Did you just type ‘solar panel not charging battery’ into your phone’s browser? You’re in very good company these days!
Why’s that? Ever since the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program launched in the middle of last year, more than 500,000 – yes, half a million – solar batteries have been installed all across Australia. The Energy Minister says 2,000 or so batteries are going in every single working day. That’s an awful lot of brand new battery owners opening their monitoring app at 7 am and wondering why on earth the battery isn’t doing anything.
Well, we’ve got some reassuring news. In a lot of cases, nothing at all is wrong – the system is simply doing exactly what it was designed to do. And don’t worry, we’re going to explain.
In some other cases, there really is a real fault that needs fixing. What we’re going to do in this guide is help you tell the difference between the two scenarios.
Let’s get into it.
How a solar battery actually charges
Before anything else, it will really help to understand the order that your system is working in – that is, what happens first, what happens next, and so on. Why are we doing it that way? Because it explains most of these “problems” that new owners are noticing.
- Your solar panels power your home first
- The battery charges whatever is left over once the house has taken what it needs
- Any power left over after the battery is full goes out to the grid.
So: a solar panel battery not charging during the evening, or on a day when the house is using a lot of power, is completely normal.
That’s why your phone search for ‘my solar panel is not charging my battery’ is a variation of a phrase we are hearing so often these days from brand new battery owners. A quick look at the time of day and the household’s power use often answers it on the spot and is very reassuring that everything is actually ok.
A normal day in the life of your battery
Next, we’re going to zoom in on what a typical day looks like for your solar system – because it makes it much easier to spot when something’s not quite right:
Early Morning: Solar production is low, so the battery may sit idle or keep supplying the house from last night’s charge.
Middle Of The Day: This is when the battery should be charging steadily, as long as the house isn’t using all of the solar.
Evening & Overnight: The sun’s gone, so the battery discharges to power your home until morning.
Why is my solar panel not charging my battery?
Work through our easy-to-understand, 8-step troubleshooting guide that we’ve presented as checks that you should do in order. The first few cover normal solar system/battery behaviour – and we’ll gradually get into the ones that will help you spot a real-life, actual fault that needs putting right.
1. Check the time of day
Solar panels produce very little power early in the morning and late in the afternoon. So, a battery not charging from solar panel power at 7 am is perfectly normal – then you’ll usually see charging pick up from mid-morning as the sun climbs higher in the sky.
2. Check what your house is using
Look at your app and see how much power your home is drawing. If the air conditioner and pool pump are both running, they can use up most of your solar output right there, leaving little or nothing spare for the battery.
3. Check whether the battery is already full
Once the battery hits 100 percent, it stops charging and the extra solar flows to the grid instead. On a sunny day, many batteries are completely full by early afternoon or so – which can look like a problem if you check the app at the wrong moment.
4. Check the weather – And check your panels
Cloudy weather, and those short winter days in the middle of the year, both seriously reduce how much solar your system can possibly generate.
Simple things like shade from a tree that’s grown over the years, or a heavy layer of dust and bird droppings on the panels that should have been cleaned properly months ago, can cut production noticeably too.
A professional solar panel cleaning or trimming of overhanging branches can make an amazing difference.
5. Check your battery settings
Many of the batteries on the market in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and beyond these days have different operating modes. If yours is set to keep a large backup reserve or take part in a virtual power plant, it may charge and discharge at times you don’t expect at all.
Not sure what that really means? Ask your installer or a solar electrician – and you may also find that the battery’s dedicated app can show you which mode it’s in and what it means.
6. Look for error messages
Check the inverter screen and your monitoring app for any warning lights or error codes – because this tech is designed to tell you what’s wrong in real time.
Take a photo or screenshot of anything you find, because it helps a solar technician to more easily diagnose the problem much faster.
7. Check your switchboard
Look for a tripped circuit breaker in your meter box – especially for the ones labelled for your solar system or battery.
If you find that one has tripped, and then it trips again after you reset it, leave it off and call a professional.
What you should never do is open the inverter or the battery yourself. These technologies carry dangerous voltages even when the sun isn’t shining.
8. Call a solar technician
If you’ve worked through the steps above and the battery still isn’t charging when it clearly should be, it’s time for a professional.
Common culprits include:
- Communication faults between the inverter and battery
- Wiring problems
- Faulty components
- Settings that were configured incorrectly during installation.
Signs it’s a real fault
Just want to know whether it’s user-error or if something actually needs fixing?
You can be fairly certain it’s an actual problem, needing actual professional repair services, if you notice the following:
- The battery never charges, even on sunny days with low household use
- The battery percentage stays stuck for days
- Error codes keep appearing in the app or on the system
- A breaker keeps tripping
- The battery charges but drains far faster than it used to.
A word on installation quality
As we’ve said, there are a lot of batteries going in all over Queensland and beyond right now because of the savings and because of the federal Cheaper Home Batteries program. Because of that volume, installation quality is quite a big deal that is definitely worth keeping in mind.
The Clean Energy Regulator has actually inspected more than 1000 solar battery installations under the federal program and found that a large share didn’t meet the required standard at all. And a badly configured or poorly installed system can cause charging problems that look like a faulty battery – so it might be the perfect moment for an independent check.
Get your battery checked
If your battery still isn’t charging properly, Solar Repair Service can help.
Our SAA-accredited solar electricians repair all leading brands of solar systems and inverters across Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast – and we always aim to implement a repair before recommending a replacement.
Every single job we do comes with upfront pricing and a 10-year workmanship guarantee, so give us a call or book online today. We’ll get your system charging the way it should.
