How To Test If Solar Panels Are Working

Check out our community post for tips on extending battery life as well as our help center article about the solar panel.

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. Accessing your solar output data online. 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. Note positive negative connections.

When it s overcast your solar panels will likely operate at 10 to 25 of their rated capacity. The converter box is located on the back of the solar panel. Once you have located the. While solar panels work on cloudy and rainy days their output won t match that on clear sunny days.

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. 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. Then touch the multi meter s black negative lead to your solar panel s negative wire. Energy is measured in kilowatt hours kwh.

Many companies that install solar panels offer some kind of system monitoring software that can help. What matters is how much sun your home gets year round. The inverter is the first place to check to make sure your solar energy system is working properly. Testing the voltage simply touch the solar panel leads with the multi meter probes matching their corresponding polarity red to red black to black.

Locate the converter box. Touch the multi meter s red positive lead to your solar panel s positive wire. I typed in one of google s suggested home addresses and the tool told me the. But don t get stuck on this detail.

Attach the meter to the positive and negative terminals on the solar panel and make sure the panel is properly exposed to sunlight. Know your inverter if solar panels are the brawn of your solar energy system then the inverter is the brain. Power is measured in watts w or kilowatts kw. Using a multimeter for solar panel tests step 1.

Since electric current is measured in amperes you will need to buy a meter known as an amp meter and measure the output. If your solar panels continuously output 5kw of power for a whole 60 minutes you will have produced 5kwh of energy.