What we monitor
- Real-time generation — every panel string and inverter, updated every 5 minutes
- Cumulative kWh — daily, monthly and annual totals; cumulative since commissioning
- Self-consumption rate — proportion of generation used on-site vs exported
- Carbon offset — calculated from grid carbon intensity (currently ~250g CO₂/kWh, falling toward 50g by 2030)
- Financial savings — calculated from cost avoidance + SEG export income
- Fault and alert conditions — string-level performance anomalies trigger automated alerts
- Inverter health — temperature, error codes, communication status
- Battery state-of-charge — for systems with battery storage
Parish dashboard
Every parish gets a public-facing dashboard accessible via a parish URL (e.g. yourchurch.solarpanelsforchurches.co.uk/dashboard). The dashboard shows live generation, cumulative kWh saved, cumulative carbon offset, and the equivalent (e.g. "We've saved 47 tonnes of CO₂ — equivalent to 312 return flights London-Edinburgh"). Useful for parish notice boards, magazine features, and Eco Church reporting.
Annual parish carbon report
Every year we provide the parish with a carbon report ready for inclusion in the annual return to the diocese (CofE) or equivalent. The report covers:
- Annual generation (kWh)
- Self-consumption vs export ratio
- Cost savings (cost avoidance + SEG income)
- Carbon offset (tonnes CO₂e avoided)
- Year-on-year comparison
- System health and any maintenance carried out
- Notable observations (e.g. exceptional performance month, weather impact)
The report is formatted for the specific diocesan reporting framework where applicable. Several CofE dioceses now have parish carbon reporting templates; we adapt to whichever your diocese uses.
Fault response
Automated fault detection runs continuously. If a string falls below expected output, communication is lost with the inverter, or any anomaly persists for more than 24 hours, our monitoring team is automatically alerted. Triage process:
- Day 0-1: automated fault detected; remote diagnostic and reset attempt
- Day 1-3: if not resolved remotely, engineer visit scheduled
- Day 3-7: on-site investigation and (if warranty-covered) repair
- Day 7-30: parts ordering if non-standard replacement needed; loaner equipment if appropriate
Most parish solar systems we deliver have 99.7%+ annual uptime. The principal failure mode over 25-year life is inverter failure at year 12-15; we plan for this in the project budget.
Pricing
- Years 1-5: included in standard project pricing — no parish cost
- Years 6-25: £180-£400 per year depending on system size; covers monitoring platform, alerts, annual report, fault response
- One-off bolt-ons: Eco Church Gold-application reporting bundle, diocesan board-of-finance presentation, parish magazine articles — billed separately
Most parishes find Years 1-5 free monitoring is the most valuable proof of the install. After Year 5, parishes can continue the contract or self-manage with the same underlying inverter monitoring software (which we configure).
Integration with diocesan reporting
Several CofE dioceses now have parish-level carbon dashboards visible to diocesan staff. We integrate our parish monitoring with these where the diocesan technical framework supports it. Currently active integrations: Diocese of Oxford parish dashboard, Diocese of Bristol carbon tracker, Diocese of Manchester Net Zero portal. We add new diocesan integrations as they're requested.