How To Check If Your Solar Panel Is Working

If you suspect a problem and your system is within its installation warranty period typically 10 years call your installer to have them come check each panel.

How to check if your solar panel is working.

If solar panels are the brawn of your solar energy system then the inverter is the brain. 1 but don t get stuck on this detail. Don t rely on your electricity bill. Then touch the multi meter s black negative lead to your solar panel s negative wire.

Check the weather while solar panels work on cloudy and rainy days their output won t match that on clear sunny days. Voltage is pretty easy to measure and it s the best indicator we have to see if a panel has output. The best way to check for signs of life is to measure a solar panel s voltage. Many companies that install solar panels offer some kind of system monitoring software that can help.

Touch the multi meter s red positive lead to your solar panel s positive wire. The inverter is the first place to check to make sure your solar energy system is working properly. To measure the amp output of your solar panel you will need to attach the meter to the positive and negative. If you d like to learn more about what voltage is we ll let you look up ohm s law in order to keep things short and sweet in this article.

The volt reading on your multi meter should be close to or just under 60 volts. To get an accurate measurement you will need to ensure that your panel is in full sunlight when you test. Look at the. We found 46 of solar owners use their bill to see if there s a problem but this is unreliable.

Check out our community post for tips on extending battery life as well as our help center article about the solar panel. When it s overcast your solar panels will likely operate at 10 to 25 of their rated capacity. You will need a solar panel tester known as an amp meter. Your inverter makes the direct current dc produced by your solar panels useable as alternating current ac for your home.

Six simple steps to find out if all is well with your solar pv system. With just a few hours of direct sunlight per day it will keep your stick up cam battery fully charged.