How Often Should Solar Panels Be Serviced?

Home solar systems need very little routine maintenance, but they still benefit from regular checks. The Energy Saving Trust suggests checking your panels every year or two and having a fuller professional service every few years. In between, the most useful thing you can do is look at your monitoring regularly, because a fault usually shows up there first.

Key points

• Look at your generation in the app every month or so, and compare it with the same month last year.

• Do a visual check from the ground every year or two.

• Have a professional service every few years, and sooner if anything changes.

• Get the system checked straight away after storm damage, roof work, a trip in the consumer unit, or a fault that keeps coming back.

• A service should cover the panels, mounting, cables, inverter, isolators and paperwork, not just a clean.

What you can check yourself

Your monitoring. This is the best early warning you have. A sudden drop, a day with no generation on a sunny day, or one part of the system lagging behind the rest are all worth a closer look. Seasonal changes are normal: output in winter is a fraction of summer output. Our guide to why solar generates less than it used to explains what is normal and what isn’t.

From the ground. Look for loose or damaged panels, slipped tiles near the array, birds nesting underneath, or anything hanging loose. Don’t go on the roof.

The inverter and isolators. Check the inverter screen or app for alarms, make sure nothing is blocking its ventilation, and look for any scorch marks or damage on isolators and cable runs you can see.

If your monitoring app has stopped updating, our guide to getting a monitoring app back online can help.

What a professional service should cover

A proper service is more than a clean. It should include:

• Panels: cracks, discolouration, damaged frames, and dirt or lichen that rain hasn’t shifted.

• Mounting: the rails, clamps and roof fixings, and the roof covering around them.

• Cables and connectors: damage, chafing, loose connectors or cables left hanging.

• Electrical tests: checks on the DC strings and insulation, so faults are found before they cause trips or lost output.

• Inverter: fault history, settings, firmware and ventilation.

• Isolators and protection: the condition of isolators and the protective devices in the consumer unit.

• Battery, if fitted: fault history, charging behaviour and the condition of its location.

• A written record: what was checked and found, which is useful for warranties, insurance and selling your home.

Bird-proofing and cleaning can be done at the same visit when they are needed. Our guides to pigeon-proofing and whether solar panels need cleaning explain when they are worth it.

Signs it needs looking at sooner

Don’t wait for a scheduled service if:

• Generation has dropped noticeably compared with the same month last year.

• The inverter shows an alarm that keeps coming back.

• The solar circuit or an RCD in your consumer unit has tripped more than once. Our guide to solar panels tripping the fuse box explains why.

• You can hear crackling, smell burning or see scorch marks. Switch off at the consumer unit if you can reach it safely and call an engineer.

• There has been roof work, storm damage, or anyone has worked near the array.

• Birds are nesting under the panels.

Does age change how often?

Yes. A system in its first few years mainly needs its monitoring watched. As it gets older, connectors, cables and the inverter become more likely to need attention. The Energy Saving Trust notes that inverters typically need replacing after around 12 years, well before the panels, which are expected to last 25 years or more. Older systems, including many on the Feed-in Tariff, benefit from more regular checks. Our guide to the signs your solar inverter is failing covers what to watch for.

Warranties and servicing

Some product warranties set conditions about installation, cleaning methods or maintenance. Read the terms for your panels, inverter and battery, and keep the records of any service. Our guide to solar and battery warranties explains what each warranty covers.

Frequently asked questions

Is solar servicing a legal requirement?

No, not for a home system. But the system is part of your electrical installation, and regular checks keep it safe and producing what it should.

How long does a service take?

It depends on the size of the system, the access and what is found. Your installer should tell you in advance.

Do I need scaffolding for a service?

Not always. Many checks can be done without going on the roof. Work on the panels themselves needs safe access. Our guide to scaffolding for solar panels in London explains the options.

Do you service systems you didn’t install?

Yes. We service solar and battery systems whoever installed them, across London and up to around 50 miles out. For business premises, see our commercial solar maintenance page.

Book a solar system inspection. We’ll check the whole system, not just the panels, and give you a written record of what we found.