To get the most out of solar panels, it is essential to understand energy usage. Even with a solar panel system installed, you can have high electricity bills if you do not monitor your power usage.
So, What Is A Solar Panel Monitoring System?
A solar panel monitoring system tracks the performance of your solar PV system. It will help you measure your energy consumption, battery charge and discharge, solar power production, optimization of energy usage, error detection to the solar system, grid export, grid import. With the monitoring system, you can also control the environmental data, like solar radiation, module temperature, and much more analysis.
Monitoring software allows you to easily view how many kilowatt-hours of electricity your solar panels are producing in real-time. The solar energy monitoring system sends all this data with numbers and graphs to your devices through an internet connection. Solar panel companies usually offer you a physical solar monitoring system at your home or suggest having access to data using a mobile app or other smart home devices.
Generally, the solar panel system is very durable and requires little to no maintenance. However, you need to check your solar panel kits from time to time to ensure they are running correctly.
Timely Alerts When Your Solar System Trips Off
In case something goes wrong with the system, the monitoring system sends an alert. You should be attentive to the dashboard and alerts because when your inverter has a problem or stops working, the power system will start using the grid’s energy instead of the solar panels. When there is a system defect, the monitoring system can also recommend the needed repair. Understanding your energy data history, you will know what to expect in the future.
The solar monitoring system operates through the solar panel inverter. The inverter converts DC into AC. Then the information about your energy production is collected and sent to the system or the smart apps.
Plus, the modern solar monitoring systems will send you an SMS or email within a few days in case of an error. So, you can manage everything and quickly and efficiently switch back to your solar power usage.
Timely Alerts If Your Panels’ Or Inverter’s Performance Drops
The solar monitoring system will ensure the solar system is working correctly and efficiently. If there is an issue with performance, solar monitoring will help you respond quickly to the problem. Solar panels usually come with a 25-year warranty. The monitoring system considers everything from the angle of the roof to the weather conditions of the location. As a result, when the performance drops below the minimum, the system will alert you.
Many solar system owners use the electricity bill to see if the solar system runs appropriately. But it is not the right approach to decide the system performance as the bill will not show the total amount of energy produced and used. It only shows the electricity drawn from the grid and the energy exported to the grid.
The solar system’s efficiency will also vary depending on the sun’s season and hours available during the day.
Energy Efficiency
The solar energy system will never run at 100% efficiency. Energy losses occur because of the solar panel inverter, cabling problems, climate, the angle, and the direction of the solar panels.
Whenever you notice an efficiency issue, you should also check the weather, look if there is debris or the panels are clear, or watch for tree shades on solar panels.
Remember that a well-designed and installed solar system always generates minimal losses.
If you want to improve the efficiency of your solar system, install a solar monitoring system. It will help you identify which appliances consume energy even when turned off or which devices utilize more electricity so that you start using them during the daytime with solar energy.
You can also increase your solar energy efficiency with some tips.
- High temperature reduces the solar panel efficiency, accordingly cooling them down will help you.
- System cabling loses about 2% of your power, and the inverter fails about 3% of the energy. For that reason, a professional solar company will help you minimize your losses when installing your solar system.
- Clean the system from dirt, bird droppings, and dust.
- Panels facing north generate more energy than those facing west and east.
Safety With CURB Home Energy Monitoring System
CURB home energy monitoring system will help you take control of your home energy usage. It plugs into the breaker panel and provides you with real-time data on your energy production and consumption. The CURB system will recognize all the problems and potential issues of your appliances. The monitoring system will also estimate your electricity bill, process your energy usage data, and send you tips on making your home smarter and becoming more energy efficient.
Understanding Exactly Why Your Bill Has Gone Up Or Down
There are many reasons why your electricity bills can become higher:
- Consuming more energy
- Higher electricity rates
- The system performance
- Billing errors.
Moreover, unplugging appliances will help you save energy. So, solar panel installation is not enough. Take care to check your solar system work often as even old appliances eat up more money.
Installing a good home energy monitoring system will help you measure electricity usage on each device at your home and make changes to save energy.
Author of a publication: Irene Abgaryan