From the desk
Category: <span>Maintenance</span>
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When the Roof Fails Under Solar Panels
Short version In a bad Florida hurricane the panels are often still in one piece when the roof under them is not. Age, a hidden leak, rot, or animals usually started that. The wind finishes it. If you own the system, a covered wind loss is usually part of the house claim, and the hurricane […]
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Squirrels, Birds, and Solar Panels
Short version The gap under a rooftop array is shade, cover, and a set of wires. In Central Florida that invites squirrels, roof rats, and birds in every month of the year, because there is no hard winter to push them off the roof. Squirrels and rats chew. Birds nest and leave droppings. Chewed wiring […]
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How to Read a Solar Monitoring App
Short version The solar app and the power bill are not measuring the same thing. The app, when it is working, shows what the panels made. The utility meter shows what the house took from the grid and what it sent back. Power you used while the sun was up never passes through that meter, […]
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Solar Insurance for a Florida Home
Short version A home warranty is not solar insurance. The plans sold for the air conditioner and the appliances generally do not repair a solar array, and at least one major plan says its electrical coverage excludes direct-current wiring and components, which is what the panels are. Homeowners insurance is the policy that usually matters. […]
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Solar Battery Maintenance in Florida Heat
Short version A modern home battery in Central Florida is not a car you change the oil on. There is no water to add and no cover to pop. The work you can do is the stuff around the box: shade, airflow, no sprinklers in the face, no wasp nest over the vents, and an […]
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Solar panel maintenance in Central Florida: what actually matters after the install
Short version Most Central Florida systems do not fail from neglect of washing. They fail from unnoticed inverter faults, chewed wiring, storm-shifted hardware, or a monitoring app nobody opens. Rain rinses loose dust. It does not finish the job on oak pollen, lovebug residue, or bird droppings. Watch production on clear days. Clean when the […]