Something’s not right with your solar or battery, and you want to know if it’s serious before you ring anyone. Most of the solar troubleshooting calls the PSW Tech Support team handles for Perth homeowners turn out not to require a technician. They land in one of four categories, and most of them have a quick self-check worth running first.
For the full diagnostic, including every fault code category and the technical detail for harder problems, the full solar and battery troubleshooting guide on PSW Energy covers it properly. That’s the comprehensive version. This page is the quick one.
This is the most common one we hear, by a long way. Nine times out of ten, it’s a Wi-Fi issue, not a system issue. Your inverter is probably working fine; it just lost its connection to your router.
Quick fix:
- Check your home Wi-Fi is actually working. Phone test, the usual.
- Reboot your router. Wait five minutes.
- If the app still isn't updating, work through the Wi-Fi reconnect guide for your inverter. It takes about five minutes and the steps vary by brand.
If Wi-Fi is fine and the reconnect didn’t help, that’s when to flag it with us.
Check the season before assuming something’s wrong. Perth output in June runs at roughly 40% of what the same system produces in December: same panels, same home, same inverter. A 6.6kW system generating 32kWh/day in midsummer and 14kWh/day in winter is behaving exactly as it should.
Compare like-for-like: the same month last year, not last month. Then look at the roof. New tree growth, dust build-up, bird mess on the panels, or a pergola that went up next door can all cut output noticeably. Coastal homes pick up salt spray and generally need cleaning more often than properties further inland.
If output is down more than 20% across several sunny days compared to the same period last year, and the roof looks clean, it’s worth getting a professional to take a look.
A couple of common ones here:
- Battery not charging during the day? Usually means there's no surplus solar after your household loads. Running air conditioning, a pool pump, and the oven at 11am on a hot day often leaves nothing left over for the battery. Check your app: if you're exporting to the grid but the battery isn't charging, that's a different problem worth reporting.
- Battery not discharging in the evening? Often a settings issue. Check the operating mode (it should be Self-Powered or similar) and check the backup reserve isn't set too high. A 20% reserve is a sensible starting point for most Perth homes.
- Battery charged from the grid unexpectedly? Usually a tariff-arbitrage schedule that came enabled by default. Switch the operating mode to Self-Powered if that's not what you want.
If you’re on Synergy’s DEBS rate and your battery behaviour seems off, it’s worth a closer look before assuming there’s a hardware issue. Export strategy settings can interact with DEBS in ways that aren’t always obvious in the app. The home battery options page also covers how different models handle DEBS, which is worth a look.
Take a photo of the screen before you do anything else. The exact code is what matters, and the PSW Tech Support team can identify the issue from a photo far faster than working through a description over the phone.
Most error codes on Perth systems are grid-related. The most common is grid over-voltage: when too many rooftop systems in the area are exporting at the same time, Western Power’s network voltage rises above the permitted threshold, and inverters are required to disconnect. It’s not a fault with your system; it’s the inverter doing exactly what the standards require. These errors almost always clear within minutes.
If the same code keeps appearing through the day, or the screen shows arc fault, over-temperature, or anything labelled as an internal hardware fault, stop resetting it and call us. The inverter is flagging something for a reason.
Phone: (08) 6171 4111
Email: hello@pswenergy.com.au
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm AWST
If you see smoke, smell burning plastic, or notice physical damage to any component, do not troubleshoot. Use the emergency shutdown procedure in your solar and battery operation guide and call us straight away. Call 000 if there’s any risk to life or property.
PSW Tech Support is included with every Perth Solar Warehouse install. No subscription, no call-out fee for warranty-covered diagnostics. We look after our customers after the install, not just before it.
