First, take the time to celebrate your new independent energy source. Congratulate yourself on having taken an important step in becoming energy independent with your own on-site power production facility. Congratulations!

For operational maintenance there is absolutely nothing to do, except to top off the water in the batteries once or twice a year. You can monitor the system more closely depending on your technical skills and curiosity; and tweak its performance accordingly. That’s it! There are no moving parts in the PV system. As long as you keep the components dirt and dust free, there is nothing to maintain.

Cleaning of the solar PV panels is not recommended. Normal rainfall will be enough to keep the PV panel covers relatively clean. You can spray them with clean water if you want, but please don’t climb the roof to wash them off!

If the components, wiring, and connections were properly designed and installed; your system will be maintenance free.

However, should you notice a drop in systemperformance: such as your electrical loads (lights, appliances, etc.) not running as long as they used to; or dim lights, or other problems; you’ll need to investigate. It could be any one or combination of these:

1. Declining battery performance
2. Controller malfunction or adjustment needed
3. Increased or malfunctioning power loads

Troubleshooting your solar PV system should be done by an expert. But if you installed the system yourself, then you should be very familiar with its details and have no problem troubleshooting each components. Controller, inverter, and other component manufacturers all have troubleshooting guides available to help you.

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