Solar FAQs

Yes! Dirty solar panels produce less power and have shorter life spans than clean panels. We recommend one of our affordable memberships to get routine cleanings and inspections take care of.

If you haven’t gotten your solar panels cleaned in the last six months, then yes they are dirty and you are losing power.

We recommend cleaning your solar panels at least twice a year. Our silver membership makes this easy and affordable.

Regular cleanings and inspections (easily done through our memberships will keep your system running optimally and avert and major issues from arising.

We use water fed solar specific brush cleaning poles to clean your solar panels. For most cleanings, one or two scrubs with our equipment should get them totally clean.

You bet! We do these “solar orientation service trips” all the time where we can walk you through how your solar system works and answer any of your questions.

Yes, Solar panels are designed to be resistant to normal sized hail, but sometimes we get abnormally large hail in Texas! We’ll check your panels out to make sure they’re ok. And if any of them are broken, we’ll get you some right sized replacement panels in a hurry!

If you have solar monitoring, then a quick glance should tell you if your system is producing. If you don’t have monitoring but have a central inverter, most inverters will have a green light on the outside when the system is working. If you you don’t have a light on your inverter, then your meter with the city will often times show if the solar is working. And finally the easiest way to see if your solar is working is by having us come out and take a look.

This depends on the manufacturer but it generally ranges from 1-4 weeks.

Yes. We’ll need to do an inspection first to make sure there isn;t any critter damage and to get you an accurate estimate, but we can then install what’s called a critter guard which is basically a fence around your solar panels which keeps anything from getting under them.

We will need to come out and troubleshoot that error code with your inverter manufacturer. Sometimes we can solve the issue and clear the error code, and other times we will need to process a warranty claim with your manufacturer. Either way, we have you covered.

Depending on where you live, you may get credit for excess solar power that you pump back into the grid. We can walk you through this during a solar orientation service trip.

We need to come out and do a solar diagnostic trip to figure out what the issue is and resolve it. Often times, it’s just an electrical workmanship issue (blown fuse or disconnected wire) and on occasion it’s a problem with the actual solar equipment that we can help you get covered by your manufacturer warranty.

You bet! We work on all solar panel and inverter systems including Solar Edge, Fronius, Enphase, SMA, and SunPower.

The good news is that your manufacturer warranties for your panels and (micro)inverters is still valid even though your installer went out of business. We will work with your manufacturer to process claims on those warranties. As for as workmanship warranties, we offer our own 10 year warranty so you will be covered there too.

Absolutely! In fact, those are the only systems we work on. Regardless of installer, manufacturer, or age – we can get your solar panels running perfectly.

No! Unlike most solar installers who only want to sell you more solar, we are true service company. We’re here to serve you and your existing solar system as is.

The solar service electrician will have a credit card processor on site when they come to your home, so you can easily pay with a card then!

Nope! The solar service electrician just needs access to the backyard

You bet. We have tall ladders for all sorts of houses and come prepared for any situation.

Most likely this week! All we do is service (not just sell solar) and so we have solar service electricians in the field every day.

Absolutely. In fact you will automatically get a text when the solar service electrician is on their way and 30 minutes from your home.

Yep, that’s not a problem.

You are going to need us to remove your solar from your roof, then get a new roof with a roofer, and then we will reinstall your solar panels properly after your new roof is reinstalled. This service is called a remove and reinstall.

Garages, back porches, sheds, and even the yard are all perfectly acceptable places to store panels during your remove and reinstall project. Solar panels are built to sit outside, and so as long as we can find a safe place to store them they will be fine.

The removal takes about a day and the reinstall can take 1-2 days depending on the size of your system. How long it takes to get a new roof scheduled, sourced, and installed in between that is another thing.

You bet. Just give us a call and we’ll get you a free estimate asap. We can then lockin your removal date so that your roofing project is not held up by the solar panels one bit.

Absolutely. All Solar Service remove and reinstalls (and any major project or repair) come with a 10 year workmanship warranty (and we will be here in ten years!)

You bet, no matter where you are in Central or South Central Texas, we know a quality roofer that will take good care of you.

Yes. We offer free estimates for all remove and reinstall projects.

Yep, we work with roofers all the time. We’ll just get in touch and fall in line with their overall timeline for your project.

It depends, but at a minimum you will need new flashings and some small hardware material. Sometimes you will need an all new rail system. Your panels and inverters should not need to be replaced.

Yes! We actually call these remove and reinstalls as it requires a full removal and reinstallation of the system as opposed to just simply detaching and resetting the panels.

Very quickly! We are not a solar sales company, and so we’re completely set up for your existing solar system project.

Every panel is different as is every array, system, roof, and home. So we give free custom quotes for all remove and reinstall projects.

Yep, we’ll get you a free estimate just like any other system. Tesla recently publicly stated that their systems are allowed to be removed and reinstalled by third party contractors. We do Tesla detach and resets all the time.

Yes! We are trained and familiar with all types of electrical vehicle charging stations.

Yes! There are a lot of different types of battery systems out there and most of the time these are actually custom battery solutions specific to your home or business that will require custom diagnosis.

No. Solar water heater systems are more like custom plumbing and electrical systems than solar.

No. These systems tend to be custom as well and are generally best serviced by replacing the components.

No. Solar Service purely does maintenance, repairs, and cleaning on existing solar systems – not new installations. The closest we get to a new installation is a solar remove and reinstallation.

Yes – if you live in the Central to South Central Texas Area. A good rule of thumb is that if you live within an hour of either our Austin or San Antonio offices, we can service.Just a heads up that we do have different service zones though, so if you live in the hill country the costs will be a little higher than if you live in the city limits.

You bet! We can setup a quick digital photo and detailed inspection of your solar system to make sure everything is working well whether you are the buyer or the seller.

You bet! First step is an assessment trip. We’ll need to figure out if your roof/home has enough physical space for more solar panels and if your house has enough electrical space for additional solar capacity.

Yes, but this can almost be as pricey as getting a new solar system itself. Often times there is a lot of major electrical retrofit work that will need to be done to accomplish this.

Yep, this can be a little tricky or expensive. The best monitoring you could ever have is a trained service electrician inspecting your solar panels in person twice a year through our memberships.