{"id":85942,"date":"2024-11-04T15:57:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T06:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=85942"},"modified":"2024-11-04T15:57:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T06:27:33","slug":"dont-ignore-solar-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/dont-ignore-solar-monitoring\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Ignore Your Solar: Maintaining Monitoring Makes Sense"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"solar

Is your system performance within normal range? Without good monitoring, you’ll never know.<\/p><\/div>\n

As an installer, there’s one thing I have always tried to explain to customers. You need to keep an eye on your solar. It’s not just about economics but a legal obligation in many cases. Read on while I explain why monitoring is important, how to get it, and how to keep it working. <\/p>\n

When solar was $12,000 per kilowatt, having your inverter out of sight and out of mind risked surprise bills and angry customers if something went wrong. The first inverter I owned had just 4 red lights and an LCD counter, but it’s checked regularly and still works 14+ years later.<\/p>\n

\"Solar

Don’t laugh, this inverter gets monitored every<\/em> day. image credit Crap Solar – Mladen Simunovic<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Monitoring Is Standard Now<\/h2>\n

A monitored solar system is a safer solar system. Offers of “free WiFi” when buying solar should be viewed the same way as a dealer offering free seatbelts with every new car. Few customers realise they’re legally obliged to have an earth fault alarm.<\/a> The idea is that potentially dangerous earthing issues can be investigated promptly. Alerts via email are allowed, so don’t ignore those emails from Mr Fronius, Mr Sungrow, or their friends.<\/p>\n

But monitoring is about more than early detection of safety-critical faults; it can also detect harm to your wallet by recording long-term trends. When buying solar, your quote must include<\/a> a yearly yield estimate broken into 12 months. If the system doesn’t do what it says on the tin, you need records to make a warranty claim, but the lynchpin is having a consistent internet connection.<\/p>\n

\"solar

Having yearly totals can vividly display excessive degradation in output. This slope looks like more than 1% loss per year to me.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wi-Fi Woes<\/h2>\n

While an inverter wifi connection can be quick and easy on installation day, wireless internet can be anything but. Without the internet, modern inverters can’t even be commissioned. I would carry a spare phone for a hotspot and WiFi network extender in my ute because sometimes you just can’t hold your tongue right. Even if we had to gift an extender to a customer, $100 for hardware saved face and a return visit.<\/p>\n

Things get worse when somebody decides to change telcos, change router or move things around the house. Once the Netflix is working, nobody notices a lack of solar monitoring. However once excessive bills start rolling in, the story can get awkward for whoever unplugged the network extender in the garage.<\/p>\n

\"Ubiqt

This is a Ubiqt bridge. It is a fair dinkum WiFi extender good for 100+ metres of line of sight, with a custom-made shroud to keep the weather off it.<\/p><\/div>\n

Dedicated Networks Help<\/h2>\n

Generally, when customers update their internet hardware, anything physically plugged in will be reconnected. That’s why I always encourage people to hardwire a LAN cable straight to the solar inverter, but it’s impossible for some things, like a Fronius Wattpilot EV charger.<\/p>\n

\"WiFi

Hard-wired connections are the best.<\/p><\/div>\n

Savvy installers use a dedicated Wi-Fi router to create a secure network for energy management hardware. This ensures a new NBN deal or visiting relative doesn’t inadvertently disable anything. One piece of hardware is cheaper than a call-out to recommission your inverter connection, pool heat pump, hot water service, EV charger etc, etc.<\/p>\n

As we’ve written before,<\/a> reliable internet will be essential for the security of the whole electricity grid.<\/p>\n

Buying A House With Existing Solar?<\/h2>\n

Real estate agents struggle to give you the right keys when you buy a house, so getting WiFi access, account transfers, logins, and passwords is nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

The best approach is direct contact with the old owners. Have them nominate you as a new owner, change your email address, and reset passwords. Companies like Tesla favour this DIY approach because it doesn’t require their phone support; however, some require a new account set up via official channels.<\/p>\n

