If you have recently purchased solar panels from us in Sittard or somewhere else, you are naturally curious to know what these solar panels produce for you. What does the sun give us in terms of energy? The yield of your solar panels can be measured and therefore tracked. Nowadays, the yield of solar panels is usually tracked in an app. Through such an app you can track how much energy your installation is generating. So this way you can very easily measure the yield of your solar panels. In this way, you do not even have to measure the yield of the solar panels yourself, but you do have to monitor them.
Why do I need to measure/monitor the output of my solar panels?
By regularly monitoring the yield of your solar panels, you will always have a clear overview of what they are producing. But yield is not the only reason to measure your solar panels. In fact, measuring/monitoring also allows you to identify problems with the panels more quickly.
So how do you recognize a problem? If you check the yield regularly, you will see that it is fairly even. If, when measuring the solar panel yield, it suddenly appears that the yield is falling while there is no logical explanation (such as bad weather conditions) for this, it could mean that there is something wrong with the panels.
The solar panels may be faulty or the inverter may no longer work properly. Inverters normally last about twelve to fourteen years. However, they can lose efficiency before that. Thus, you may need to replace the inverter to get back more yield from your solar panels and measure it.
How is the yield of solar panels measured?
Measuring and monitoring the output of solar panels can be done in several ways. The easiest method of measuring solar panel yield is to use the inverter. Every solar panel installation comes with an inverter. This box can convert the energy generated into electricity.
On the screen of the inverter, you can read the power and yield of the panels. Usually the yield is displayed per day and per total. On some inverters, you can even see entire graphs of daily, monthly and yearly yields. Nowadays, most inverters can be linked to Wi-Fi, allowing you to easily view the output of your solar panels in an app.
Methods of measuring the yield of solar panels
Apps
Als u zonnepanelen in Limburg heeft aangeschaft via De Duurzame Jongens, dan kunt u gebruikmaken van onze handige app om de opbrengst van uw zonnepanelen te meten. Via de app kunt u namelijk realtime de energieopbrengst van uw zonnepaneleninstallatie bekijken. Met een slimme meter kunt u ook gelijk zien hoeveel stroom er wordt opgewekt, wat u aan energie verbruikt en wat u terug levert. Op deze manier krijgt u veel meer inzicht in de totale opbrengst van uw panelen en kunt u verschillende periodes met elkaar vergelijken.
In addition, the app can also give you insight into the operation of your system. If the solar panels are not working properly, you can see that right away in the app. We are also notified if the panels purchased from us are not working optimally. We can then look for a suitable solution together.
Monitoring via een omvormer
Another way to measure the output of your solar panels is through the inverter. This can often be linked to Wi-Fi for insights you would like to get out of it, think consumption by day, month or year.
Gebruik van een energiemeter
A P1 meter or energy meter gives you insight into what is delivered back to the grid. By linking it to the data from the inverter, the total yield can be monitored. Please note that a P1 meter usually measures feed-in but not the total yield.
Externe meetapparatuur
For more technical measurement, measuring voltage and current is possible with a multimeter. Such monitoring systems use data loggers with voltage and current sensors to calculate the yield in W/kWh.
