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Solar Power
Solar monitoring systems and how to optimise your use
Homeowners can boost the benefits that come with solar panels and solar batteries by tracking their system’s performance. Here’s a guide to solar monitoring, from basic checks and handy apps to high-tech services.
Rooftop solar is continuing to expand across Australia, with more than four million installations across the nation. That means one in three Aussie homes now with solar panels, with 300,000 new systems coming online each year.
According to the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the average rooftop solar system saves a household more than $1500 a year on energy bills – savings that could increase if you monitor the performance of your rooftop solar (and solar battery system, if you have one) and track your electricity usage.
This guide looks at how keeping a close eye on your solar system can help save you money, the different types of solar monitoring available, and what to do if you detect a problem.
RACV guides to help you go solar
Solar panel and battery rebates available in Victoria
Home solar guide: from installation to ongoing maintenance
Guide to choosing solar panels for your home
How do solar batteries work and are they worth it?
What makes a good solar provider?
In this article
How solar system monitoring saves you money
Monitoring your rooftop solar or battery system can help maximise its efficiency and value, potentially saving you money as you track its performance. It can help you:
Optimise energy use: By tracking how much energy your solar system produces, and how much your home is consuming, you can adjust your habits to save even more energy and reduce reliance on the electricity grid.
Detect issues early: Monitoring allows you to spot any performance issues, such as decreased output or malfunctions, helping your system run smoothly and efficiently.
Maximise savings: With detailed insights into your system’s performance, you can finetune its operation to lower energy bills and make the most of your investment.
Realise environmental benefits: Tracking the energy your solar system generates can help you see the contribution you’re making to reducing carbon emissions.
Optimise battery management: If you have a solar battery system, monitoring can help achieve optimal charge and discharge patterns, possibly extending the battery’s lifespan.
More: How much do you save with solar panels and batteries?
Different ways to monitor your solar system
Most solar systems in Australia include at least a basic level of monitoring, usually in the form of a display panel on the inverter. When you purchase a rooftop solar or battery system, the manufacturer will also sometimes offer a portal for data monitoring, which might be free of charge or require a subscription. Other companies offer more extensive remote monitoring services for your solar system.
In all cases, your solar retailer or installer should explain how to access your monitoring system and assess the information it provides. As recommended in the Australian Government’s Solar Consumer Guide, it’s a good idea to ask your retailer or installer how much daily solar generation you should expect at different times of the year and, if you have a battery, how it’s configured to operate.
It’s possible to add a comprehensive monitoring service later on, but it’s likely to be more cost effective to have it integrated when your solar system is installed. Your inverter and other components will also need to be compatible with any advanced monitoring system you might choose.
Your solar installer should be able to explain how to monitor your solar system’s performance. Image: Matt Harvey
Inverter and battery display panels
Your solar system’s inverter or battery will often include a basic monitoring system that displays real-time performance data, such as power generation, battery charge levels and fault codes.
Keeping an eye on this can show you whether the system is operating as expected and alert you to any performance issues, such as a fault signal or unusually low power generation. It doesn’t typically provide historical data, making it more difficult to track the system’s operation over time, but it’s a handy reference point all the same.
More: What does an inverter do in a solar power system?
Solar monitoring apps and websites
Solar inverter and battery manufacturers often include a smartphone app or web portal that allows you to monitor your system remotely and access more detailed information than real-time operating data shown on a basic display. Many modern inverters will connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ethernet (LAN) or a cellular connection.
Solar monitoring apps and websites are usually well set up to provide useful insights into the system’s performance over time, including energy production, usage and savings, and often present the data in handy charts and graphs. They are typically designed to show you whether the system is generating (or storing) electricity as expected, while some apps will provide alerts for potential issues, such as an unanticipated drop in performance.
Advanced monitoring systems
Beyond your solar system manufacturer or supplier, there are other companies in the marketplace offering more advanced monitoring services. These services are also often provided in the form of an app, based on data collected using additional hardware like sensors and data loggers from your inverter, battery, smart meter or a separate device.
There tends to be a higher level of analysis of your home’s energy use with this type of service. For instance, it might track your total electricity usage, studying how much you feed into the electricity grid compared to how much you’re drawing from it at other times, and then provide guidance on how to improve efficiency based on this bigger picture. Some systems allow such data to be compared with your electricity pricing plan to provide a good indication of how much you’re saving.
Some advanced systems can monitor different electrical circuits in your home or drill right down to individual appliances, such as your hot water system. They can sometimes be fully integrated into smart home platforms and electric vehicle home chargers, too.
Detailed system health diagnostics are also possible with more advanced solar monitoring systems. Rather than simply identifying error states in the inverter and notifying you via the app or perhaps text message, more sophisticated systems can troubleshoot. They might, for example, attempt to diagnose the fault or provide reasons for a drop in performance, such as panel condition or shading issues.
Microinverter monitoring
Most home solar systems use a single ‘string’ inverter (for example, Fronius) that connects to all solar panels, but more advanced systems are also available using microinverters (for example, Enphase), which sit on the back of each individual panel.
Microinverters tend to be more expensive but can bring a number of benefits, including the ability to monitor the performance of individual solar panels. This is particularly useful for identifying faults in specific panels.
More: Solar panel maintenance and system troubleshooting
Where to get help if you detect a problem
Your monitoring efforts are important in keeping your solar system operating efficiently, helping save money along the way and highlighting any performance issues. If you do notice an unexplained dip in solar production or other problems, the first point of contact should be your installer.
While some monitoring services can diagnose faults remotely via online monitoring, Solar Victoria recommends that a site inspection is the best way to identify the cause of any problem.
Your installer or another suitably qualified solar electrician should be well placed to conduct checks and advise on any significant under-performance issues or other problems with your solar system.
Even if it’s performing well, Solar Victoria also recommends having your system professionally checked at least every two years.
