Solar Panel Repair in Peoria, AZ

Solar Panel Repair in Peoria, Arizona starts with one question: why is the system making less power than it should? We work only on rooftop systems that are already installed, whether the panels went up last year or fifteen years ago, and we find the actual fault before quoting a fix. That might be a tripped breaker, a failed inverter, a dead microinverter, a scorched connector, a pigeon nest packed with debris or a layer of dust that has been building since spring.

Why West Valley systems wear differently

Panel ratings are measured at a cell temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, about 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Peoria's average high is 103 degrees in June, 104 in July and 105 in August, and the city has recorded 122 degrees. A dark panel on a tile roof runs much hotter than the air around it, and hot cells produce less power. Heat also works on electronics. Electrolytic capacitors, a common part inside inverters, have a life on the order of a decade, and high temperatures shorten it. That is why so many inverter faults show up after a long summer.

Dust is the other constant. Peoria averages only about 9 inches of rain a year, so panels rarely get a real rinse. Research cited on Wikipedia's solar panel page puts the loss from dirty panels at up to 30 percent in desert or high-dust areas. Then the monsoon arrives, typically from June into mid-September, with wind, lightning and dust storms that can coat an array in an afternoon.

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Signs your system needs a look

• The monitoring app shows a lower number than the same month last year, with similar weather
• A red, orange or flashing light on the inverter, or an error code on its screen
• One or more microinverters reading zero or "not reporting" in the app
• Your APS or SRP bill jumped and nothing changed in the house
• Pigeons landing on the roof edge, droppings on the patio, or sticks poking out from under the panels
• A cracked or browned panel, or wiring hanging loose under the array

How we approach a repair

We start with your monitoring data and bills, then test at the inverter and the disconnects before anyone climbs up. Many problems, such as a tripped breaker, a failed communication gateway or a string fault, can be narrowed down from the ground. When the roof is needed, we work around the tiles carefully and photograph what we find. You get a written estimate that lists each part and each step. If a part looks like it is still under the manufacturer's warranty, we check the claim first, because many microinverters carry 15 to 25 years of coverage and string inverters often 5 to 10.

Your utility and your system

Most of Peoria buys power from Arizona Public Service, and some homes are on Salt River Project. In December 2016 the Arizona Corporation Commission cut the rate paid for rooftop solar exports, and in 2017 it approved ending traditional net metering, so the terms on your bill depend on when your system was approved. Every kilowatt-hour your panels fail to make is a kilowatt-hour you buy at retail. A system that sits broken for a summer, the months it should produce the most, can cost more in lost savings than the repair itself.

Permits and paperwork

Simple repairs, like replacing a microinverter with the same model or cleaning an array, usually involve no city paperwork. Swapping to a different inverter, adding equipment or changing how the system ties into your electrical panel can need a City of Peoria permit and an update to your utility's interconnection records. Before that kind of work, the city's building department and your utility should be checked, and any permit step and fee should be spelled out on the written estimate. Arizona also requires contractors to be licensed through the Registrar of Contractors. Look for the license number on any estimate and verify it at roc.az.gov before you hire anyone.

What we do not do

We do not sell new systems or replace a working array to make a sale. If your system is leased, the leasing company usually controls repairs, and we will tell you that up front so you can call them first.

We work across Peoria, from the older streets near Old Town and 83rd Avenue up through Fletcher Heights and Westwing Mountain to Vistancia and the homes near Lake Pleasant at the city's north end. We also work in Glendale, including Arrowhead Ranch, and in Sun City and Youngtown just to the west. The differences matter for a repair. Peoria is mostly APS territory with some SRP, and Glendale is served by both, so who you call about interconnection depends on the address. Sun City is unincorporated, which means permit questions go to Maricopa County rather than a city, and Youngtown has its own town government. Newer master-planned areas like Vistancia often have HOA rules about what can be seen on a roof, which affects how pigeon guards are installed. Part of north Peoria also crosses into Yavapai County, so the right building office depends on the address.