When salespeople pitch solar, they often use a seductive phrase: set it and forget it. And in some ways, it’s true, solar panels are remarkably low-maintenance compared to most home systems. But “low maintenance” is not the same as “no maintenance,” and the difference between those two things could cost you thousands of dollars, or worse.
On a recent episode of the Harman Solar Podcast, we sat down with Amanda Bibee, CEO of Amicus O&M Cooperative and a 23-year veteran of the solar industry, to break down everything you need to know about solar Operations and Maintenance (O&M).
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Amanda Bibee: CEO, Amicus O&M Cooperative
Amanda has been in solar for 23 years. She got her start in Austin, TX, was employee #5 at Namaste Solar, and helped co-found both Amicus Solar Cooperative and Amicus O&M Cooperative. She’s been leading Amicus O&M full-time since 2017.
O&M stands for Operations and Maintenance. For solar systems, it covers everything from the moment your system is turned on all the way to the end of its life, typically 25 years or more. That includes:
Think of it like your car. A 1990s vehicle was simple, engine, four wheels, not much to go wrong. Today’s cars are loaded with electronics, sensors, and software. Solar is on the same trajectory. Modern systems include monitoring portals, microinverters, battery storage, and more. Each component adds capability, and each adds a potential point of failure.
“Solar is a low-maintenance technology. But it is not a no-maintenance technology.” — Amanda Bibee
The solar industry really took off residentially around 2008. That means we’re now approaching 20 years of systems on rooftops. And like any equipment that lives outdoors, baking in UV, cycling through heat and freeze, buffeted by wind, these systems accumulate wear and tear.
That’s not a defect. It’s not bad installation. It’s physics. As Amanda put it: “Our bodies are no different. We need periodic maintenance ourselves.”
Here’s a hard truth about the solar industry right now: a lot of companies that installed systems over the past decade have disappeared. Big names, regional players, gone. That leaves thousands of homeowners and businesses with what the industry calls orphan systems: solar arrays with no one watching over them.
We hear from these customers regularly. “My installer went out of business. I have no idea if my system is working. Can you help?” And our honest answer is: we don’t know either, until we get out there and take a look.
This is why O&M is the next chapter of the solar industry. We’ve spent 15+ years installing systems. Now it’s time to take care of them.
Most solar systems sold in the last decade came with monitoring capability. The sales rep probably mentioned it. What they often didn’t clarify: having monitoring and having someone actively monitor your system are two very different things.
Monitoring capability means the system can report data. Active monitoring means a human, or an automated alert system backed by humans, is actually watching that data and taking action when something looks wrong.
Real scenario: A friend’s inverter failed and she didn’t notice for four months. Her system had monitoring, but nobody was watching it. Four months of solar production, gone.
A thorough O&M visit is much more than someone climbing on your roof to look at panels. A trained technician follows a detailed checklist, much like the 100-point inspection at an auto shop, and documents the state of everything they see.
That last point matters more than most people realize. Many inverter and equipment warranties require documented evidence of routine maintenance. Skip the inspections, and you may find your warranty claim denied, not because the equipment failed, but because you didn’t take care of it.
Panel degradation. On a residential system, one degraded panel might barely move the needle on your electricity bill. On a commercial system, widespread degradation across dozens of panels creates a major financial impact. We’ve seen systems producing at 75% or less of their rated capacity, and the owner had no idea.
Aging or obsolete inverters. Inverters don’t last forever, and some manufacturers have gone out of business entirely. When a key component can no longer be serviced or replaced with a like-for-like part, you need a professional who knows how to navigate that. In Arizona specifically, microinverters sitting on 130-degree rooftops in summer face particularly brutal conditions.
Wire management issues. This one surprises people. It sounds simple, but improper wire routing is one of the leading contributors to insurance claims and high-dollar failures. A wire that wasn’t properly secured can rub against metal framing every time the wind blows. Over months and years, that wears through the insulation. The result, at worst, is a fire.
Physical damage. Mainly a commercial issue, trucks backing into covered parking canopies, vandalism, storm debris. But it’s more common than you’d think, and it often goes unreported until someone does a thorough inspection.
You have a power plant on your roof or on your building. That’s not hyperbole, that’s what a solar array is. If you spent $30,000, $80,000, or $200,000 on something, wouldn’t you want to protect it?
We pay for car insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and health insurance, all policies we hope we never need to use, but that give us peace of mind. A preventative O&M inspection works the same way. A couple hundred dollars for an inspection could prevent a warranty claim worth thousands, or a fire that threatens the structure itself.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And that’s not just a cliché, it’s a business decision.”
Amicus O&M Cooperative is a shared-services cooperative, a for-profit business entity owned by its 53+ member companies across the country. Harman Solar is a member and part-owner. The cooperative’s mission is to help member companies perform O&M work more safely, efficiently, and profitably.
A solar company that brings up maintenance, warranties, and long-term service during the sales conversation isn’t making their product sound unreliable. They’re showing you they’re the kind of company that will be there when you need them.
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