How to Tell If Your Solar Inverter Is Working: Tips and Tricks

Introduction 

 

Have you recently purchased and installed a solar system in your home or commercial sector? Well, a solar inverter can be a crucial deal of your solar system. It ensures the power conversion and gives some necessary outputs for your appliance operations.

Working with a solar inverter is the heart of the solar system. Today, we will sift through the working mechanisms of your solar inverters in detail and determine whether your solar inverter works perfectly.

 

What is a solar inverter?

Solar inverter is the power inverter— DC to AC. Home appliances use the alternating current instead of direct current. On the other hand, solar energy production is in the direct current. Therefore, it becomes essential to transform the DC power into AC and deploy it.

When solar power doesn’t work efficiently, you can’t empower your devices. Sometimes, the power conversion failure is caused by faulty solar inverters.

Methods to check if your solar inverter is working perfectly

You might wonder where power is going if your solar system is working perfectly. The secret sauce is the faulty solar inverter. Try the different methods below and treat the issues instantly.

 

Check for errors

Detection of any single error in the inverter is a no-brainer. Head over to the screen and check:

 

• If there is any error.
• Check the updates.
• Read log messages and understand any faults in the system.

 

Any codes or errors can track down the authentic issue behind the failure. Once you’ve found the problem, it is easy to kill the culprit and optimize efficiency.

Are there no errors? Don’t let it go until you check the LEDs. If the output is more than 90%, that is good. LEDs will show a green light. In case you see a red blinking light, that means there is an issue in the inverter. Hire the expert and get it corrected to avoid power issues for your home.  

Access system data

Do you have the latest inverter? Good news for you— there are two hacks for your inverter testing. Trap the right issue with your scanning skills. 

 

Navigate to the digital screen and know for the errors and messages. It gives a detailed report on the power consumption and usage. The second option is to connect your inverter account with the online system of your brand.

 

It also gives you some necessary information if there are some failures. Three main features appearing on the screen are:

 

• The total energy in Kilo-watt hour provided to your system.
• The total energy consumption of your home system
• The estimated number of Kilo-watt hours of power generated.

 

The deviation in these data can be a potential sign to hunt down the errors and use experts for better solutions.

Listen for sounds

Though it is an unusual and funny way to test, it is worth trying when figuring out the problem in the inverter. Most of the time, you can’t hear noises out of the inverter. A specific noise gives an idea of when your inverter is running perfectly.

 

If you start listening:

 

• Humming
• Buzzing
• Unusual sounds

 

Understand there is some serious issue with your inverter. Go and get it checked.

Check the power

Scanning of power is another best idea to try. When you purchase the solar system, it provides a specific control. Suppose you have generated 10KW of energy daily from your solar system.

 

The inverter will show it on your screen. If there is a discrepancy in the values over time, be alert. There can be an issue with the inverter or a problem with the power generation. 

Check for connections 

Sometimes, everything, including power generation and consumption, is going well. Then, where exactly is the issue? 

 

You still have one option— check the connection to see if the power cables work effectively. Get them checked. If connections are intact, check for the power solutions. Restart your inverter and check the power generation on the screen. 

 

If still the issue isn’t resolved, get help from the solar technicians!!

 

Check for overheating 

 

One of the everyday mysteries behind the breakdown of your solar inverters is overheating. The temperature fluctuations are pretty typical in the summer season. Inverters comprise electrical components such as wire and internal parts prone to high temperatures.

 

Therefore, in summer, you need to cool it down during the operation. If the inverter isn’t functioning normally, check the overheating issues. Install a proper ventilation system between the switch cabinet and inverter housing.

Isolation faults

 

Solar inverters have to perform all four seasons. Their contact with the solar panels senses the power and energy generation and usage. Not all times you receive isolation issues, but many times, the solar system is not generating enough power. Sometimes, there is an issue with the wiring, too. Short-circuit due to extreme weather conditions is another big trouble for the isolation faults. You can receive the isolation alarms and understand something is wrong.

 

Check the short-circuit and involve the experts to dig deeper into the issue. Monitor the power generation and tackle the wiring connections instantly. In short, assess the isolation faults and rectify them.

How do you resolve your solar inverter issues?

Suppose you have found out the issue with your solar inverter. But how will you proceed and correct it? We can’t cover all the solutions, but some need expertise. However, we have added tips to tackle the fundamental issues.

 

Correct your isolation problems

 

You can integrate your solar system with the inverter and tackle all such issues earlier. The processing steps are simple:

 

• Locate your AC isolators. You can find them in the inverter and mains electrical region. Now, turn them off and see if they are OFF.
• Locate your DC isolators. A few locators are there near the inverter. Switch them off and wait for at least five minutes. Now, you can turn them on. Keep in mind, turn on your DC isolators before the AC ones. It will ensure the easy fixing of the problems.
• Turn on the AC isolators and let the inverter take some time for the screen processing. It takes a few minutes to restart. All errors will appear on the screen, and you can determine why.

 

Recheck the connections and install it

Suppose you have found the issues with the connection. What will you do next? Go for brand-new cables and connections.

 

• Connect your solar panel with the inverters.
• Link your inverter with the appliances.
• Check the charging or driving of your essential tools.
• Track the system errors if the connections are perfect and don’t have some serious issues.

 

Restart your solar inverter

 

Some errors appear on the screen and need a simple solution— restart. Turn off your solar inverters. Wait for some moments and let it cool down. Now, turn on the inverter and check the functionality.

 

Involve solar technicians and experts

 

Have you given 100% of your efforts? Restart your solar system and inverter; your problem lies deep in the system. Well, you have one last spot to try— get help from the experts. 

 

The experts will evaluate the system errors and dig into the circuit levels. Furthermore, they can handle all the serious issues and save you extra costs. Don’t forget that experts have a fee. Get ready to pay for that.

 

Tips for long-term maintenance of solar inverter

 

Do you want to avoid the solar inverter issues in the long term? There are a few ways to accomplish this task.

 

• Visual inspection. Early inspection can keep problems miles away. Go for the regular checkup. Note the errors on the screen and knock them out before it is too late. 

• Monitoring. Connect your solar inverter to the software system of the brand and monitor the progress. Get timely updates and resolve all your errors on time.

• Cool down your inverters. Is summer around? Even in the winter, continuous deployment of the inverters can heat them. All you have to do is turn off your inverter for some moments and let it cool down. Turn it on later and relish the charms.

• Follow the manual. Each inverter comes with a manual guide from the manufacturer. Read the manual and know the different techniques to operate the system. It even has the necessary troubleshooting steps to tackle power, connection, or restarting issues.

• Update your systems. Get updated systems for your inverters or solar panels. The simple technique is to follow the software updates on your favorite brands. Get information and update it as per your system.

 

Conclusion 

 

Sometimes, you make a mistake— purchase a solar inverter that is already faulty. Don’t even make the mistake of buying low-quality inverters. In that case, the first thing is to think about the brand. Also, consider the top-class inverters when jumping into the different inverters.

 

You have a better brand— Lux PowerTek. This brand offers a variety of inverter options ranging from monitoring to hybrid systems. Check out the variety of options available to you and ensure longevity.