A solar panel system is one of the most reliable ways to generate power for a home or business.
Not only is a solar panel system cost-effective, but it is also almost environmentally friendly. Just like every system, your solar system might develop issues from time to time.
Thankfully, troubleshooting a problem with a solar panel system is easy and straightforward. In this article, we have highlighted four tips to follow if your solar panel system stops working.
Four Things To Look Out For If Your Solar Panel System Stops Working
- Loose Wiring: One of the main reasons why solar systems encounter problems is loose wiring. A solar system is made of a wiring system that links different individual PV cells to one another, connecting them to solar batteries and the inverters. As such, a wiring problem can come from anywhere within the wiring system. This is why it is best to contact a solar system expert for wiring problems.
Read More: A Starter’s Guide to Buying A HVAC System
These experts make use of their meters to determine the problem. They also use monitoring to check your solar system’s performance and to determine if the problem is from the wiring. If they confirm that the wiring is faulty, they disconnect the faulty wires to avoid damaging the system.
- Overheating: Another problem that can cause your solar panel system to stop working is overheating. Overheating occurs during periods of very high temperatures, usually exceeding the 90s. Overheating usually does not cause panels to stop working; it only causes them to malfunction. Most times, when overheating occurs, the solar panel system generates less power during the hottest periods of the day.
For most solar panels, the whole system does not get warm during periods of high temperature. Instead, only some areas of the panel are affected. This causes these areas to get worn out faster than others.
- Dirt: The problem with the solar panel sometimes is just dirt. Many things contribute to dirt that builds up on solar panel systems, including dust, pollen, leaves, and birds’ droppings. The solution to the problem of dirt is to wash your solar panel. All you need to do this is a hose and clean water.
For the cleaning to be effective, it is important to do it up to three times a year. If you leave it in a dusty area, simply washing the panels off with a hose might not suffice. Make use of a soft broom or hire specialized cleaners. To prevent pigeons and other birds from nesting on your panels, install solar panel bird proofing.
- Low Performance: If your solar system is still not optimally after checking these problems, you might need to hire an expert. It is important that you do not try to fix any problem by yourself if you do not have the experience. All you need to do is take note of the error messages and the time when the trouble occurred.
Conclusion
With this information above, I am sure you know what to do once your solar panel stops working.