic system. What a great step toward energy independence and an even better way to save hard-earned cash! In case you are still gathering information with the intention of putting solar on your roof, this article should help you nonetheless to gain a deeper understanding of what options there are for monitoring systems. They are a great way to get the most out of solar.
Why you want a monitoring system
Do you absolutely need a monitoring system? Using a reliable installer who diligently installed your system and calling them once a year for an inspection may give you enough confidence that your panels are producing on an optimal level. So, no, you do not need monitoring if you feel you will not look at it anyway. However, monitoring can help you detect issues, e.g. loose wiring, panel defects, objects blocking the panels etc. You can take action to resolve the problem promptly, restoring optimal production levels of your solar system that may otherwise incur substantial drops in generating electricity.
Listen to your investment’s heartbeat
Call us geeks, and we’ll stand by it. Like us, you may feel excitement when you see how your latest investment starts ticking away. A well-designed monitoring app lets you track a number of interesting facts: energy produced, your consumption, energy fed into the grid, charge and discharge of batteries, where applicable, and more. It helps you attribute value to the consumed and exported energy to see how much you are saving per day, each week, month and year. It enables you to understand production cycles throughout the day, over the course of a month and, the differences between the seasons. Ideally, you will be able to discover the weather’s effect on energy generation and how shading affects each panel.
So how does it work?
There are a few different ways monitoring systems work, depending on the specific setup. Essentially, each monitoring application relies on data collected from the panels or the inverter. Some systems go beyond that and include, e.g. weather data, enabling you to predict production with specific weather patterns. In most cases, the inverter is connected to wifi and loads the data up to the cloud, from where it can be accessed via mobile app or directly via desktop on a web portal.
Tracking energy production
The initial primary function of monitoring systems was to track energy production. Knowing how many kWh are generated and when helps understand solar as an independent energy source. Data is accumulated over time and displayed for you to review the performance of your system, often via colourful graphs. Inverters regularly come with this monitoring function, some more visually appealing than others.
Tracking energy consumption
Not all inverters will allow you to track your energy usage, which is unfortunate. No question having data on your consumption is vital to understanding how you use the generated power. More sophisticated monitoring systems will have this feature. An alternative is opting for a smart meter, which allows you to track all kinds of energy usage information, often down to each appliance plugged in at home.
Monitoring grid import and export
Most of us will be working with a grid-tied PV system. Being hooked up to the network means pulling energy from the grid whenever needed and feeding energy from our panels into the grid, at times when you are producing more than you consume. This process is often referred to as Net Metering. Depending on your network, you will be offered so-called Feed-in Tariffs. Those determine how much you will be paid for the energy you supply and your variable and fixed costs for pulling power from the network.
A sound monitoring system will track how much energy you are importing and how much you are exporting. It will collect the data over time and give you a great idea of patterns over the course of a day or any other period. Some even allow you to enter the tariff terms to follow the Dollar amounts of said imports and exports.
Monitoring from inverter manufacturers
Most inverter manufacturers will offer a monitoring system with their devices. A built-in monitoring system has substantial advantages over other types of monitoring since it is often the most direct way of collecting data. What in the early days was an LED panel on the inverter has turned into a flashy mobile app with plenty of neat visualisations.
The big difference with integrated monitoring stems from how data is collected. While pure string inverters will collect the data as it comes to the inverter, some solutions offer panel-level monitoring. Using microinverters or optimisers located under the panels allows for collecting production data for each panel individually. Tracking the effect of shading and identifying a defect on a specific panel becomes a breeze since you have access to much more granular information.
For example, SolarEdge has a solution with a central inverter and optimizers, and Enphase offers a system with microinverters. Both can accomplish panel-level monitoring. An elegant feature in Enphase’s app is displaying each panel in a colour-coded manner depending on its production level.
Third-party smart monitors
The second category of monitoring systems are third-party applications, independent of the equipment manufacturers. Maybe you don’t like the monitoring application that came with your inverter, or you want extended functions that include more home usage data. Aftermarket products often go in this direction to compensate for shortcomings on the energy production side. Without direct access to data from individual panels, they can only measure overall solar production on an inverter level. But some like the Clipsal Cortex can measure more data like pool and air con or even your hotwater and give you a valuable insight to power usage in the home.
Operate your system worry-free
Owning solar panels comes with a certain amount of pride and empowerment. Monitoring apps feed into that by providing you with an adequate dashboard so you can feel like the captain of your solar PV system. They help you detect issues in a timely manner and give you an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of solar energy production and what that means for you in terms of cost and savings. While apps from inverter manufacturers may be able to give you more detailed production data, e.g. on panel level, the strength of third-party products lies on the energy consumption side with information on how much power your EV charger, your washer and dryer, etc. use.