Solar Power System Monitoring

Using solar energy to power your home can result in reduced energy costs and is a clean source of energy for the environment. It is critical that owners of solar power systems install a reputable solar monitoring system to ensure peak performance and to calculate electricity savings and environmental benefits, as well as to continually check the system for faults or problems that, if caught early, can be corrected and prevent system failure or degradation.
Choice #1 - Inverter Panel
These are the simplest monitoring devices which usually consist of a digital readout on a straightforward front panel placed outside near the photovoltaic array. These are designed to provide basic information such as system power generation (in watts), total daily energy production (in kilowatt hours), photovoltaic input voltage and photovoltaic input current (volts and amps).
Choice #2 - Remote Panel
Some manufacturers of inverter panels offer remote panel monitoring, which allows more detailed tracking and also allows you to monitor system progress from any location inside. They can be either hardwired or wireless. Generally, these allow you to record power production for a month or more; give a total power production estimate; calculate your total money saved using solar power; calculate CO2 production offsets; and record power fluctuations or other system faults in addition to the basic functions of the simple inverter panel described above.
Choice #3 - Web Monitoring
One really advantageous upgrade to your system is the option to monitor capability from a peripheral network device or with built-in communication ability through either a local area network or wireless connection. Usually there is a yearly fee associated with these systems and only certain inverters come with this option.
In addition to the functions provided by the basic and remote panels, a web monitoring system also allows you to monitor your system from anywhere in the world and to access addition data calculation and plotting tools.
Choice #4 - Web Monitoring of Individual Solar Panels
When you are using one inverter to monitor your entire array, you are not able to calculate the functionality and performance of individual solar panels. However, with micro-inverters this kind of pinpoint accuracy becomes possible. In a micro-inverter system, each photovoltaic panel will have its own mini-inverter which will invert the DC from each panel and calculate date before sending the data over AC power lines. This eliminates extra data cables and streamlines the system.

Borrego Solar provides solar system monitoring and failure prevention for government agencies and businesses in the United States.