A survey conducted by conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Fluke Corporation captures optimism over solar’s future and division over AI integration.
Respondents included more than 400 solar OEMs, technicians and installers from the U.S., the U.K. and Spain.
The research revealed that nearly two-thirds of them (63%), believe solar will become the dominant energy source in their country. However, the survey also captured many challenges the respondents face.
More than 90% reported concerns about the current generation of solar modules’ efficiency. Inverter failures were found to be a common issue among 39% of those surveyed.
The survey revealed a significant concern over the skills shortage, Fluke said, “especially as data tracking through smart technology becomes more integral to the solar industry’s future.” More than half (53%) said there is a need for more focused training in electrical troubleshooting and diagnostics. Additionally, 59% said it is important to train technicians to effectively use advanced diagnostic tools to meet evolving challenges.
Less than half (45%) of those surveyed said they see AI integration in solar panel design, optimization, and maintenance as a promising opportunity for advancement. A minority (36%) of the respondents said they are eager to adopt AI-powered diagnostics to enhance maintenance efficacy.
According to Fluke, 28.7% of the respondents use “a reactive maintenance approach,” while about 52% use external services rather than in-house maintenance teams.
More than half of those surveyed also identified supply chain resilience as a major concern for installers, with macro-economic and geo-political trends continuing to create uncertainty, Fluke said.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.