[RE-wrenches] Monitoring - The Dilemma

William Miller william at millersolar.com
Mon Jun 3 09:58:44 PDT 2013


August:

It's not a problem, it's an opportunity.  Write a business model to provide 
a service for a reasonable fee.  Example: Charge a small monthly stipend to 
monitor the system.  If the customer does not desire your service, remove 
your e-mail address from the notification.  Provide maximum 1 hour per 
month of remote consultation for the fee.  Service calls on-site are billed 
at standard rates.  Expand service department as needed.


William Miller

At 08:30 AM 6/1/2013, you wrote:
>Hi Wrenches,
>
>As we're building up a larger and larger grid tied PV installation
>portfolio we're also building up hundreds of monitoring systems. We have
>monitoring systems from SunPower, SMA, Enphase, Power-one, Locus Energy,
>SunRun, and several others. We also have monitored SHW systems.
>
>I'm finding that except for the occasional inverter failure, our systems
>are running well but we have frequent monitoring issues. Most often the
>monitoring system has become disconnected from the internet for some
>reason. Other times the monitoring system has lost signal strength which
>is common with Enphase (it may have been weak to begin with). Other times
>the monitoring systems have failed. And occasionally there is actually a
>production problem which really needs to be addressed.
>
>I'm a firm believer that monitoring empowers our clients and us to better
>understand how their systems are operating. However, the burden of keeping
>all these systems running is starting to have a significant cost on our
>business. It is easiest to solve problems when we have a motivated client
>who can help troubleshoot remotely on the phone. But other clients really
>just don't seem to care. For example, I spent a couple hours a while back
>troubleshooting a system and it turned out that our client's grandson had
>disconnected the data logger to plug in his X Box. Many people are totally
>clueless about internet issues. Internet service providers and routers are
>also likely to change throughout the years causing even more connection
>issues.
>
>SunRun's system is good because it uses cell technology to completely
>bypass the client's internet system. However, these don't always run
>smoothly either and cell reception can be a problem.
>
>How are other Wrenches dealing with ongoing customer service and
>expectations for their monitoring systems? Any ideas out there on how to
>put more responsibility on the client while still keeping them happy?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>August




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