This page explains 20 words you will see on solar quotes, monitoring apps and repair reports. Each term starts with a one-line answer, then a plain explanation and a Florida note. Use it to understand what a technician is telling you.
Dirt is the most common reason a healthy system makes less power, and it is the easiest to fix.
Pollen dust on panel glass. The wiped stripe shows how much light the dust blocks. AI-generated image
Soiling
Soiling is the dirt that builds up on solar panels and blocks sunlight.
It can be pollen, dust, bird droppings or salt. Less light reaches the cells, so the panels make less power. Soiling is not a broken part. A proper cleaning fixes it. It builds up all the time and gets worse in pollen season and long dry spells.
In FloridaOak, pine and cypress pollen plus lots of birds soil panels fast here. NREL research found that rain alone does not wash pollen off.
Soiling loss is the share of power your system loses because the panels are dirty.
It is shown as a percentage. A 15% soiling loss means the panels make 15% less power than clean panels would in the same sun. That lost power is power you end up buying from the utility.
In FloridaHeavy soiling can cut output by up to 25% in the worst cases. Research at North Carolina solar plants measured drops of up to 15% at peak pollen. A Florida home roof will vary.
DI water cleaning means washing panels with purified water that has its minerals removed.
With no calcium or magnesium in the water, it dries without leaving spots. That helps protect the coating on the glass. It also means no scrub pads or harsh soaps, which can damage panels and void a warranty.
In FloridaFlorida tap water is hard, so it leaves mineral spots that block light again. A purified-water rinse is how a pro gets a spot-free finish.
Hard water spots are the chalky white marks tap water leaves when it dries on panel glass.
The marks are calcium and magnesium. They scatter sunlight before it reaches the cells, so output drops the same way it does with dirt. If heavy scale bakes on, it can dull the coating on the glass for good. Remove spots with a gentle wash and a purified-water rinse.
In FloridaHard Central Florida water makes hose cleaning a bad idea. It often leaves more spots than it removes.
Panels make DC power and your home uses AC. Inverters do that swap, so a failed one can stop output.
Microinverter
A microinverter is a small inverter under each panel that turns DC power into AC power.
Each panel works on its own, so shade or a fault on one panel does not pull down the rest. Microinverters also report data panel by panel, which makes a fault much easier to find.
In FloridaEnphase microinverters are common on Central Florida roofs. When one fails, only that panel goes dark, so check your app for a single low panel.
A string inverter is one central box that turns the DC power from a group of panels into AC power.
The panels are wired in a series called a string. This setup costs less, but everything depends on one part. If the inverter fails, the whole string stops. One weak panel can also pull down the rest of the string.
In FloridaString inverters usually last 10 to 15 years, so many Central Florida systems from the last decade are reaching replacement age.
These are the faults we look for during a diagnostic. Some you can see from up close. Others take a thermal camera.
Snail trails: fine brownish lines under the glass that follow tiny cracks in a cell. AI-generated image
Bypass Diode
A bypass diode is a small part in a panel’s junction box that sends power around weak cells.
It keeps a shaded or damaged group of cells from choking the panel or overheating. If a diode fails, the panel can lose part of its power. It can also create hot spots that damage the panel for good.
In FloridaA failed diode can explain a production drop you cannot see from the ground. A thermal scan helps find it.
A hot spot is a small part of a panel that overheats instead of making power.
It happens when a shaded, cracked or faulty cell turns energy into heat. Hot spots cut output. Over time they can scorch the panel, damage the back layer and become a fire risk. You usually cannot see one early, so a thermal camera is used to find it.
In FloridaFlorida’s heat makes hot-spot damage worse, so a thermal scan is part of a full repair visit.
Snail trails are thin, brownish, winding lines in a panel that look like the track a snail leaves.
They form when moisture reacts with materials inside the panel along tiny cracks in the cells. The lines themselves may cost little power. What matters is that they point to cracks, and cracks can get worse over time.
In FloridaFlorida’s humidity speeds up this reaction. If you see snail trails, book an inspection.
Delamination is when the layers inside a solar panel start to come apart.
