It costs a heck of a lot to put up a 1 MW of solar PV power plant - a minimum of $3 million per MW. A solar PV power plant produces an output of about 1.5 million kWh per year. But all these units might not be realized if you do not have proper monitoring systems in place. As this Blog says, "The simplest monitoring involves simply checking the inverter, and this is done by reading values on the display, which is typically the LCD part of almost each grid-connected inverter. The variables which can be monitored include PV array power, AC (grid) power, PV array current etc. For sophisticated monitoring and control purposes, environmental data, such as module temperature, ambient temperature, solar radiation, wind speed etc., can also be logged in data loggers, stored, and later analyzed. Remote control and monitoring can be performed by various remote connections, such as ISDN, GSM, analog modem etc. More important inverter or grid related parameters can hence be made available on-line" Cutting a long story short, monitoring systems can ensure that a solar PV power plant is able to have minimal breakdowns, thus resulting in the production of the expected output. While a monitoring system is unlikely to increase the output of a solar farm, the absence of such a system is likely to significantly decrease the output from the stated output of the farm. Here is a link that might be useful: Monitoring Systems for Solar PV

My BIL had a monitor, wired in to the local fire/police dept, that alerted them if the temperature in their lake/summer cottage (vacation home) went below a certain temp. (no burglar monitor, just the temp) It turned out to be a brilliant idea. A few years ago, several of the 30+ y/o water pipes in the baseboard heating system finally burst, from either mineral buildup or age, and spewed water all over the house for three days. The monitoring system called his cell phone (He had given them multiple contact #s.) He was out of the country on vacation and had to cut it short. It was Spring, or the temp would have gone down faster and the alarm would have sounded a day or two earlier with less damage, but at least he had the alarm/monitoring. The house had to be gutted, and was an excellent opportunity for them to remodel, since he planned to live in it full-time after retirement, which is the case right now. Without the monitor, the house would probably have been 100% ruined from all the water spewing.

Nice idea which I might steal when selling my farm next year. Part of the joy of living in the country is being close to nature's ever-changing beauty. What better way to capture that flora and fauna than through a photo essay? But, Paul, since you seem so computer savvy, why not create a personal website specifically for selling your property? I intend on doing so, listing on the local MLS via a flatfee service. There have been many discussions about this technique, so I won't elaborate. If you've got the time, it may worth considering.

check your main breaker, if it works then call an electrician NOW.