SolarCity Introduces SolarGuard Monitoring Service
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Service guarantees maximum power output, provides customer tools.
FOSTER CITY, Calif., June 18 -- Solar systems can satisfy renewable electricity needs for decades. But unforeseen events and hidden problems like fallen limbs, tripped circuit breakers and eroded wires, can turn that investment sour, quietly crippling a system's performance for months before it is noticed. SolarCity's customers need not worry. The company has announced a new technology that constantly monitors and reports data on system performance, providing additional assurance that solar investments remain productive and effective throughout their expected life.
The SolarGuard(TM) monitoring system, a free service to all SolarCity customers, collects, monitors and displays critical performance data from solar systems, like production levels and local weather, and transmits that information to the company's servers every 15 minutes through the Internet. SolarCity's proprietary software and technicians evaluate the data for performance changes and will alert customers and help fix problems should they arise (likely before the customer is even aware that there is a problem), while a customer-accessible Web portal provides live data feeds and other information on the status of their system day and night.
"SolarGuard is further proof of SolarCity's pledge to offer superior price and performance on solar systems," said CEO Lyndon Rive. "We're not just installers. Our customers can rest-assured that we will stand behind them and their investments in clean energy for the long term."
While most providers charge an additional fee for monitoring systems, SolarGuard is included with each system that SolarCity installs. SolarCity is the only solar company making such a commitment to reliability in the United States.
"We don't think this is an optional part of solar service," said Rive.
The SolarGuard Web portal allows customers a way to see their solar investments in action. Watching a meter spin backwards used to be just about the only way to see a grid-connected solar system at work, but with SolarGuard, customers can watch their collected solar data online with a whole new degree of interactivity and information.
Inside the Web portal, customers can see how their systems operate by viewing such data as output over time, weather information, and environmental savings equivalents, like CO2 emissions avoided -- all displayed in an easy to use and easy to understand graphical format.
"The data we create with SolarGuard will enable us to protect the investments of our existing customers while pushing the industry to continually higher levels of reliability and accountability," said Ben Tarbell, SolarCity's Director of Products.
About SolarCity
Headquartered in Foster City, CA, SolarCity matches advanced solar power technology with a suite of installation services. The company's comprehensive offering removes the technical, regulatory, and financing barriers to solar power, helping customers make smart renewable energy choices that save money. Boasting the industry's most experienced team in solar systems design and installation and a proven track record of bringing new technologies to market, SolarCity is uniquely positioned to make solar power a practical choice for home owners and businesses.
CONTACT: Tim Gnatek, tim@bluepractice.com, or Jessica Switzer, jessica@bluepractice.com, both +1-415-381-1100, of Blue Practice, for SolarCity
