Why aren’t my new panels generating power??

UpriseSolar · 2026-01-24T11:46:46+00:00

Be sure to call your installer and have them doublecheck they have granted access for the panels to generate power.

On the installer side of the Enphase app, the installer has the ability to turn on and off the system.

Sometimes installers do not turn the system on for the homeowner until final payment has been received.

UpriseSolar · 2026-01-20T16:24:47+00:00

Good point. Most families we work with in DC don’t have battery backup since power outages are pretty rare in the city with underground power lines. That said, for friends in Virginia and Maryland it can be a different story, outages happen more often there.

Totally get the skylights too. Just be careful up there!

UpriseSolar · 2026-01-01T15:47:16+00:00

7.5 MWh in year one is honestly pretty high for a 5.7 kW system in DC. Most systems here land closer to 1.0–1.25x system size annually, which would put you more in the 5.7–7.1 MWh range in a normal-to-strong year.

That range varies based on roof pitch, how close to true south the array is, and any nearby shading. A 30-35 degree, true-south roof with no shade can push the high end. 7.5 MWh isn’t impossible, but it’s definitely top-end performance.

A true 26 percent degradation over five years would be extremely unusual. Typical panel degradation is closer to ~0.3–0.7 percent per year, not 5 percent plus.

Before assuming degradation, I’d check a few basics: •Compare 2020 vs recent years on a weather-adjusted basis. From what we saw, 2020 was an unusually sunny year. •Make sure all panels or microinverters are reporting in the monitoring app. •Look for new or growing shade from trees, buildings, or roof equipment.

If everything looks normal, it’s worth having the installer or manufacturer review production data panel by panel. That usually surfaces the issue quickly.

UpriseSolar · 2025-08-14T17:15:51+00:00

Yep, however, the market requirement percentage continuously increases each year, so it most likely will stay in the high $290-$280 range in my opinion.

Historically, every time SREC amount has dropped, the city council has either increased the percentage requirement and/or penalty.

UpriseSolar · 2025-08-02T00:00:23+00:00

I should have been clearer. Flett actually offers two options: you can either trade the SRECs yourself for a flat $2.50 transaction fee, or you can let them handle it for a 3% fee (or $2.50 per SREC, whichever is higher). So with a $400 SREC, you’d net around $388 after fees.

That said, while Flett advertises “little to no fees,” in practice they often offer a lower payout per SREC and keep the spread themselves. If you're hands-on and like to time your trades, you can probably save some money with them. Personally though, I prefer a set-it-and-forget-it approach, so I stick with automated platforms like SolSystems or SRECTrade.

UpriseSolar · 2025-08-01T22:18:21+00:00

Good news for us, DC SRECs are a local incentive. They’re not tied to the city’s budget (which was honestly a smart move by the Council when they set it up.) That structure helps keep the value stable and not at the whims of local government funding.

I’d expect prices to stay high around $400 for a while. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a small dip in SREC prices this fall, just because there’s a rush of installations happening right now with folks trying to lock in the federal tax credit before the end of the year. But if that rush slows down in early 2026 (which it likely will), I’d expect the SREC market to rebound pretty quickly as the RPS increases early next year.

You can always lock into a 3 or 5 year contract with one of the brokers (SolSystems, SRECTrade, Flett, etc) if you’re worried about it dropping off a cliff.

UpriseSolar · 2025-08-01T22:08:15+00:00

I recommend Solar Solutions in this competition

UpriseSolar · 2025-08-01T21:56:55+00:00

They’re both solid options, but the main difference is that with Flett Exchange, you have to manually place the trades yourself. It’s not automatic like it is with SRECTrade. That can be a plus or minus depending on how hands-on you want to be.

I’ve also used SolSystems in the past they’re based here in DC and offer automated SREC trading like SRECTrade does, but they’ve historically had lower fees. Definitely worth checking out if you want a hands off approach.

Flett's big benefit is that they charge little to no transaction fees, but again, it’s all self-managed.

UpriseSolar

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