Solar not producing? A homeowner’s troubleshooting checklist

First, is it actually a problem?

Before assuming something is broken, know that solar production swings for entirely normal reasons. Output drops on cloudy or rainy days, in winter when days are short and the sun sits low, early and late in the day, and whenever panels are covered by snow, leaves, or heavy soiling. A lower number than last month is not automatically a fault — it’s often just weather and season.

What actually warrants concern is production that reads zero when it shouldn’t, or output that is clearly and persistently below what the system normally makes on comparable days. Your monitoring app is the place to start.

Start with your monitoring app

Almost every modern system reports to an app — SolarEdge’s mySolarEdge, Enphase’s Enlighten, the Tesla app, or your installer’s portal. Open it and look at a few things:

• Is the system reporting at all, or is the data blank or stale? No data often means a communication or internet issue — not a solar failure.
• Is production zero across the whole system, or just one area? A whole-system zero points one direction; a single underperforming panel or string points another.
• Are there any alerts, error messages, or warning icons in the app?

Things you can safely check yourself

A few checks are safe for any homeowner — no tools, and nothing opened up:

• Internet / Wi-Fi: if the app shows “no data,” the system may simply have lost its connection. Confirm your home internet is up and your router name or password hasn’t recently changed.
• The inverter’s status light: most inverters have an indicator light. Green usually means normal; red, orange, or blinking patterns signal a fault. Note the color and pattern — but don’t open the unit.
• Obvious shading or coverage: snow, leaves, or a new branch shading the array will cut production. Assess this only from the ground — never climb onto your roof.
• A tripped breaker: after a recent outage or electrical work, a solar breaker can trip. If you’re comfortable, confirm it’s on — but if anything looks or smells off, stop and call a professional.

Try a power cycle — the safe way

Like a router that’s stopped responding, an inverter can sometimes be brought back by turning it off and on. A lot of “the inverter just stopped” situations clear with a proper power cycle — and there’s a version you can do safely, because it uses ordinary switches, not the high-voltage DC side.

Your system has a labeled AC disconnect — often a switch box near the inverter or your electric meter — and a solar breaker in your main electrical panel. Both are normal switches. To power cycle safely: turn the system off at the AC disconnect (or flip the solar breaker to off), wait about two minutes, then turn it back on. Give the inverter 5 to 15 minutes to wake up and start reporting again.

• Use only the AC disconnect switch or the solar breaker — the everyday switches.
• Do not touch the DC disconnect, open the inverter, or handle any wiring or connectors.
• If your equipment has a printed shutdown/startup sequence on a label, follow that order.
• If anything is hot, damaged, or smells burnt, skip this entirely and call a professional.

A safety note

The power cycle above is the one reset a homeowner can safely do, and only on the AC side. Beyond that, solar systems carry high-voltage DC electricity: do not open the inverter, touch wiring or connectors, operate the DC disconnect, or get on your roof to inspect panels. Everything past the checks and the AC power cycle is work for a qualified technician — it’s not worth the risk.

What’s probably going on

Most “not producing” situations come down to a handful of causes:

• A communication dropout — the system is producing fine but not reporting, usually an internet or gateway issue.
• An inverter fault — the inverter has shut down or is showing an error, and may need a reset or repair.
• A single failed panel, optimizer, or microinverter — one component down, pulling a string or one panel to zero while the rest work normally.
• A tripped breaker, or a grid or utility issue affecting the whole system.
• Simple seasonal or weather-driven lower output — no fault at all.

When to call for service

Call a professional if production is zero for more than a day of good weather, if your inverter shows a red or persistent error light, if one part of the system is clearly dead while the rest works, or if you notice anything unusual — heat, a burning smell, visible damage — around the equipment. These are not DIY fixes.

Have your monitoring app open when you call. The alerts and production history let a good technician diagnose quickly, sometimes before anyone even visits.

We service solar — even if we didn’t install it

If your system isn’t producing and you’re not sure who to call — maybe your original installer is unresponsive or has gone out of business — ETW Energy services and repairs residential solar regardless of who installed it. We’ll read your system’s data, find the real cause, and tell you honestly what it needs. No pressure, and no obligation beyond the fix.