The five options at a glance
Each row below catches different problems. A business that depends on solar usually combines inspection (to protect output) with an AMC (to protect the hardware) — and adds energy management when it runs on multiple sources.
| Option | What it catches | Independent & multi-brand? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24/7 string-level inspection (Solar Performance Cloud) | Weak/dead strings, long-term degradation, soiling loss, inverter trips — the hidden losses | Yes — reads every major inverter brand | Any business that depends on its solar output |
| Energy management & automation (WattEY) | Where energy goes across grid, solar, and generator; automates and shifts loads | Yes — works with existing infrastructure | Multi-source sites, factories, tubewells |
| Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) | Physical faults, dust, loose wiring — via scheduled cleaning and checks | A service, not software | Keeping the physical system healthy |
| The inverter's own app | Basic live output and hard alarms — for its own brand, at the plant level | No — single-brand, plant-level | A quick "is it on?" glance |
| Manual / periodic technician checks | Only what is failing at the moment of the visit | Depends on the technician | Small systems or occasional review |
Why the inverter app alone leaves money on the table
Almost every owner already has the app that came with their inverter, and assumes it means the system is looked after. It shows live power and raises an alarm when the inverter itself reports a hard fault — genuinely useful for "is it on?" But it is single-brand and plant-level, and it mostly reports what already happened. Because a single weak string barely moves the plant total, the app is blind to the exact fault that quietly costs the most.
Where independent, string-level inspection wins
Inspection is the analysis layer on top of the raw data: it compares every string against its healthy neighbours, across whatever inverter brands you run, and names the fault — with solar engineers verifying each issue before you hear about it. Because string faults are now the single largest category of solar energy loss, this is where the most recoverable output lives. That is what Solar Performance Cloud does.
How to choose (most businesses combine two)
Keep the inverter app for the daily glance. Add independent inspection to protect output and an AMC to protect the hardware — together they cover both the data and the physical system. If you run on grid, solar, and a generator at once, add energy management to see and control where the energy — and the money — actually goes. Under net billing, where every self-consumed unit is worth several times an exported one, the return on all of this is higher than it was under net metering.
