Enhancing Your Solar Energy System in Victoria
Did you get your solar system installed recently and it’s not generating electricity as expected. There could be multiple reasons and it also depends on how much electricity generation you are expecting and what are the number of solar panels (system size) installed at your home. By the way, I recently upgraded my own solar energy system and will share the circumstances that led me to make this enhancement.
In this blog, we’ll see when to enhance your solar energy system in Victoria:
- When to consider enhancing your solar energy system in Victoria or under what circumstances you opt for enhancing your existing solar PV system
- Understanding your electricity bill
- My own experience in updating the solar PV system
Guide Highlights
Daily current production is becoming low
Before getting your solar PV system installed, you might have calculated your daily average electricity consumption or usage. For instance, you opted for a 5kW solar PV system size (that will generate 16.5kWh) and your daily electricity usage is around 14kWh.
Solar system maintenance is needed
Now your PV system is generating 10kWh. Clearly, your daily current production has reduced compare to your daily electricity usage.
Before jumping into the decision to upgrade/replace your solar PV system instantly. Don’t make a decision in hurry, make sure few things:
- Solar panels cleaning
- Make sure if this is a temporary issue due to some weather conditions (e.g. cloudy weather)
- Inverter overheating due to weather conditions
- Inverter needs cleaning
If any of the above conditions are true, this could avoid you expense. In case solar panels need a cleaning service, reach out to the concerned solar retailer. And if it’s due to weather conditions, keep monitoring your electricity generation for the next few days.
New electric appliances added to your PV system
Obviously, future is more electric. If you’ve upgraded to electric heat pumps for heating and cooling in your home, your daily electricity usage will probably go up compared to what your solar panels can produce. In this case you really need to upgrade your solar panels (if your inverter supports this) in order to make this project profitable rather than unproductive. Otherwise, get in touch with a solar PV expert. Ask him to review your existing system and then suggest the upgrade.
How to make sure if solar PV system is generating less power
Keep an eye on your solar inverter mobile app. This can help you better evaluate the current production. Otherwise, you can take a look at your electricity bill that can also give a glimpse of power usage.
The important thing to note in the above bill from Red Energy Australia is:
- How much you are paying your electricity bill
- What is your daily average usage
Substandard performance – A solar panel never perform 100%
This essentially indicates that your solar panels are not performing as advertised, such as the wattage mentioned on them or in the documentation. If this is the case, please note that the mentioned wattages are only for ideal conditions. All solar panels, regardless of the brand, never perform at 100% efficiency. Therefore, adding more panels to your solar PV system can improve your electricity production ratio.
Moreover, below are some additional factors we mostly highlight to our customers:
- Manufacturer’s power tolerance (1%)
- Temperature loss (10%)
- Dirt (5%)
- Inverter efficiency (4%)
Is Your Solar Setup Aging
With the passage of time, the efficiency of your solar panels may diminish. For example, if you have installed polycrystalline solar panels, they are not as efficient as monocrystalline panels. Additionally, it is advisable to have your wiring inspected. In this case, either get your entire panels changed, or add more panels to improve power production.
Voltage fluctuation
If your household electric lights are flickering due to the voltage fluctuation, make sure all your circuit breakers are working well. Find out if there’s any short circuit. In such scenario, please try to upgrade the concerned gadget.
Inverter not performing well
Moreover, if your solar inverter is not performing well, such as beeping under load or being unable to handle the electric load or current production from the panels, you must either repair or upgrade it. In my case, my inverter was not that old. In fact, it had only been one year since it was installed when it started beeping under electric load. One day, one of its ICs (integrated circuit) got burnt. Fortunately, it was under warranty. So, I took it to the service center and got it repaired.
Large panel capacity
Refer to your solar inverter’s guidebook or check its rated power to determine if additional solar panels can be accommodated. If so, consider adding more solar panels to increase the power production.
I opted for four additional solar panels
In my case, I had a 3.6kW inverter and 8 solar panels, each with a rated power of 370W. This meant that my inverter was only handling/generating a total of 2kW of current. Ideally, it must generate 2.9kW, but we already discussed that solar panels’ actual production always varies from the rated power.
They perform only 65-70% of the rated power. As I monitored the app, electricity bills, and the inverter’s readings, I realized I wasn’t getting much advantage from my solar energy system. Therefore, I contacted the same solar team and asked for an enhancement to my solar panels. They only had 4 solar panels from the same company and size/wattage. By adding them in the series, I got an additional 1kW of current.
Get your batteries tested
If you have installed battery storage within your solar energy system, make sure to evaluate their health regularly. A spoiled battery can affect the entire system’s efficiency and current production.
Conclusion – Enhancing Your Solar Energy System in Victoria
The primary purpose of a solar energy system is to reduce high bills. However, if your solar PV system isn’t fulfilling this purpose, it’s crucial to address the issue. Firstly, try to identify whether the problem lies with your wiring, inverter, or if it’s related to the cleanliness of your solar panels. If there are no such issues, and your inverter can support additional panels, consider ordering new ones. Ensure they match the same company, size, and rated wattage.
Reach out to us in the comments
If you need any guidelines regarding enhancing your solar energy system in Victoria, please feel free to reach out to us in the comments. Our sales representatives will surely give you a call and provide free consultancy. Furthermore, if you are considering upgrading your existing solar PV system and have figured out why, based on any of the above points, our expert team will be happy to assist you in sorting it out.
FAQ (Frequently asked questions)
Can you put different size solar panels together?
The short answer is yes, but it’s never recommended. Doing so can lead to reduced power production and efficiency. Therefore, we highly recommend that if you are considering enhancing your solar energy system in Victoria by increasing the number of panels, you opt for similar panels (from the same company, with the same size, and the same wattage).
Can an inverter be upgraded?
If a very old inverter is not performing as expected, it must be upgraded. However, if the inverter is newly installed and there’s an issue, it should be fixed as soon as possible. It’s recommended to contact the company’s service center. If you or the service provider doubt that issue could appear again, get a replacement.
