Energy shortages, unreliable grid power, and the increasing pressure to use sustainable sources of energy are all reasons to install a solar PV system for your commercial or residential property. However, installation forms only the initial cost and responsibility. To ensure you benefit from having a solar PV system in place, it is essential to have an operations and maintenance plan in place.
The performance and thus the benefits you can reap from having it are dependent on the overall management and servicing of the system. Here the facility manager plays an integral role to ensure that the solar PV system adds to the sustainability of the building.
Partnering with the right operations and maintenance firm is thus imperative to guarantee the system performs as expected and even better for its entire lifecycle, giving you 25 years of optimal performance.
How to choose the right operation and maintenance partner is thus the question to answer. To help you get started, let us consider what you should look for in such a provider.
1. Does the service provider guarantee the performance of the system?
Guarantees are worthless if the provider cannot back the wording on the agreement with service delivery. The agreement should, at the very least, stipulate financial compensation should the system underperform. To this end, you need to have a performance ratio or energy yield guarantee.
2. What is the maintenance schedule?
The operation and service maintenance schedule should stipulate the type of maintenance and details regarding service intervals. Proper maintenance is at the heart of optimal performance for the entire lifespan of the solar PV system.
3. How adaptable is the maintenance schedule?
The schedule should be scalable and flexible enough to ensure it can be adapted to any current and future special needs of the building.
4. Does the agreement include monthly reporting?
Unless the service partner provides you with regular management reports on the performance of and maintenance of the system, you don’t have a benchmark for measurement. Considering how important it is to manage energy costs and ensuring longevity of assets, you can agree that monthly reporting is an essential part of any operations agreement.
5. Does the provider have the technical personnel for onsite assistance?
Any interruptions in energy supply affect business operations. Such translates into financial losses, lower productivity, and the risk of losing integrity. It is also a security risk. As such, it is imperative that the service provider has trained personnel available for immediate deployment to your facility to repair and maintain the solar PV system.
6. Do you have access to data?
You need 24/7 access to data pertaining the performance and state of the solar PV system. This is possible if you have online access to data for monitoring performance, servicing, and maintenance. Choose a partner that understands your need for transparency and thus provides you with online access to essential data.
What is the answer?
With consideration of the above factors, review our service offering. You will agree that we meet and exceed the requirements. To this end, get in touch to discuss your particular installation and management performance requirements to ensure you get the best possible return on your energy investment.