What the monitoring app shows

Every modern residential solar inverter includes a monitoring platform accessible via smartphone app and web browser. Sungrow’s iSolarCloud, Huawei’s FusionSolar, Solis’s Ginlong, Deye’s Solarman, Growatt’s ShinePhone — the interfaces differ but the data is broadly similar. What you should be able to see at a glance:

• Real-time power output (kW): what the inverter is producing right now
• Today’s energy (kWh): total generated so far today
• Historical energy: daily, monthly, yearly totals with charts
• String-level or MPPT-level data: production per DC input, useful for spotting one string underperforming
• Battery state (if hybrid): state of charge, charge/discharge rate, battery temperature
• Grid state: import, export, and net-metering totals
• Alerts and error codes: anything the inverter has flagged for attention

Spending five minutes with the app in the first week after installation, and again after the first typhoon or first major cleaning, calibrates what “normal” looks like for your specific system. That baseline is what future anomalies get measured against.

Daily and monthly kWh benchmarks

Typical production benchmarks for a QC residential system in kWh per kWp of installed panel capacity:

• Best month (usually April, May, October): 150–180 kWh per kWp
• Average month (annual mean): 120–140 kWh per kWp
• Worst month (usually July, August during heavy monsoon): 80–110 kWh per kWp
• Best day (clear sky, cool temperature, late morning through mid-afternoon): 5.5–6.5 kWh per kWp
• Typical clear day: 4.5–5.5 kWh per kWp
• Overcast day: 1.5–3.0 kWh per kWp
• Heavy rain day: 0.5–1.5 kWh per kWp

For a 6 kWp system, this translates to typical monthly generation of 720–840 kWh with a range of 480 kWh (worst) to 1,080 kWh (best). Annual generation for a 6 kWp system in QC typically lands at 8,400–9,500 kWh.

Compare your monitoring app data against these benchmarks after a few months of installation. Significantly under-performing (below 100 kWh per kWp in an average month, or below 4.5 kWh per kWp on a clear day) is a signal that something needs investigation.

Seasonal patterns to expect

Solar production in QC follows a predictable seasonal pattern driven by cloud cover, sun angle, and rainfall:

• December–February: cool, generally clear, medium daylight hours. Steady production, no dust buildup. Often 130–150 kWh/kWp per month.
• March–May: peak season. Long days, mostly clear, high sun angle. Peak dust also begins accumulating late in this window. Often 150–180 kWh/kWp early April, dropping slightly toward late May.
• June–September: monsoon season. Frequent rain, cloud cover, typhoons. Production drops meaningfully — often 80–110 kWh/kWp per month.
• October–November: recovery. Clearing skies, mild temperatures. Often 130–160 kWh/kWp.

Do not panic if July production is 40% below April production — this is normal and expected. Panic if July production drops another 30% below what your July looked like last year.

Warning signs — what to watch for

A few patterns in the monitoring app should trigger a service inquiry. In order of severity:

• Sudden drop in output with no weather explanation: if today’s clear-sky production is 30%+ below what it was a week ago on a similar day, investigate. Common causes: shading from a newly grown tree, soiling accumulation, one panel failure, one string offline.
• String imbalance: if your system has multiple strings (e.g., east-facing and west-facing arrays), the two should track predictably relative to each other through the day. A string producing significantly less than expected relative to the other is a signal — often a panel failure or wiring issue in that string.
• Frequent error codes or fault alerts: inverters log faults for over-voltage, under-voltage, isolation errors, grid instability, and various protection events. Occasional faults during grid instability are normal; repeated faults with the same code are a service issue.
• Zero production during expected sun hours: if your system shows zero production at solar noon on a clear day and your inverter shows offline, something has failed — either the inverter itself or the grid connection.
• Battery not charging fully on a clear day (hybrid systems): if a hybrid system is not reaching full battery state of charge on a bright sunny day, there is likely a battery issue, an inverter setting issue, or a load being served that you did not expect.
• Battery discharging faster than expected during an outage: could indicate a battery cell issue, an unexpectedly high critical-load draw, or a battery management system issue.

When to call your installer

Three scenarios warrant a service call:

• Sustained production shortfall of 20%+ vs baseline for 2+ weeks with clean panels and no weather explanation — probable equipment issue
• Repeated identical error codes in the inverter log — probable inverter or grid-interconnection issue
• Any battery-related alarm on a hybrid system — battery diagnostic needed

Scenarios that do not warrant a service call:

• One rainy week producing 40% below normal — this is normal weather variance
• One panel showing 1–2% below its neighbors — normal cell-level variance, well within tolerance
• Battery not reaching 100% during an unusually cloudy stretch — normal, not a fault

A good installer welcomes real service calls and quickly identifies false alarms. If your installer treats every monitoring anomaly as either “nothing to worry about” or “send us a check for diagnostic labor,” that is a bad partnership sign.

Related guides

• Solar warranty claims: what’s covered and how to file
• Solar panel cleaning + air quality in QC
• Expanding your solar system later