As global energy demand continues to rise and traditional energy resources become increasingly scarce, many individuals and families are turning to solar energy as a sustainable alternative. Over the past 25 years, the range of economic benefits offered by solar energy systems has been proven to make a significant difference in people's lives. A solar system installed on a home can provide approximately 8,000 kWh of electricity per year, which equates to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 5 tonnes per year while saving thousands of dollars in expenses.
The actual performance of your solar panels is affected by several factors, including voltage, current, temperature, and time of day. Monitor the performance of your rooftop solar and battery system and track your energy usage to increase your savings.
What is a solar monitoring system?
The solar monitoring system includes both hardware and software technologies. This system provides continuous real-time monitoring of solar energy systems through an online platform using various types of sensors, data loggers, and other devices. The monitoring data is transmitted to a mobile application via the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, providing users with a convenient means of monitoring and management. In the event of a system failure, this data is used for predictive maintenance and root cause analysis. At the same time, real-time monitoring data can be used for comparison and analysis with historical data and trends, helping users to make informed decisions.
When installing a solar power system, it is important to know how the system is performing. The best way to do this is to use solar monitoring technology. A solar monitoring system can help you assess the performance of your solar power system and provide information on energy consumption, power generation, energy use optimization, and damage to the solar system. Monitoring your solar installation is crucial because, without it, it is difficult to determine if the solar panels are performing as expected.
What do solar monitoring systems do？
Solar Production Monitoring
The system's Solar Production Monitoring feature displays the amount of electricity produced by the solar panels in kilowatt-hours. It also records the total amount of electricity they have produced over some time, allowing you to view their historical performance and compare it with previous readings to determine if there have been any changes over time. All inverters have built-in production monitoring.
In addition, it can track the intensity of light received by the solar panels to help assess the impact of lighting conditions on power generation.
Solar consumption monitoring
Usage tracking lets you know what happens to your solar energy once it has been produced. You can track consumption throughout the day. Ultimately, it allows you to analyze energy consumption patterns and adjust your consumption habits to make better use of solar energy and save money.
While some inverters include basic energy monitoring, many do not. There are several ways to obtain more detailed energy consumption data, the most common being the additional purchase of a "smart meter" or an advanced monitoring system integrated with the inverter.
Solar consumption monitoring Advanced system monitoring
Circuit level monitoring: Circuit level monitoring allows you to see how much power individual devices are drawing from the system. This can help you identify any unexpected power draws from the panel and determine if these draws are reasonable or a sign of a problem with the system.
Panel Level Monitoring (PLM): PLM, also known as Module Level Monitoring, is directly related to the solar industry's Module Level Power Electronics (MLPE) solutions, including microinverters and power optimizers.
PLM displays values and data for each panel in an array. This is a huge advantage because it shows how much power each panel is producing, allowing you or your solar installer to quickly identify if there is a problem with the individual components on the panel and which way they are facing, so you can determine if the problem is due to shading or something else entirely.
Performance and failure alerts: Unlike most inverter data, third-party monitoring systems can detect when your solar system is performing poorly or not at all and alert you immediately via email.
All in all, solar monitoring systems are necessary and important for solar installers.
Usage monitoring lets you know what happens to your solar energy after it has been produced. You can track consumption throughout the day. Finally, it allows you to analyze energy consumption patterns and adjust your consumption habits to make better use of solar energy and save money.
While some inverters include basic energy monitoring, many do not. There are several ways to obtain more detailed energy consumption data, the most common being the additional purchase of a "smart meter" or an advanced monitoring system integrated with the inverter.
