The New Year is a great time for fresh starts, organizing, and planning for the future. Here we review the key aspects that are crucial to managing any Solar O&M program and how CES can help.
Tips and best practices to manage your program
System Knowledge
Knowledge is power and having key info at your fingertips is vital to address concerns quickly and efficiently. We help organize the contact information for all responsible parties, including site owners, maintenance or power managers, utilities, local jurisdictions, local landowners, and emergency personnel. We provide information on service hours, access to site, locations where vehicles may be parked, and where equipment can be easily staged.
Documentation
Documentation should be easily accessible when needed. We keep all your system documentation in one place. Vital documents include as-built drawings, specifications, site plans, photo records, special safety considerations, electrical single-line diagrams, schematics, drawings, installed components “cut sheets”, and warranties (including warranties from the system installer). Other key documents include:
- Performance estimates
- Insolation/shade studies, including a description of nominal conditions to make it easier to see malfunctions or deviations
- Operation manuals associated with any of the equipment, including emergency shutdown and normal operating procedures
- Contracts for preventive maintenance, service, and other operations documents, including contacts for each
- Specified response times and availability.
Equipment Management
A comprehensive understanding all of the components in your system prevents unforeseen costs and losses. We compile a list of all equipment including the make, model, serial number, and suppliers of replacement parts. This includes a diagram of the system with locations of all equipment. We create an inventory of on-site or easily accessible spare parts and determine a process for when other spare parts need to be ordered based on component history and typical lifespan.
Plan Ahead – A Budget for O&M Saves Money
The power of data helps you plan and prevent costly repairs, avoid unscheduled downtime, and optimize performance. We custom tailor O&M programs that make sense for our clients. Plans are drafted to include costs for monitoring and diagnostics, preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, and means to minimize exposure (i.e., a line of credit) to replace the inverter or perform more expensive corrective maintenance if needed. We provide descriptions of operational indicators, meters, and error messages; physical monitoring setup; create procedures for archiving and reporting performance data; and draft procedures by which data are regularly examined for system diagnostics and analytics.
CES can help you manage your Operations & Maintenance Plan
Our programs improve the bottom line through:
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Improved production
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Minimizing costs with preventative maintenance
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Remote monitoring for early detection
CES can help Design an O&M Program that will keep your system at its optimal performance in 2023 and save big dollars in O&M costs caused by lack of planning. Our team of experts and NABCEP certified technicians are ready to provide:
- Active Monitoring with Proactive Response
- Annual Preventative Maintenance
- System Performance Evaluation
- Condition Based Maintenance
- Emergency Response Service
Visit our Operations & Maintenance page for a comprehensive list of services
Contact us for our O&M expertise
service@cesnrg.com
(630) 637-2150