Solar Panels do have to be Maintained!

Solar panels or solar PV fitted on a roof of a building are an investment. As such you should be looking after that investment. The reason for this is so that the investment needs to be monitored to see if it gives the payback in the same way you would monitor an investment in stocks or bonds.

To some they may not appreciate it but solar panels fitted on to a building are an investment in green energy and a financial investment for the home owner. Just like any money you invest in say a bank or stocks and shares, you should look after the investment and keep a track of it. The main reason for this is so that the investment needs gives the payback.

If you are the investor in renewable energy, and you have calculated that you will get a certain return on your investment by selling energy back to the grid, you need to make sure your investment is protected. The installer of the solar energy system will want to track and record the out put to ensure the system is working to its optimum efficiency. The homeowner and the investor want to know how much energy is being generated and how much electricity their house is using.

Solar PV installations and feed in tariffs last for 25 years so its not unrealistic to expect them to stay in perfect working order. Would you run a car for 25 years and not expect to have maintenance bills or to have to check it?

So What Could Go Wrong With Solar Energy Systems

In today’s world the most popular method to submit Feed in tariffs (FiT) is to get the householders readings to their electricity supplier once a quarter. This is not the best way forward to ensure efficiency and protect the investment. The PV installer should be motivated to use something called Smart meters. Modern “Smart meters” will track and record the information output from the solar panel and send this to the energy supplier and real time information. There is a Google application you can connect to which displays your energy readings online.

There are a host of advantages by choosing to use smart meters for feed in tariffs. Half hourly data is collected on a daily basis, not a single reading once a quarter. This gives detailed profile readings and graphing of energy usage patterns.

A key advantage of smart energy meters is they can be read using technology so the user is not there. They are not dependent on the householder or business having to give you energy company the readings. The solar energy installers can track and take the meter readings, which are accurate and tell if a problem arises and can react rather than wait one or two months later.

The investors which have helped fund the surge in solar panels renewable energy put onerous performance criteria on solar suppliers to ensure their investments are protected. Using smart meters is one way to ensure the panels are working at their maximum capacity. Collecting nationwide data to compare against could also help identify if there is an issue with the equipment or simply the output for the time period is deduced because of the day light hours or other weather conditions.

Using renewable energy is key to sustainably fuelling our homes in the future. For expert advice on Renewable Energy in Scotland and Solar pv Glasgow contact Absolute Solar and Wind.

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