Even if you were fortunate enough to get government grant money to cover most of the cost of your solar panel array, you still invested time and money into it.

If you have minor problems with it, undetectable problems, you are not only not producing optimum energy volume, you are not getting back all you put into it.

The study also found that while the average solar PV owner is more of an energy geek than the average person, there are limitations. “There’s car guys, and then there’s the rest of us,” McCracken said. And for the rest of us, there are “check engine” lights.

Despite the move to real-time energy data, disaggregation services and utilities providing alerts for high bills or outages, solar PV owners do not often have the same alert services for their panels. As solar becomes more and more mainstream, such services become even more necessary.

To meet the needs of the market, Pecan Street is launching Pecan Street Sol, an alert system for PV systems. The service is free and available to PV system owners who have an eGauge-compatible energy monitoring system available with their panels. For those without an eGauge device, another piece of hardware is needed to use the app.

EGauge takes data from panel circuitry. Devices that are eGauge-compatible have various names, including LightGauge (Lighthouse Solar), Hot Purple Energy, and Revolve Solar.

Missing from that list of names are the two largest installers in the U.S., SolarCity and Vivint. SolarCity recently launched MySolarCity app, but it does not come with alerts. For customers with systems that are not eGauge-compatible, the devices cost about $500, plus the cost of installation, which will vary.

Pecan Street can recommend contractors and electricians that can install the devices, or a solar installer could also be a resource.

Monitoring your solar panel array or having it checked regularly can ensure your array is working at peak efficiency.

Usually, if there is a problem, it is something simple, but ignoring it means you are not getting all you can out of your array – and you are potentially costing yourself money in higher energy costs.

To see a complete list of companies that can test your system to make sure your array is working in optimum condition, please visit Green Tech Media.