As advancements in our own understanding of solar energy continues to develop, many new products are coming to the market which will enhance the performance of your solar system.
Over the lifetime of a solar system, the inverter breaking down is the single biggest reason why the system will stop producing. Most inverters will have been placed in lofts and inaccessible to many home owners for regular monitoring. Most people only read the generation meter every three months when FiT payments are due to be made and may miss the point when the inverter breaks down.
So, monitoring your system on a regular basis will identify if the inverter has stopped working and needs replacing. It can also show you the effects of any shading, however small and insignificant it may appear.
When the inverter needs replacing, this is a good time to explore other enhancements to ensure your solar system not only works as intended, but also produces as much energy as possible. Many solar owners are upgrading their inverters with either Tigo or Solaredge Optimised systems or the Enphase micro-inverters system where each panel has it’s own inverter. The benefit of these systems is that each panel will now work independently of the others, maximising yield. Shaded panels will drag the whole system down.
The Solar IBoost is another enhancement that allows you to maximise the excess energy your system produces. It takes excess energy away from the grid and ‘dumps’ it into the immersion heater in your hot water cylinder providing most home owners with FREE hot water for 8-10 months of the year. For some, the boiler will never go on again saving a small fortune in gas or oil bills, depending on how you currently heat your water.
An electric car charger that takes a fast 7kWh charge or can be set to take in the excess energy from the solar is also a great addition. Why not? You have a refinery on your roof, you get to fill up for free with solar and an EV
We’ve lived with solar on our own home for 15 yrs now and driven electric cars for over 10 years, so please feel free to ask any questions you may have as you start your renewable journey.
CONTACT US HERE today for a chat about your system, we’ll let you know over the phone if it is doing what it should and how it can be enhanced, we’ll even give an indication of prices over the phone.
