While you will have basic control and monitoring of your system with a user interface that is part of the inverter system, a robust monitoring system provides you and your installer with valuable system performance data that can validate system operation and monitor energy usage. It is hard to manage any system without an “accounting system.” When things go wrong, we need to diagnose the issue. It is next to impossible to recreate what happened in the past without some kind of logging system.

Some inverter interface systems have logging built in, but ideally, if Internet is available at the site, you would be able to remotely monitor and log performance data. If Internet is not available, including at least a basic logging system will help diagnose shortfalls in production, storage, or excess usage.

The money spent on a monitoring system will pay back many times over down the road when there is an issue with your system, and as components near the end of their useful lives.