Solar Monitoring Buying Checklist (2026)
Choosing a solar monitoring system is not about dashboard aesthetics alone — it determines your operations team's daily efficiency. This checklist covers 20 questions to ask before a demo or RFQ process.
Short Answer
The right solar monitoring platform supports your device inventory, turns alarms into action, delivers reporting and analytics, and ideally provides decision support for your regional market context (e.g., EPİAŞ PTF in Turkey). Ranaliz meets most of these criteria; for utility-scale grid control, also evaluate Meteocontrol or AlsoEnergy.
20-Point Checklist
Integration and Data (1–5)
- Which inverter brands and models are supported? (Huawei, Sungrow, Solis, SMA, etc.)
- Which protocols are supported? (Modbus TCP/RTU, IEC-104, MQTT, OPC UA)
- Is RTU, meter, and weather station integration available?
- Do you get inverter, MPPT, and string-level data?
- What is data collection frequency and latency? (real-time vs 5/15 min)
Monitoring and Dashboard (6–9)
- Is there a multi-site portfolio view and map?
- Does site detail include production, alarms, technical, and energy flow tabs?
- Are PR, availability, and performance KPIs calculated?
- Is there a heat map or string comparison screen?
Alarms and Operations (10–13)
- Can users define custom alarm rules? (threshold, comparison, time, connectivity)
- Is there alarm acknowledgment / resolution workflow and history?
- Are email, SMS, Telegram, or push notifications supported?
- Is there task management and maintenance templates?
Analytics, AI, and Reporting (14–17)
- Are loss analysis categories transparent? (inverter, soiling, grid, etc.)
- What forecast horizon is offered? (daily, 14-day)
- Are AI / Copilot features decision support or guarantees? (transparency)
- Can reports export to PDF / Excel? (ESG, performance, comparative)
Regional Context and TCO (18–20)
- Is hourly market price visibility available? (EPİAŞ PTF for Turkey)
- Are local support hours and deployment timeline clear?
- Is total cost of ownership transparent? (license + deployment + maintenance + feature flags)
Additional Demo Questions
- Can you test your own site scenario in the demo environment?
- Is there role-based access and site assignment?
- Can you track data quality (uptime, missing data)?
- Are features unlocked via packages / flags?
- Does it read SCADA data, or is it a park-controller vendor?
Quick Scoring Template
Score each item 0–2 (0: missing, 1: partial, 2: full). 30+ = strong candidate; 20–29 = moderate; below 20 = insufficient.
| Category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Integration | 25% |
| Operations (alarm + task) | 25% |
| Analytics + AI | 20% |
| Regional market (PTF) | 15% |
| TCO + support | 15% |
How Ranaliz Scores
Ranaliz addresses most checklist items:
- Multi-brand inverters, Modbus, IEC-104, MQTT
- Portfolio dashboard, site map, inverter/MPPT/string
- Alarm rules, task management, Telegram/SMS
- PR, Loss Radar, production forecast, Copilot
- EPİAŞ hourly PTF visibility
- Local Turkish support
Limitations: not grid control; does not perform official settlement.
Details: Platform · Solar solution
Platform Comparison
Before buying, see the general comparison:
- Best Solar Monitoring Software 2026
- Ranaliz vs Meteocontrol
- Ranaliz vs AlsoEnergy
- Ranaliz vs Power Factors
Conclusion
This checklist enables objective evaluation based on your needs — not marketing slogans. After completing it, request a demo and test with your own site scenario.