Don’t Rely On Your Solar Retailer To Raise Problems<\/h2>\n

When solar is installed, you get an app, and your retailer gets remote access, too. This is a blessing for diagnosing problems. It saves trade appointments and gives you evidence for network faults and failures that could become insurance claims. But don’t let the salesperson fool you. Nobody’s in the office checking on how your<\/em> system is working every Monday.<\/p>\n

The best monitoring is automated, like Solar Analytics,<\/a> which uses algorithm smarts combined with local averages to predict output and raise an alarm if it’s off kilter. It’s very clever stuff, and I know firsthand they can even identify a heat pump hot water service running at night.<\/p>\n

\"Solar

When running, different devices have different signatures of voltage, current, and power factor. SolarAnalytics can identify them, and CatchControl lets you automate them.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Your Retailer Goes Bust<\/h2>\n

Sadly, thousands of solar retailers have disappeared. Even Solar Depot pulled the pin after 20 years solarcoasting, so there’s another 1000+ Fronius systems that are now effectively homeless. Ringing Fronius and releasing your system from a former owner or defunct installer is perfectly straightforward in my experience.<\/p>\n

Not All Systems Are Easy<\/h2>\n

I have to call out Enphase<\/a> here. Not only do they reportedly run a walled garden by charging US$10\/month for API access,1<\/a><\/sup> but charging a hefty fee to give a new homeowner access to their own monitoring is ludicrous. The process is detailed by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Enphase

At 65 cents exchange rate, Enphase have their hand out for $306 Australian dollarydoos<\/p><\/div>\n

Changing solar retailers with Enphase is a DIY process, at least. Steps are as follows:<\/p>\n

Menu > Account > My Access Control > Below “existing companies,” add the email address of who you would like to give access to, and then use the drop-down menu to change the PV maintainer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To be honest, I’ve never had to set up an Enphase Enlighten account, but a customer told me a horror story about a tenant who didn’t monitor it while the house was rented for a couple of years. Without internet, he told me the Envoy was bricked, and the warranty was put at risk.<\/p>\n

Enphase does have redeeming features.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Just because the Gateway\/Envoy is offline doesn\u2019t mean the system stops producing. The Enphase battery controller has a built-in backup 4g dongle, which is a great idea. Though it can’t be used for commissioning, factory-installed redundancy is brilliant.<\/p>\n

Enphase is a massive, well-resourced company, so they tell me a whole project team works on reconnecting offline IQ Gateways, but the response rates are reportedly low.<\/p>\n

On Commercial Solar, Monitoring Can Save Thousands Every Year<\/h2>\n

This image shows a poorly maintained 100kW system. One 27kW inverter working. An intermittent earth fault is causing #2 inverter to cut out most of the time and #3 is just dead. These faults will cost thousands over the course of a year.<\/p>\n

\"Solar

The Fimer Aurora monitoring platform seems to have gone backwards, with tiny text and no contrasting colours I have to highlight numbers to explain.<\/p><\/div>\n

Knowledge Is Power<\/h2>\n

Even old systems can benefit from a standalone monitor. By adding\u00a0CatchControl,<\/a> which comes with free Solar Analytics, you’ll make electricity visible, which can drive the cheapest form of bill control, behaviour change and efficiency.<\/p>\n

