{"id":101017,"date":"2023-01-25T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/?p=101017"},"modified":"2023-01-27T09:58:39","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T14:58:39","slug":"how-to-create-a-cohesive-pv-preventative-maintenance-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/2023\/01\/how-to-create-a-cohesive-pv-preventative-maintenance-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create a cohesive PV preventative maintenance plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Hannah Smith, marketing and business development manager, Day Electric<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There are a variety of reasons why preventative maintenance is a vital aspect of the sustainability and health of PV solar systems. While solar is often marketed as a sustainable and resilient power generation tool, it does not go unscathed by external factors such as time, weather or equipment failures. For this reason, an effective preventative maintenance plan is required for the longevity and health of your system. Preventative maintenance differs from reactive or corrective maintenance as it gets owners ahead of repairs, keeps the system performing at as-built capacity and prevents larger, more damaging issues.<\/p>\n

When to schedule preventative maintenance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There is no, one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as all PV systems have many factors influencing this. However, once a site is completed, commissioned and deemed operable a maintenance plan should be put into place to monitor the site’s pain points and production numbers.<\/p>\n

\"\"Generally speaking, preventive maintenance should be performed annually for the first five years, with two visits in Year 1. This is vital to assessing a system’s production and making the necessary changes for peak performance.<\/p>\n

When choosing the time of year for preventative maintenance visits, an essential factor to consider is solar irradiance and how that relates to peak production. Solar irradiance is the sun’s intensity or output measured on earth over a certain area. For many areas, high irradiance will be experienced in the summer months, more specifically in mid-July. Therefore, scheduling your PM visit in springtime to check the health of your system is a productive strategy. This will give time to make the needed adjustments before peak irradiance months.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn effective PM requires action not just reporting. It requires doing the work,” said Wayne Williford, VP of operations at Day Electric. Remote monitoring can only show you so much. Get out, visit the site and put a plan in place that is tailored to that site.<\/p>\n

After creating an effective plan in Year 1, this can be carried out for the first 5 years. At that point, you often see these external factors that will become pain points in the decades to come. A preventative maintenance schedule will be dependent on the site\u2019s location, environment, design type, equipment type and initial build and product quality.<\/p>\n

What factors influence preventative maintenance measures?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Location<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

One of the major factors that influence preventative maintenance is location, especially as it relates to the environment and weather. A site located in the desert climate of Arizona will need drastically different measures taken than a coastal site in California.<\/p>\n

If your site is subject to any of the following conditions, additional PM measures may need to be taken:<\/p>\n