Firstly, how do you know if your solar is working properly or not? 

One simple answer to this is that solar systems usually work 100% well, but if they aren’t working, they usually don’t work at all. It’s rare for a solar system to work only partly.  

If your system isn’t working at all, you’ll be able to tell by looking at your inverter. A functional inverter will usually have a green light and/or a display screen with numbers on it that indicate its performance.  

If your inverter isn’t working, then it’s usually: 

• Red light, indicating a system fault 
• Blank lights and blank screen, indicating either that the inverter is switched off, or that it’s dead.  

Perhaps the inverter is switched off, in which case you need to check the system switches that connect to the inverter. Look for one in your switchboard [also called fusebox] and one right next to the inverter. These switches can flick off by themselves during a disturbance, like a storm, so always give these a check. [Once, years ago, I lost a whole summer of solar by not checking the switches. I only noticed when my March bill came! Check your switches regularly and don’t let this happen to you]. 

Perhaps the inverter is truly dead which, unfortunately, happens sometimes. Usually on poor quality, older inverters. This is very rare on newer, higher quality inverters. If this has happened to you, you’ll need to contact your installer or the inverter manufacturer. In some cases, neither of these exists anymore. And you’ll need to have your inverter replaced. A word of warning; this can be a tough task.  

Systems installed in the past few years should have good WIFI monitoring, and you might have an App or portal login, this will make it easier for you to spot the above. More fancy monitoring systems will proactively notify you the moment these issues arise. One great reason to explore adding full monitoring to your system. 

What to do next? 

If you have a dead inverter, SkyGreen can assist to replace it. 

We can do a Health Check of the system, too, to assess its future operability.