Problems after installing rooftop solar

Most trouble with a rooftop solar system in its first year is one of five things: the net meter has not been activated, the inverter is showing a fault, the system is generating less than expected, the export does not appear on the bill, or the subsidy has not arrived. Only the second is usually the equipment's fault. In Delhi the board's clock for the net meter is 10 days for systems up to 10 kW, since 16 July 2026, and the subsidy is officially paid "within 30 days" of the claim; about 15 days on average. For each problem this page gives what to check, whom to call, and what Verde Solaire does on the systems it installs.

1. The net meter has not been activated

This is what "solar installed but not working" usually means. The panels are up, but the board has not fitted the bidirectional meter that records what you export, so nothing you generate earns a credit and the commissioning certificate that starts the subsidy claim cannot be issued.

What to check. The stage your application is at on the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana portal. Plant details and the net-meter application are the vendor's job; the inspection and the meter are the board's.

Whom to call. The board named on your bill. In Delhi, BSES Rajdhani customers use rts.bsesdelhi.com (helpline 19123, extension 3). In Uttar Pradesh the licensee is printed at the top of the bill: PVVNL for Noida and Ghaziabad, NPCL for Greater Noida and Greater Noida West, PUVVNL for Varanasi.

What we do. Net metering is inside Verde Solaire's published prices, so filing the application, attending the inspection and chasing the board are part of the job. The official and practical timelines for each board are on installed but not activated.

2. The inverter is showing a fault or an error code

The inverter is the only part of the system with a screen, so every problem is reported there, including the grid's. Codes differ by make, but nearly all fall into five groups.

• Grid voltage or frequency out of range. The supply went outside the inverter's limits and it disconnected to protect itself, which in Delhi NCR happens on hot afternoons when the line voltage rises. A grid condition, not a broken inverter.
• Grid lost, or islanding. A power cut. An on-grid inverter shuts down whenever the grid fails, by design, and restarts when supply returns.
• Insulation or earth fault. Moisture in a DC connector or a chafed cable, most often after the first monsoon.
• DC over-voltage or a string fault. One string of panels is reading wrong, usually a loose or burnt connector.
• Over-temperature. Vents blocked by dust, or an inverter boxed in the afternoon sun.

What to check. Photograph the screen with the code and the time, note whether the grid was on, and see whether it clears on its own. Do not open the inverter or the DC box; the DC side is live whenever the sun is up.

Whom to call. Your installer first, with the photograph. For daily voltage tripping, the board as well, because a transformer tap adjustment on their side is the usual fix.

What we do. The one inverter warranty figure the company has published is a 10-year warranty on the Havells inverters at its 430 kW Dharuhera plant; ask for the years on your own inverter in writing. The inverter guide and the warranty and after-sales page list the questions to ask.

3. The system is generating less than it should

First establish what "should" is. The solar calculator gives the planning figure for your city and size, and this site takes 10% off the published generation for dust and season, so a month a little under the headline number is normal. A month at half of it is not. The causes, in the order they usually turn out to be:

1. Dust. Worst in October and November and in the dust storms of April to June. Wash with plain water and compare the next clear day with the day before.
2. New shade. A neighbour's water tank, a new floor next door, a tree that has grown. One shaded panel drags down its whole string, so walk the roof at nine, noon and three.
3. Tripping. The voltage faults above: the morning graph is fine and the afternoon is flat.
4. A string down. One connector has failed and a third or a half of the panels are idle. The inverter's per-string readings show it.

Whom to call. For dust, a cleaning service or yourself if the panels are reachable from the terrace floor; the maintenance and cleaning guide covers how and how often. For shade, a string fault or persistent tripping, your installer.

What we do. Verde Solaire offers maintenance and cleaning as a service, and the panels it sells carry 25-year performance warranties on all three panel types, a promise about output, not only against defects. Mr. S. C. Garg, whose system in GK, New Delhi was installed when the company still traded as Sirius Electric, wrote that it "has been working continuously without a single day breakdown since 2017".

4. The export is not credited on the bill

A net meter records import and export separately, and the first bill after commissioning should show both. Either the bill carries no export reading, because the meter is still recorded as one-way in the board's system or the reading predates the swap; or the export shows but the bill is not zero.

The second is not a fault. In Delhi, credits roll over month to month, and any surplus left at the end of the financial year is paid at the DISCOM's average power purchase cost. The free-power subsidy is worked out on net units, that is import minus export, and the fixed charges, ₹20 (up to 2 kW), ₹50 (2–5 kW), ₹100 (5–15 kW), ₹200 (15–25 kW) and ₹250 (above 25 kW) per kW per month, continue whatever you generate. In Uttar Pradesh, under the UPERC rooftop solar regulations of 2019, residential users may choose net or gross metering, and the DISCOM allows capacity within transformer limits. The energy charge falls, sometimes to nothing; the fixed charge stays.

What to check. Compare the inverter's total generation since commissioning with the export reading. Export should be smaller than generation, because the house uses some of it first, but not zero.

Whom to call. The board's billing desk, with the meter number, the commissioning date and the inverter's generation figure; ask them to confirm the meter is registered as bidirectional. Tell your installer the same day.

What we do. The net-metering guides explain how each board settles credits, and the Delhi tariff page shows why a solar bill is still not zero.

5. The subsidy has not arrived

The official figure is "within 30 days" of the claim; about 15 days on average. In practice, 30–45 days after verification in practice. The clock starts at the claim, not at installation, and the claim needs the commissioning certificate, which needs the net meter, and your bank details with a cancelled cheque, which only you can upload.

Not yet official. Reported by trade and news sources; the official figure is within 30 days.

What to check. The portal stage. Check that the name on the bank account matches the applicant's name on the electricity bill; a mismatch is a common, quiet reason for a claim to sit. If the stage is one the vendor controls and nothing has moved for weeks, ask in writing what is pending: in August 2026 MNRE deactivated 66 vendors for holding applications, and vendors are not to hold one for more than 60 days.

Whom to call. The portal helpdesk for a stuck claim, your board if the certificate has not been generated, your installer for anything at a vendor stage. The portal help page says what each status means, and the vendor check shows how to confirm your installer is still registered.

What we do. File, chase and report. Mr. L. R. Singh, with a 6 kW system in Noida, wrote that he "was also able to get solar subsidy in record time because of the follow up of the team of Verde Solaire".