Not all monitoring apps are intuitive to use, and not everyone is energy savvy. If your monitoring is nonexistent, was never set up, is on the blink, or is just unintelligible, then it’s worth getting an expert to examine it.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an installer, there’s one thing I have always tried to explain to customers. You need to keep an eye on your solar. It’s not just about economics but a legal obligation in many cases. Read on while I explain why monitoring is important, how to get it, and how to keep it working.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":87915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-installation","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon't Ignore Your Solar: Maintaining Monitoring Makes Sense<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is your solar system quietly costing you? 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He\u2019s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/anthony\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/solar-analytics-performance.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-mma","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24594,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/enphase-solar-analytics-monitoring\/","url_meta":{"origin":85942,"position":0},"title":"Enphase & Solar Analytics Mind-Meld: The Future Of Smart Solar Monitoring?","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"September 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Solar monitoring firm Solar Analytics and microinverter manufacturer Enphase sent out a joint press release yesterday. \u00a0It is unlikely to get much attention as it is very geeky: they are trialing making Solar Analytics monitoring software compatible with Enphase monitoring hardware. You won't be reading about it on the front\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Innovations"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Innovations","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-innovations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-analytics-enphase.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-analytics-enphase.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-analytics-enphase.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-analytics-enphase.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-analytics-enphase.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":87344,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/vic-pfit-ending\/","url_meta":{"origin":85942,"position":1},"title":"Time’s Up for Victoria’s 66c Feed-In-Tariff: What You Need To Know","author":"Pat Southwell","date":"October 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Victoria's Premium Feed-in Tariff (PFiT), once offering a hefty 66 cents per kilowatt-hour for excess solar power generated by systems installed between late 2009 and the end of 2011, is coming to an end. Bad news: Your feed-in tariff will drop 22X From November 1, these solar pioneers will see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electricity Prices"","block_context":{"text":"Electricity Prices","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/electricity-prices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/vic-pfit-hero-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/vic-pfit-hero-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/vic-pfit-hero-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/vic-pfit-hero-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/vic-pfit-hero-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13099,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solaredge-inverter-ev-charger-mb0121\/","url_meta":{"origin":85942,"position":2},"title":"SolarEdge Showcases Solar Inverter-Integrated EV Charger","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"SolarEdge has shown off its electric vehicle charger integrated inverter at Intersolar North America early today, a product the company says is a world-first. The charger is embedded into SolarEdge\u2019s HD-Wave inverter and makes use of a \"solar boost\" mode that utilises grid electricity and solar input simultaneously to charge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"All in one - solar inverter and EV charger","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-inverter-ev-charger.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-inverter-ev-charger.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-inverter-ev-charger.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/solar-inverter-ev-charger.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96434,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/worst-rated-solar-monitoring-apps\/","url_meta":{"origin":85942,"position":3},"title":"The Worst-Rated Solar Monitoring Apps In Australia","author":"Max Opray","date":"December 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Solar monitoring apps are supposed to make life easier for home energy management. But when the user experience is dominated by constant crashes, confusing interfaces and inaccurate information, some apps only make things harder. Here's a rundown of the worst reviewed solar monitoring apps available in Australia. Which Solar Monitoring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Energy Efficiency"","block_context":{"text":"Energy Efficiency","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/energy-efficiency\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a man frustrated at his phone","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/solar-monitoring-apps.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/solar-monitoring-apps.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/solar-monitoring-apps.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/solar-monitoring-apps.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/solar-monitoring-apps.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76669,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-analytics-integrated\/","url_meta":{"origin":85942,"position":4},"title":"Solar Analytics Integrated Review: Better Than Sungrow Monitoring?","author":"Kim Wainwright","date":"July 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"If you have decided to invest in a hardware consumption monitor to measure your solar energy flows, there are three prominent options on the market: Buy the inverter manufacturer's consumption monitor and use the inverter manufacturer's monitoring software (subscription-free for most inverters). Buy the inverter manufacturer's consumption monitor and connect\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Inverters"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Inverters","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-inverters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar Analytics vs Sungrow iSolarCloud Apps","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/solar-alanytics-vs-isolarcloud.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/solar-alanytics-vs-isolarcloud.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/solar-alanytics-vs-isolarcloud.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/solar-alanytics-vs-isolarcloud.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/solar-alanytics-vs-isolarcloud.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98040,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/researchers-show-inverter-data-spots-solar-faults\/","url_meta":{"origin":85942,"position":5},"title":"Researchers Show How Inverter Data Spots Solar Faults Early","author":"Kim Wainwright","date":"March 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Recent research suggests smarter software could change how Australian households understand their solar systems \u2014 from production to consumption \u2014 without necessarily adding more hardware. Can Inverter Data Reveal Solar Problems? An Australian study has explored whether inverter data alone can spot solar production underperformance. Meanwhile, a separate study in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Inverters"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Inverters","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-inverters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Smarter solar monitoring","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/smarter-solar-monitoring.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/smarter-solar-monitoring.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/smarter-solar-monitoring.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/smarter-solar-monitoring.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/smarter-solar-monitoring.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85942"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87924,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85942\/revisions\/87924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}