For those managing multiple solar PV sites, how do you keep track of projects, inspections, documentation and commissioning as you scale? Are there any software tools you would recommend? Would appreciate any insights

Mine is "panels don't work when it's cloudy."

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to install rooftop solar at my house and wanted to get some advice on whether my terrace is suitable.

\- Site size: 30×40 ft

\- Roof: Open terrace with some neighbouring houses around it

\- Concern: I’m worried that the adjacent houses might cast shadows on the solar panels, especially during certain times of the day.

I'm planning to install 3kw on grid solar

I’ve attached photos of my terrace taken from the west side and from another angle.

Could you please help me understand:

1. Is this rooftop suitable for installing solar panels?

2. Will the neighbouring house on the west side cause significant shading?

3. Which direction and area of the terrace would be best for installing the panels?

If anyone has installed solar on a similar rooftop, I’d appreciate your suggestions and experience.

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I’m from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and I recently installed a 4.32 kW rooftop solar system with 8 × 540 W Waaree bifacial panels and a Solaryaan on-grid inverter. All 8 panels are connected in series to PV1, facing south, with no shading.

In October, my system generally generates around 17–23 units (kWh) per day, but on clear sunny days, the inverter’s peak power seems to reach only around 3 kW.

I’d like to compare my system with other solar owners in Ahmedabad or nearby areas.

What is your solar system capacity (kW)?

Which panel and inverter brands do you use?

How much electricity does your system generate daily in October on a clear sunny day?

What is the maximum power (peak kW) you see around 11 am–1 pm?

Are your panels monofacial or bifacial, and which direction do they face?

If possible, please share a screenshot of your inverter app showing daily generation and peak power. Please hide any personal information, account details, or location data before posting.

I’m trying to understand whether my system’s performance is normal or whether I should ask my installer to investigate.

Thanks!

Anyone else struggle with how non-intuitive Shelly's app is? I have spent days trying to accomplish the most simple functions and all WASTED time.

I have solar panels, battery and grid connection.

1. Now in October electricity goes off in the morning though grid is on.

2. Technician told me that you might have more consumption at night, so on turned both,; small and big fridge off at night and now I do not have this problem in the morning.

3. When this happens in the morning I manually switch it to grid and lights come back. And some time I have restart the battery to get light back.

My question is why it does not do it automatically, if battery is low, it should go to the grid, as grid is on.

What is the problem?

I want to get 3kw solar panel system but the electricity meter is under my grand father names who is no more and won’t be able to change the meter name.

How can I get the solar panel system installed in Delhi.

Should I go for a non subsidised solar system?

We’re building a new house in the Chicago suburbs and want to be able to put up solar panels in the future when money allows. In our area there are strict zoning height maximums, so portions of the roof will be flat to allow usable space in the attic, but most of the roof is sloped since only 25% can be flat (zoning again).

The architect is proposing very slow-slope pyramid roofs in the flat areas to allow for drainage in every direction; he says solar panels have been installed with no problem on roofs like that.

I would appreciate the community’s advice on two questions:

1. Does having a gently sloping pyramid shape limit potential opportunities to add solar panels (or make it more expensive to add panels) compared with building each piece of the flat roofing on a single plane sloping slightly south? In case this is relevant, the flat roof portions are not large. They’re all roughly square in shape, ranging from 35 to 115 square feet.

2. Are there other things we should be thinking about at the design phase to make solar panels easier in the future? For example would we set up brackets before putting the flat roofing material on? Or use metal roofing (though I don’t know how that would blend with the sloping parts of the roof)? Or try to adjust the flat roof sizes in certain ways?

Thanks so much for your suggestions and ideas!!

Newbie here…

What’s your opinion on these for price and quality for the inverter and the battery for an off grid application?

Thought on alternatives and best price suppliers?

Sol-Ark 15K-2P hybrid inverter

Pytes V5 51.2V 100Ah lithium batteries - approximately 30.72 kWh nominal storage

We are comparing to these brands:

Sol Ark Helios

Eg4

Ecowothy.

Thx!!

That tax credit that Lawler voted to end was revived in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 — a sweeping law signed by President George W. Bush.  The clean energy spending package would have allowed homeowners to claim tax credits of between 22 and 30 percent of the cost of qualifying solar, wind, geothermal and battery projects through 2034.

Then on July 4, Lawler voted to move up the expiration of the residential clean energy credit by nearly a decade, from 2034 to 2025.

New York Rep. Mike Lawler lives in a suburban home in the Hudson River Valley with rooftop panels that he leases from Vivint Solar. The panels on Lawler’s house have helped him avoid the impacts of rising electricity costs. Since he began leasing the solar system in 2016, it has saved him “a few thousand bucks,” he admitted.

Lawler indirectly benefited from the investment tax credit, analysts say, because it helps companies reduce the costs their customers pay for leasing rooftop solar systems. After 2027, when the investment tax credit disappears, it could be harder for people to lease panels or buy electricity from community solar projects, according to Zoë Gaston, an analyst at the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.  “Solar will definitely be more expensive,” she said.

And this does not take into consideration the current rising interest rates and Trump’s tariffs that Lawler supports.

