Servicing · Guide
Solar panel maintenance: what your system actually needs
Solar panels need very little looking after, but they aren’t maintenance-free. The panels themselves should last 25 years or more. The parts around them wear out sooner: the inverter usually needs replacing after about 12 years, and isolators, connectors and cables sit outside in the weather all year.
Mon–Fri 9:00am–5:00pm · Clear written quote before any work starts
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Call 0800 156 0191, Monday to Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm, or send us a message through our contact page.
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England, Wales & Scotland
From the ground
What you can check yourself, from the ground.
When a system stops earning, the panels are rarely the cause. It is usually something simple that nobody noticed: a tripped switch, an inverter showing a fault code, a tree that has grown, pigeons under the array, or water in an isolator. Good maintenance means catching those things early.
You don’t need to go anywhere near the roof. Once a month, take five minutes to:
- Look at the inverter. A green light or a normal display means it’s running. A red or amber light, an error code or a blank screen in daylight means it needs attention.
- Read the generation meter on the same day each month and write it down. The number that matters is the comparison with the same month last year, not with last month.
- Check the monitoring app, if you have one. If it says “offline”, check the inverter itself before assuming a fault; a new router or Wi-Fi password is the usual cause.
- Look up at the array from the garden or the street. Look for slipped or cracked panels, nesting pigeons, debris, or new shading from trees.
- Keep trees trimmed. The Energy Saving Trust calls this the main thing owners can do to keep a system running well.
What you shouldn’t do: climb onto the roof, spray panels from a ladder, or touch the DC cables and connectors. Solar panels produce electricity whenever there is daylight, and the DC side of the system can’t simply be switched off at the fuse board.
Cleaning
Do solar panels need cleaning?
Often not. According to the Energy Saving Trust, in the UK rain will clean panels tilted at 15 degrees or more. On a normal pitched roof, a clean every year or two is usually enough.
Cleaning makes a real difference when:
- the roof is shallow or flat, so dirt and moss sit on the glass;
- the house is near fields, a busy road, a building site or the coast, where dust, grime or salt build up;
- trees drop leaves, sap or blossom onto the array;
- birds perch on the ridge or nest under the panels.
Use soft brushes and purified water, not pressure washers or detergents, and don’t work at height without the right equipment. We clean panels as part of every service, or on their own. See solar panel cleaning, and solar panel bird proofing if pigeons are the problem. If you’d rather do it yourself, see how to clean solar panels safely.
Servicing
Do solar panels need servicing, and how often?
Panels don’t need servicing in the way a boiler does. The system as a whole still benefits from a proper check. We recommend a service once a year for most homes. Also book one after a bad storm, after any roof work, or whenever generation drops for no obvious reason.
Once a year gives time to catch the slow problems before they become expensive: water working into an isolator, a connector starting to overheat, an inverter logging faults, or a surge protector that has already done its job and needs replacing. It is also how the generation figures get checked against what the system should be producing.
Our checklist
The 21 checks we make on a service.
This is the checklist our engineers work through on every maintenance visit. Each item is marked pass, fail or not applicable, and every fail comes with a note.
Panels and roof
- Panels checked for slipped modules, damage and dirt
- Signs of structural stress, especially after bad weather
- Shading from trees and plants reduced where possible
- Panels cleaned, particularly on shallow roofs or in dusty areas
- Panel clamps secure, with a sample checked for tightness
Inverter
- Visual check for signs of a fault or damage
- Mounted securely
- Ventilation clear and fans working
- Outdoor inverters free of water getting in
- Fault logs reviewed
- AC voltage measured and the risk of overvoltage trips assessed
Electrical and wiring
- AC and DC isolators: working, undamaged and dry inside
- DC junction boxes, where fitted: undamaged and dry inside
- Fuses and surge protectors, where fitted, intact
- DC connectors secure, undamaged and supported clear of standing water
- DC circuits tested: open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current and earth leakage
- Cables properly supported and undamaged
Performance and safety
- Generation meter reading checked and increasing
- Generation in line with the system’s performance estimate
- Labels, signs and system diagram present and correct
- Emergency shutdown procedure on display
You get a written report with the readings. If anything fails, you get a clear written quote before any repair work starts. See solar panel servicing.
Warning signs
Signs your system needs attention now.
Don’t wait for the yearly visit if you notice any of these:
- generation noticeably lower than the same month last year;
- a red or amber light, an error code, or a blank inverter screen in daylight;
- a trip switch for the solar circuit that won’t stay on;
- cracked glass, a slipped panel, or pigeons nesting under the array;
- water inside an isolator cover (see isolator switches), or scorch marks anywhere on the system.
If you notice a burning smell, smoke or scorch marks, keep clear of the equipment. Follow the emergency shutdown procedure on the label near your inverter only if it is safe to do so, and call us. If there is any sign of fire, call 999.
For everything else, our fault finder takes a minute and tells us what we need to know before an engineer visits. See solar panel repair and inverter repair.
Batteries
Maintenance when you have a battery.
If you have battery storage, add two things to your monthly look:
- whether the battery is charging and discharging as expected in the app;
- whether its status lights show any fault.
On a service we check the battery, its isolators and its connection to the inverter as well as the panels.
Sources: Energy Saving Trust, Solar panels: costs, savings and benefits explained (updated August 2026). The 21-point checklist is our own maintenance visit form.
Questions
The things people ask before they ring.
Not answered here? Call 0800 156 0191, Monday to Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm.
Do solar panels need servicing?
Not often, but a yearly check is worth it. The panels themselves need little attention. The inverter, isolators, connectors and cables are what fail, and a service catches problems like water getting into an isolator or an inverter logging faults before they stop the system earning.
How often should solar panels be serviced?
We recommend once a year for most homes. Also book a check after storm damage or roof work, or if generation drops compared with the same month last year. Systems on shallow roofs, near the coast or under trees may need cleaning more often than they need a full service.
Can I clean my solar panels myself?
If you can reach them safely from the ground with a water-fed pole, soft brush and purified water, yes. Don’t climb onto the roof or work from a ladder, and don’t use pressure washers or detergents. For most people, a professional clean once every year or two is safer.
Will you service a system another company installed?
Yes. We service and repair systems fitted by any installer, including installers who are no longer trading, and work on any make of panel, inverter or battery. Our engineers cover England, Wales and Scotland.
Ready when you are
Book a service, or tell us what’s wrong.
We’ll call you back to talk it through, and you get a clear written quote before any work starts. Mon–Fri 9:00am–5:00pm.