If Tesla installs SolarEdge inverters and optimizers you can request access to the SolarEdge monitoring portal to see panel level production data. (Although you may also need to connect your inverters to the internet so they can communicate with SolarEdge for this). However, because Tesla doesn’t normally provide this data to their customers they don’t provide a map showing the locations of each panel. (I don’t believe that they even made a map for their own internal use when they installed my system).
When I look at the SolarEdge monitoring system I can see data for all 48 of my panels, but I have no idea which panel is which. I could see a couple of panels that were under producing compared to the other panels as well as a couple of panels that produced a bit more than the other panels. I’m pretty confident that the under producing panels are the ones that have a bit of shade from a nearby palm tree, but I’m not sure where the ones that produce more are.
I went back and forth with myself for a few weeks about whether it was worth trying to make a panel map, exactly how much effort it would be to make the map, and the best way to make the map. In the end I decided that this was data that I wanted to have, so I just spent two hours this evening on my roof with my cell phone duct taped to the end of a pool pole sticking it under the panels from the top where there are no skirts to get in the way. I used the remote camera feature of my Apple Watch to see through my phone’s camera so I could position my phone under the serial number sticker of each of my 48 optimizers and take a picture of them in order.
I then spent another hour reading the serial numbers from the pictures and mapping out the panels. At the same time I compared them to the serial numbers on the SolarEdge monitoring system as a verification because some of the pictures wound up a little blurry or some of the numbers weren’t visible because there was a wire covering part of the sticker.
In the end the whole process only took about 3 hours in total and I’m glad that I went through with it so that I have this data now. My next step is to see if I can figure out how to upload the data to SolarEdge so that the SolarEdge monitoring system shows the logical layout of my panels.
But all that said, this data would be much much easier to get at install time by noting exactly where each optimizer is placed as the panels are mounted. If you feel like you might have any desire to have this data I would suggest asking your installers to provide a map for you.
When I look at the SolarEdge monitoring system I can see data for all 48 of my panels, but I have no idea which panel is which. I could see a couple of panels that were under producing compared to the other panels as well as a couple of panels that produced a bit more than the other panels. I’m pretty confident that the under producing panels are the ones that have a bit of shade from a nearby palm tree, but I’m not sure where the ones that produce more are.
I went back and forth with myself for a few weeks about whether it was worth trying to make a panel map, exactly how much effort it would be to make the map, and the best way to make the map. In the end I decided that this was data that I wanted to have, so I just spent two hours this evening on my roof with my cell phone duct taped to the end of a pool pole sticking it under the panels from the top where there are no skirts to get in the way. I used the remote camera feature of my Apple Watch to see through my phone’s camera so I could position my phone under the serial number sticker of each of my 48 optimizers and take a picture of them in order.
I then spent another hour reading the serial numbers from the pictures and mapping out the panels. At the same time I compared them to the serial numbers on the SolarEdge monitoring system as a verification because some of the pictures wound up a little blurry or some of the numbers weren’t visible because there was a wire covering part of the sticker.
In the end the whole process only took about 3 hours in total and I’m glad that I went through with it so that I have this data now. My next step is to see if I can figure out how to upload the data to SolarEdge so that the SolarEdge monitoring system shows the logical layout of my panels.
But all that said, this data would be much much easier to get at install time by noting exactly where each optimizer is placed as the panels are mounted. If you feel like you might have any desire to have this data I would suggest asking your installers to provide a map for you.