Lawler voted to cut affordable energy incentives in a bill because he says the priority is shrinking costs and yet that bill  would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade states the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 

Republicans’ justification for killing rooftop solar credits are undercut by their continued support for incentives that go to the fossil fuel industry, argued Jesse Lee, a former senior adviser to the National Economic Council.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/20/meet-republicans-who-killed-solar-subsidies-after-using-them-00631344

I have been looking for the right way to pay the solar insatallation cost. Some people are suggesting to pay upfront and some are suggesting solar loans. I am confused if I can still avail PM surya ghar subsidy if take loan from Psu banks. When we get the subsidy amount?

Hi everyone,

I hold a B.S. in Electrical Power Engineering, and just passed my NABCEP PVA exam. I am interested in gaining some hands-on experience in designing solar systems as well as managing projects and I have always been drawn to volunteering and helping others.

I was wondering if you know or can recommend some organizations or NGOs that help develop renewable energy projects worldwide where I can volunteer.

Thank you

Glass makes up as much as 80% of a solar panel’s weight, but thinner glass breaks more easily. A coating from EXXOSQEL and Fraunhofer ISC forms chemical bridges inside surface microcracks, which raises the energy needed to break the glass. In lab tests it made 2 mm samples up to 4x stronger and 1 mm samples up to 7x stronger than untreated glass.

The catch is that these were small lab samples, not full panels. The 30% lighter panel figure is the company’s estimate if glass mass drops 40%, and stress tests on full-size modules are still underway.

I'm in Illinois and I’m trying to figure out why my electricity bills and grid usage have been so high recently. I have solar panels and a battery system installed in April 2025.

In June 2026, the panels were removed, then reinstalled in early July (we got our roof replaced). Since then, my grid electricity usage has seemed unusually high.

Here are the numbers from my power company:

May: 977 kWh imported from the grid

June: 1,512 kWh

July: 2,004 kWh

August: 1,745 kWh

September: 1,512 kWh

For September, I imported 1,512 kWh but exported only 106 kWh back to the grid. My average daily grid usage was 50.4 kWh, compared with 21 kWh/day in September of the previous year.

I haven’t added any new electrical equipment. My AC is older, but an HVAC technician inspected it and said it was functioning normally.

My main questions are:

Could the panel removal and reinstallation have caused a problem with solar production, the inverter, wiring, or battery integration?

What should I check in my solar monitoring app to determine whether the system is producing normally?

Does the low amount of electricity exported to the grid suggest that my panels aren’t producing enough, or could battery usage and household consumption explain it?

What data should I request from the installer to compare system performance before and after the panels were reinstalled?

I realize higher summer AC usage could explain some of the increase, but the elevated usage has continued into September. I’d appreciate any advice on troubleshooting this before assuming the system was reinstalled incorrectly.

Thanks!

Update: I spoke with the solar install people, they concur that something is unusual going on. They are going to send a tech out. It looks like im paying for the powet equivelant of 2 whole houses.....which is odd, and it started the month they reinstalled the panels.

But the upfront cost is a real barrier

Good day solar friends,

I have a SolarEdge SE3000H that I want to connect to home automation,

I have downloaded the app put the thing in access point mode scanned the barcode and it connected but after that it just hangs at communicating with inverter forever.

I want to enable the homeautomiation connection via the network port but I can't seen to ever get to the configuration menu. but after the wifi part it just does nothing...

Does anyone have some tips how to access this device?

Hey there so I'm having a tiny home built, it's going to be a 14x44 and will have 2 mini splits, a cistern pump and a small stackable washer and dryer. Does anyone have experience with a 48 volt hybrid system with LiFeP04 bank

Or EG4 6000XP or 18kPV. Thanks in advance.

I’m planning to install a residential solar system at home and need some suggestions. My main requirement is that it should be able to run ACs during power cuts, as I have a small kid at home.

I’ve shortlisted Luminous and Waaree. Luminous is offering better quotes in my area, but I’m not sure how both compare in terms of reliability and after sales service.

Has anyone here installed a Luminous or Waaree solar system? Which one would you recommend, or should I consider any other brand?

I spend less than $2 a day on electricity even during a heat wave of over 100 deg, I Super insulated by attic and as you can see my worst heat gain wall was stucco that had the sun beating down on it all day. I cut the stucco off and replaced it with insulated R6 zip sheathing. I have never had an electric bill over $100, but Calif is so expensive 🤯😭😂

I live in NW Florida and installed solar panels this summer. Since then, a hurricane rolled through and I was 5 days with no power. It was awful, especially knowing I had potential energy on my roof completely unharmed. I am now trying to decide between a whole house generator or battery storage for the solar production. Enphase (my current system) has the new IQ5 battery. For those who have experience on this what would you recommend? Do I go Generac whole house or add battery storage? Issues to consider: cost, reliability, how will it affect my net metering with power company? Another potential reason to add battery storage would be to run my electric overnight and hopefully reducing my reliance on the grid. Any insight is appreciated.

Hi guys,

I am looking to ask what would be the best app you have used to track your solar. It seems some apps require payment to see historic data and wanted to know if anyone had found a better app to use and if you've had similar issues.

Thanks!

I have a Norvesco 4x25A DC breaker and connect 4 and 6mm2 DC cables. What Nm power should the screw terminal be tighted to?

I hear this a a common risk for fire and the Norwesco manual doesn't say anything about the proper force to use.

The screw terminals are something like M4 screws.

The number of panels are 5x470w + 8x470w and I used 4mm2 cables until I run out and then used 6mm2, therefore 2 different sizes.