Your solar system is running, but is it running properly? I work out what it should be producing, compare it with what it actually is, find where the difference goes, and tell you what fixing it would be worth.
- What your system should produce versus what it does
- Whether the shortfall is the weather, a fault or normal ageing
- Whether a warranty claim is available
- Whether the maintenance you pay for is being done
- A short list of fixes with what each is worth
Most solar systems underperform a little, and some underperform a lot, and the owner rarely knows which. The monitoring app shows green ticks and a number that goes up. Whether the number is the right number is a different question, and nobody is asking it.
Which do I need: this, or a post-installation inspection?
If the system has been running for a while and you want to know whether it is producing what it should, this is the one. If it was installed in the last few months by an installer I helped you choose, stage 5 of Project Support checks what was built against what was promised. If in doubt, start here.
What I do
Rebuild the expectation. From real weather data for your location and your system’s size and orientation, I work out what it should have produced over the last year or more.
Compare it with what it did. From your monitoring export or your generation meter. The gap, in kilowatt-hours and in pounds, is the first answer.
Find where the gap goes. Shading that was not there when it was installed, a string that has stopped producing, an inverter that trips on hot days, panels degrading faster than the warranty allows, or simply a monitoring sensor that is wrong. Each has a different fix and a different cost.
Check the paperwork. Whether the warranty is still valid and what it would need, and whether the maintenance contract you may be paying for is actually being delivered.
What you get
A short report in plain English: what the system should produce, what it does, the likely causes of any gap, whether a warranty claim is available, and a list of fixes with what each is worth. Desk-based for most systems; a site visit where the question needs one, which I will say in advance.
When people ask for it
- Your system was installed under the Feed-in Tariff, the installer has gone, and someone is offering you a battery
- The bills have crept up and the app still says everything is fine
- The installer has gone out of business and nobody is looking after the system
- Before selling the house, to show a buyer the system is sound
- A few years in, to check the panels are ageing as the warranty says they should
People often ask
How would I know if my solar system is underperforming?
Usually you would not, which is the problem. Monitoring apps tend to show that the system is working rather than whether it is producing what it should. Underperformance is typically a few per cent a year, spread across several small causes, and it can run for years unnoticed.
The Health Check rebuilds what your system should have produced from real weather data and compares it with what it did. The difference, in kilowatt-hours and in pounds, is the answer. It is £150 and desk-based, so all you need is your generation meter readings or a monitoring export.
Something has gone wrong with my system and the installer is not helping. What now?
Start with a health check: it establishes what is actually wrong, what it is costing you, and whether the warranty or the contract covers it. That gives you something concrete to put to the installer, the warranty provider or, if it comes to it, a solicitor. For formal disputes, the expert witness service on our corporate site is the next step.
Other services
Not sure where to start? That is what the first call is for.
Most enquiries begin with a fifteen-minute conversation and a look at whatever you already have: a quote, a screenshot of your monitoring app, a contract, your bills. If the honest answer is that you do not need me, I will say so, and it costs you nothing.