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Solar panel maintenance in Birmingham is mostly about catching the faults you can’t see. Panels have no moving parts, but the inverter, the isolator switches and the connections between panels all age. When one of them fails, output can drop to nothing, or fade slowly enough that nobody notices for a year.
The Energy Saving Trust says you don’t need to do much to keep a system running well, and that the main thing is keeping nearby trees trimmed to cut shading. It also says an inverter needs replacing after around 12 years. A service is how you find out where your system stands, whoever fitted it.
What a service checks
The service starts with the numbers. PVGIS gives a south-facing Birmingham roof about 969 kWh a year for each kWp of panels, and an east or west-facing one about 777 kWh. If your generation history is well below that for your system’s size, something is wrong, and the rest of the visit is about finding it.
On site, the inverter’s screen and fault history come first, then the AC and DC isolators, which can let in water or develop loose connections. Visible cabling and connectors are checked, and each string of panels is measured. The panels themselves are looked over for cracks, heavy dirt, moss and pigeon nests. You get the findings in writing, with anything that needs doing priced separately.
Inspection reports
The same checks work as an inspection. The Energy Saving Trust advises anyone buying a house with panels to get them checked by a specialist, including whether they are running safely and whether the inverter needs replacing. A dated report is also useful evidence if you need to make a warranty claim. Buying a house with solar panels covers the paperwork side.
Cleaning, birds and repairs
A service often turns up one of three things. Heavy grime or moss calls for solar panel cleaning, though the Energy Saving Trust says rain keeps most pitched-roof panels clean. Nests under the array call for bird proofing. A failed part calls for a repair or an inverter replacement. Each is quoted separately, and you decide what goes ahead.
What it costs
Checkatrade lists solar panel servicing and repair in Birmingham at £233 to £493, with an average of £335. The cost guide puts that next to the other running costs of a system.
What's included
- Generation compared with what the system should make
- Inverter screen, fault history and ventilation checked
- AC and DC isolators checked for water and heat damage
- Visible cabling and connectors inspected
- Panels checked from the ground or a safe viewpoint for damage, dirt and nests
- String voltage and current measured
- Shading from trees or new buildings noted
- Written findings, with anything that needs doing priced separately
How the options compare
Failed inverter
- Never check it
- Found when the bill goes up
- Glance at the app
- Found if you look
- Annual service
- Spotted early, with the fault history
Isolator or connector problems
- Never check it
- Not found
- Glance at the app
- Not visible in the app
- Annual service
- Checked
Slow loss of output
- Never check it
- Not noticed
- Glance at the app
- Hard to judge
- Annual service
- Compared with what the system should make
Warranty claims
- Never check it
- No evidence
- Glance at the app
- Screenshots at best
- Annual service
- Dated written findings
