After your solar is installed in Perth: a 30-day checklist

In the first 30 days after your Perth solar installation, work through five checks: confirm your paperwork and system operation with the installer before they leave, set up monitoring alerts and record your first week of generation, check your Synergy account for DEBS registration, review your first bill for errors, and file your documentation somewhere you'll find it again. This guide walks through each step, including what a normal reading looks like and when it's worth a call to your installer.

Installation day itself is exciting: your panels are on the roof, the inverter is running, and you can see generation on the monitoring app. For what actually happens during the install, see our guide to what happens on solar installation day in Perth. The next 30 days are about confirming your system is working correctly, that your Synergy account is set up properly for DEBS, and that you have a baseline record for future reference.

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What should I confirm with my installer before they leave on day 1?

Before the installer's crew leaves, confirm the following.

Documentation received:

• Not completed: Network Connection Notice (NCN) copy: the formal approval from Western Power for your system
• Not completed: Certificate of Compliance Electrical Work (CCEW): the safety certification from the licensed electrician
• Not completed: Inverter manual and setup documentation
• Not completed: Monitoring platform credentials (app login, monitoring link, or access code)
• Not completed: STC (Small-scale Technology Certificate) assignment form: confirms you've assigned the STCs to your installer in exchange for the upfront discount
• Not completed: Panel specification sheets and serial numbers (ideally a list by roof position)
• Not completed: Installer's SAA accreditation number and contact details

For a full rundown of what each document proves and how to chase up anything missing, see our guide to solar installation paperwork in Perth.

System operation confirmed:

• Not completed: Inverter is operational and showing generation during daylight hours
• Not completed: Monitoring app shows live generation from all arrays or strings
• Not completed: Any existing appliances re-energised and working normally after switchboard work
• Not completed: Hot water system, air conditioning, and pool pump (if applicable) still working as expected
• Not completed: Switchboard labelled correctly with the solar disconnect or isolator clearly marked

If the inverter is showing fault codes, or the monitoring shows unexpectedly low generation (less than around 70% of expected output on a sunny day), ask the installer to investigate before they leave.

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What should I do in week 1 to set up monitoring and record a baseline?

Set up monitoring alerts. Most inverter monitoring platforms (Fronius Solar.web, Sungrow iSolarCloud, Goodwe SEMS, Enphase Enlighten) let you set alerts for:

• Generation below a threshold, such as less than expected for a sunny day
• Inverter fault codes
• Zero generation during daylight hours

Enable these so you're notified if the system stops working without you noticing. For a walkthrough of what each app shows and how to set alerts, see our guide to solar monitoring apps in Perth.

Record your first week's generation. Note your daily generation for the first clear days after installation. A rough benchmark for a north-facing Perth system on a clear December day:

Significant deviation from these ranges on clear days may indicate a wiring issue, inverter fault, or panel problem. Don't panic: one low day from cloud cover is normal, and generation is naturally lower outside the December-January peak. A persistent 20%+ shortfall on clear days warrants a call to your installer.

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How do I check DEBS registration on my Synergy account in week 2?

What is DEBS? The Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS) is what Synergy pays Perth solar owners for exported electricity. Credits start from the date your meter is changed to accommodate solar, not from installation day, and the changeover can take several weeks to come through.

How to check:

1. Log in to your Synergy account at synergy.net.au
2. Your billing page should show an "export meter" notation, or similar, once the meter changeover has been processed
3. After changeover, your Synergy bills will show DEBS credits as negative line items (peak and/or off-peak credits)

If DEBS hasn't started after a month or so, contact Synergy (not Western Power) and ask about the status of your export meter connection. This is sometimes a queue issue, and Synergy can advise on the expected timeline.

For how the scheme's rates and time windows work, see our full explainer on how DEBS actually works.

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What should I check on my first partial Synergy bill in week 3?

If your billing cycle started recently, you may receive a partial bill or estimate covering the period before and during solar installation. This can look confusing. Key things to check:

• Supply charge (around $1.19/day): unchanged by solar, you pay this regardless of how much you generate
• Import charges (units at the A1 rate, 33.26c/kWh): should reduce once solar is generating and DEBS starts
• DEBS credit line items: appear as negative values once export metering is active
  • Peak credit: 10c/kWh for exports 3pm-9pm
  • Off-peak credit: 2c/kWh for exports at other times, including 9am-3pm

If you're billed for full A1 consumption with no DEBS credits and it's been more than a month since installation, follow up with Synergy.

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How do I establish a generation baseline in days 14-30?

After your first full fortnight of data, note your:

• Average daily generation (kWh/day) for the month
• Typical peak output (kW) on a clear summer day
• Average export percentage (your monitoring platform may show this)

Store this baseline somewhere accessible: a note in your phone, a spreadsheet, or a printed monitoring report. In 12 months, you'll use this baseline to assess whether your system has degraded unexpectedly. A 5-10% output drop from your baseline to year 2 on comparable weather days is worth investigating. A small dip, roughly 1% or less, usually reflects normal panel degradation; anything beyond that is more likely soiling, shading changes, or worth a call to your installer.

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What else should I do to complete the handover in month 1?

Register any warranties directly with manufacturers. Some panel and inverter manufacturers request direct warranty registration, separate from your installer's records. Check:

• Inverter manufacturer warranty registration (Fronius, Sungrow, Goodwe, etc.): their websites usually have a form
• Panel manufacturer registration (LONGi, Jinko, Trina, REC): less common to require direct registration, but check the documentation

File your documentation. Store the following in a known location, either a physical folder or scanned to cloud storage:

• NCN copy
• CCEW certificate
• Installer contact details and quote/contract
• STC assignment form
• Panel serial numbers
• Inverter serial number and model
• Monitoring login credentials

If you sell the property in 5 years, the new buyer will ask for this documentation and its presence or absence affects the perceived value of the solar system.

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The first 30 days after solar installation are about confirming the system is generating as expected, that DEBS is registered on your Synergy account, and that you have a documentation baseline for the 25-year life of the system. The main risk in this period is a meter changeover delay holding up DEBS credits: follow up with Synergy if it hasn't started after a month or so.