Solar monitoring systems are an integral part of your home solar energy system. These simple-to-use systems let you monitor the performance of your solar panels, giving you real-time data to make sure your system performs at its peak.
When solar panels first hit the Maryland residential market, solar technology was pretty much “set it and forget it.” After installing your photovoltaic (PV) system, you never touched the panels again — except for cleaning your solar panels. As technology evolved, many solar installers began charging nominal fees to monitor the performance of their customers’ systems. When power output decreased, installers could make adjustments and bring performance levels back up.
Today, Maryland residential solar customers can track the performance of their panels on their own — remotely — via smartphones or a web-based dashboard.
How Solar Monitoring Benefits Solar Homeowners
Solar monitoring technology is fairly straightforward. During the installation process, your contractor attaches a special tracking device to your solar modules or inverter. This attachment closely monitors the energy output of your system throughout the day, delivering real-time data. Many of today’s models allow you to access real-time data remotely via the Internet or your smart phone.
There are many advantages of solar monitoring, including the ability to:
- Track your electricity usage
- Quantify your electricity savings
- Measure your carbon off-set
The biggest benefit of real-time solar tracking is the ability to detect problems if and when they occur. Solar panels are incredibly durable and malfunctions are rare. But they can happen. With a solar monitoring system in place, you can detect the problem immediately and take appropriate action. Some systems even send you alerts whenever solar panel performance dips below historical averages.
In order to maximize electricity bill savings, your system must operate at peak performance with minimal downtime. Even a 1% dip in panel output can translate to thousands of dollars in lost savings — especially if undetected for an extended period of time. By outfitting your system with real-time tracking, you optimize your savings and get the best ROI of your solar investment.
Which Solar Monitoring Technology Is Best?
Renewable Energy Corporation customers can take advantage of the Enphase Envoy solar monitoring system. Enphase has long been a leader within the inverter and monitoring niche. And its competitively priced Envoy Communications Gateway:
- Offers 24/7 real-time analysis and performance monitoring
- Is Plug & Play — allowing for seamless integration with solar PV installations
- Upgrades automatically with each new software release
- Allows remote tracking and troubleshooting via browsers
The Enphase Envoy has set the bar pretty high. To get a free estimate for installing a solar monitoring system and solar panels, call us or fill out our estimate request form.
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