How Do I Know If My Solar Panels Are Working

What matters is how much sun your home gets year round.

How do i know if my solar panels are working.

Power is measured in watts w or kilowatts kw. When it s overcast your solar panels will likely operate at 10 to 25 of their rated capacity. 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. This loss of power can also be experienced if a couple of your panels are extra dirty or shaded.

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. Most generation meters will have some sort of indication light that will let you know instantly if your system is not functioning correctly. As most solar panels are 12 volts the solar panel test methods are basically the same. Fading fading fading don t let this happen to your panels.

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. Your inverter makes the direct current dc produced by your solar panels useable as alternating current ac for your home. If your solar panels continuously output 5kw of power for a whole 60 minutes you will have produced 5kwh of energy. 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.

Accessing your solar output data online. Energy is measured in kilowatt hours kwh. Set the meter to above 200 vcd to ensure you get the most accurate reading possible. But don t get stuck on this detail.

While solar panels work on cloudy and rainy days their output won t match that on clear sunny days.