How To Test If Solar Panels Are Working

What matters is how much sun your home gets year round.

How to test if solar panels are working.

The easiest way to check your home for solar viability is by typing your address into google s project sunroof. Touch the multi meter s red positive lead to your solar panel s positive wire. Many companies that install solar panels offer some kind of system monitoring software that can help. Once you have located the.

Note positive negative connections. When it s overcast your solar panels will likely operate at 10 to 25 of their rated capacity. Your inverter makes the direct current dc produced by your solar panels useable as alternating current ac for your home. Locate the converter box.

Then touch the multi meter s black negative lead to your solar panel s negative wire. If you suspect a problem and your system is within its installation warranty period typically 10 years call your installer to have them come check each panel. Testing solar panels for volts to test solar panel voltage output put your solar panel in direct sunlight set your multi meter to the volts setting and. Accessing your solar output data online.

Using a multimeter for solar panel tests step 1. Energy is measured in kilowatt hours kwh. I typed in one of google s suggested home addresses and the tool told me the. Testing the voltage simply touch the solar panel leads with the multi meter probes matching their corresponding polarity red to red black to black.

Some exceptions may apply based on panel type. Attach the meter to the positive and negative terminals on the solar panel and make sure the panel is properly exposed to sunlight. Since electric current is measured in amperes you will need to buy a meter known as an amp meter and measure the output. Check out our community post for tips on extending battery life as well as our help center article about the solar panel.

Power is measured in watts w or kilowatts kw. But don t get stuck on this detail. Open circuit voltage can vary depending on your solar panel but the readings we are usually looking for are in the range of 15 to 23v. If the information above does not improve your experience with battery life please reach out to our support team at 1 800 656 1918 for further troubleshooting.

If your solar panels continuously output 5kw of power for a whole 60 minutes you will have produced 5kwh of energy. The converter box is located on the back of the solar panel.