Maintaining Your Solar System Now That You Finally Have It

You did well making the savvy choice of installing a household solar system for your energy needs. Considering you now have a highly efficient power source, proper maintenance is the single most important thing that you as a homeowner need to keep in mind for your system to perform optimally. Lucky for you, much of what is necessary for the basic maintenance of your system can be done personally.

Implement the following easy steps to make certain your solar system is providing the value you originally bought it for:

First, the most straightforward thing you can do is check the collector shading. On a semi-annual basis, check out your collector occasionally throughout the day to make sure it’s getting its “fuel” the entire time the sun is out. This is important because external factors, such as plant or tree growth, can greatly affect the amount of energy you receive; vegetation may be shading the collector when it’s trying to harness the sunlight.

Also make sure the collector is not dusty or soiled, which naturally lowers the performance. A simple wipe-down will be enough to make a big difference in efficiency.

After checking the collector, look for leaking fluids around the pipe connections.  The seals and duct connections are supposed to be sealed with a mastic compound.  Make sure these connections are tight and clean.

Continue with a visual check of everything, and keep a close eye out for damage on the insulation covering pipes, roof penetrations, and fasteners such as the nuts and bolts that attach the collectors to the support structures.

If you have a solar air heating system, make sure the dampers open and close correctly.

Finally, simply look over the storage systems for issues such as leaks and cracks, as well as rust or corrosion.

All in all, solar maintenance can be quite simple if you stay on top of it. But you do need to supplement this personal oversight with the expert opinion of trained technicians. If you ever have any questions, contact Causyn Cooling & Heating, the foremost experts on solar in the Simcoe area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about solar air heating systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Mathews CCAC Air Conditioning and Heating services Corpus Christi, TX. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!      

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