Solar energy system operation guide

Now that your new solar energy system has been installed, what next? The great news is that it’s virtually self-driving. Although there are certain operational features, you must be aware of. Select any of the menu options below to go directly to your preferred stage, or keep scrolling to follow in order.

Essential operation

The following solar energy system operation guide has been customised for PSW Energy and Perth Solar Warehouse customers and may not be accurate for non-customers.

System shutdown

If, for any reason, you need to switch your system off, you’ll find the ‘Shutdown Procedure’ instructions at the inverter location. If this becomes separated from its location at any point in the future, the steps are straightforward:

  • Turn off the SOLAR SUPPLY MAIN SWITCH within your electrical switchboard.
  • Turn off the DC PV ARRAY ISOLATOR located at or as part of the solar inverter.
  • Restarting the system is the reverse of steps 1 & 2.

The great news is that you should rarely ever need to shut down your solar energy system. It’s essential, though, that we inform you ‘how to’ on the off chance that you may need to manually change the solar energy system’s operational state.

You’ll also see that the installation team has installed several stickers in and around your switchboard. These are notifications for related service personnel who may work on your property.

Read your inverter

Every inverter is different, even inverters from the same manufacturing brands. If you were unable to receive a run-through from the installation team on completion, you will be sent a digital copy of the inverter operation manual via email. Alternatively, we keep important documents such as your inverter operation manual within your personalised PSW Project Hub.

Maintain your solar panels

Fortunately, maintenance of your solar energy system is minimal. The frequency of cleaning and inspection often depends on the level of dirt and dust in your locality. 

Generally, PSW Life Support recommends a professional system inspection every 2 – 5 years.

With an established system monitoring connection, your inverter will notify you of any critical service messages required within your monitoring app.  

Connect online

If opting for the monitoring feature, you should have received the system monitoring log-in details by now. If not, they will be close to arriving in your email inbox. Upon receipt, you will have a brief setup requirement relative to your chosen inverter.

Once received, use the PSW solar monitoring portal setup assistant ›

Important: From time to time, your modem may refresh, and the WiFi connection we established during installation may drop out, this is because your modem has reassigned the IP addresses associated with the WiFi network. WiFi dropouts are a non-warranty scenario. Therefore, you must know how to reconnect your inverter to your WiFi. In such an instance, the PSW WiFi reconnect guides will assist.

Warranty

You’ll receive a separate warranty-specific email with all your warranty information in one place. Ensuring you can always easily find the relative documents in one location within your email inbox as there are few.

Your specific warranty documents will also be uploaded to your Project Hub › 

Note: warranties associated with certain inverter brands require a maintained internet connection as part of the warranty Terms and Conditions (this varies between manufacturers) but a good reason to ensure your inverter remains connected to its monitoring portal.

PSW Life Support

Along your journey, there will be instances where you may require support. PSW Life Support is your ultimate solar energy system knowledge base and support platform comprised of express self-help resources and quick connect contact options.

We’re here to help, but much like a car, it’s important to understand how to drive your solar energy system when non-warranty scenarios arise to avoid service costs. PSW Life Support has the resources you require to manage your equipment without expenses. 

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