A lower number does not automatically mean a fault
Solar production changes with weather, temperature, shading and operating conditions. Comparing this month with the same month last year can be misleading if the conditions were very different.
Track downtime separately
If an inverter was unavailable for several hours, that is different from a cloudy week. Keeping equipment availability separate from weather-normalized production makes troubleshooting much faster. When a real anomaly appears, thermal inspection can help narrow the cause.
Record changes around the venue
New temporary structures, changed schedules, roof work or a different cleaning pattern can alter performance without any equipment failure. A short change log gives future reviews valuable context.
Use the baseline to plan, not just investigate
A stable baseline helps the venue set realistic budgets and maintenance priorities. It also makes monitoring data much more useful because the team has something meaningful to compare it with.
Track weather, equipment downtime and major venue changes separately so a production drop has context before anyone calls it a fault.