A panel is built from glass, a clear sealant, cells and a back sheet. Heat, humidity or a factory defect can separate them. You may see bubbles, cloudy patches or peeling. Moisture then gets in and causes rust and power loss. It usually cannot be undone, so the panel has to be replaced.
In FloridaFlorida’s constant heat and humidity are hard on panels, so check older ones for bubbles or cloudy patches.
PID is a slow loss of panel power caused by stray voltage inside the panel.
Stray voltage pushes charged particles out of the cells, and the cells make less power. PID can quietly cut a panel’s output by 20% or more. High system voltage, heat and humidity speed it up.
In FloridaHeat and humidity make PID a real risk on older Florida arrays. Monitoring data and voltage tests can reveal it.
These terms help you read your monitoring app and your power bill, and spot when output drops.
Solar Production Monitoring
Production monitoring means tracking how much power your system makes in an app or web portal.
It shows today’s output and past months, so you can tell if the system is making what it should. A steady drop compared with past months is often the first sign of dirt, a failed inverter or a bad panel.
In FloridaChecking your app once a month is a free way to catch a problem before it costs you a full season of power.
Degradation rate is how much power a panel loses each year just from getting older.
An NREL review of field data found a median loss of 0.5% a year. At that rate, a panel still makes about 88% of its original power at year 25. This slow fade is normal. A sudden drop is not, and it points to a fault.
In FloridaFlorida’s heat and damp air can nudge that loss a bit faster. Keeping panels clean and repaired protects the output you have.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the unit used to measure electricity: one kilowatt used for one hour.
Your utility bills you in kWh, and your solar system’s output is measured in kWh too. Watching your kWh is the simplest way to see how well the system works and what it saves you.
In FloridaMany Central Florida homes use roughly 1,000 to 1,500 kWh a month, so a small loss from dirty panels adds up on an FPL or Duke Energy bill.
Net metering gives you a bill credit for the extra solar power you send to the grid.
Those credits cover the power you pull from the grid at night or on cloudy days. In Florida, extra power is credited in kWh and rolls over month to month during the year. At year end, the utility pays for any leftover credit at a rate lower than retail.
In FloridaClean, healthy panels earn more credits. A system much bigger than your yearly use rarely pays off, because the leftover credit is paid at the lower rate.
These are the jobs that keep a system working after the installer has left.
The Service Solar Pros crew in Central Florida.
Operations & Maintenance (O&M)
O&M is the ongoing care that keeps a solar system working after it is installed.
It covers cleaning, inspections, monitoring and repairs. Installation puts the system on your roof. O&M protects the power it makes and your return on it for the rest of its life.
In FloridaMany Florida systems were sold with no ongoing care. Service Solar Pros fills that gap for any brand and any installer.
Removal and reinstall (R&R) means taking your panels off so work can be done, then putting them back.
The usual reason is a new roof. The job includes labeling every part, storing it safely, sealing each roof opening and reconnecting the system. Done right, the roof stays watertight and your warranty stays protected.
In FloridaStorm damage means many Central Florida homes need new roofs. Panels must come off before the roofers start and go back on correctly after.
A solar battery stores extra daytime power so you can use it at night or in an outage.
It turns a grid-tied system into a backup power source. It also lets you use more of your own solar power instead of sending it to the grid.
In FloridaIn hurricane country, a battery keeps the essentials running when the grid goes down. Systems like Tesla Powerwall and Enphase need regular checks to stay ready.
The gap under your panels is warm and dry, so squirrels, rats and pigeons like to move in.
Critter guard mesh closes the gap under the panels.
Critter Guard
Critter guard is mesh fitted around a solar array to keep animals out from under the panels.
It stops squirrels, rats and birds from getting into the gap between the panels and the roof, where they chew wires and build nests. It clips to the panel frames with no drilling, so there are no new holes in your roof.
In FloridaSquirrels and roof rats stay active all year here because roofs stay warm. Critter guard is the standard way to keep them out.
Bird proofing means clearing birds and nests from under your panels, then sealing the gap with mesh.
Pigeon droppings and nests block airflow, dirty the panels and can corrode parts. They are also a health hazard. A proper job does both steps at once: it cleans the space out and closes it off.
In FloridaPigeons are a steady problem on Central Florida roofs. A full clean-out paired with critter guard keeps them from coming back.
