The data already exists
SunPower systems are microinverter-based, which means every panel reports on itself individually. That per-panel telemetry travels to your PVS5 or PVS6 gateway and is available on its local interface — which exposes more than the official app ever chose to display:
- per-panel power output, tracked separately for each module;
- per-panel temperature, voltage and frequency;
- meter-level production and consumption;
- battery state of charge, where a battery is fitted.
One honest caveat on consumption: whole-home consumption only works if CT clamps were fitted at installation. Many installs omitted them, and post-bankruptcy that's a difficult gap to close. Production and per-panel data are unaffected — they don't depend on the clamps.
Why this is the number that matters
Array totals hide single-panel faults, and the arithmetic is unforgiving. In a thirty-panel array, one dead microinverter costs about 3% of production. That won't show up on a utility bill against seasonal and weather variation, and it won't show up at the meter. It just quietly runs for years.
Per-panel data turns that from an invisible loss into a specific fault: that panel, that date, that much lost. Which is also exactly what you need if you're going to make a warranty claim.
How to actually see it
SunStrong Premium
The official route. Panel-level monitoring sits in the Premium tier at roughly $9.99/mo or $99/year, alongside history and analytics. The free Basic tier does not include it.
Read the gateway yourself
The local interface is well-documented by the open-source community. krbaker/hass-sunpower and smcneece/ha-esunpower pull per-panel data into Home Assistant; thomastech/SunPower-Web-Monitor is a standalone dashboard; pypvs is the underlying library. All free.
Expect to isolate the gateway on its own network segment, avoid polling it aggressively, and re-do some work when firmware changes — the September 2025 update added authentication and returned 403 errors to every simple setup until workarounds appeared.
A monitor that does it for you
Watt Hacker reads the same local per-panel data and shows it without a subscription: per-panel status is on the free Kilowatt tier, not behind the paywall. Paid Megawatt adds the history you need to spot a panel fading rather than failing outright, and alerts you in dollars when one drops.
A warning about replacing a failed microinverter
If per-panel data does turn up a dead unit, don't order a generic replacement. SunPower Type E / IQ7X microinverters need voltage-matched replacements — standard Enphase IQ7+ or IQ8+ units are destroyed by the high-voltage X-Series panels they'd be fitted to.
Replacement also requires a Q-Field-Wireable connector, which alters the UL assembly and triggers NEC wet-location compliance, plus an authorized installer to add the new part to the reporting platform. This is a real trap and it has caught people. Diagnose freely; buy parts carefully.
Where Watt Hacker fits
Watt Hacker is a small monitor that plugs into your existing SunPower PVS5 or PVS6 gateway on your own home network and reads it directly. It doesn't rely on SunPower's or SunStrong's servers, because for owners like you those are either gone or behind a paywall. No electrician and no rewiring.
- The monitor is $50 once (list $100), with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Kilowatt is free forever — live power and per-panel status, no card on file. $58 to start (monitor + $8 shipping).
- Megawatt adds full history, dollar-framed alerts and reports: $8/mo, or $72/yr ($6/mo). 1 month free with a monitor, free shipping, cancel anytime.
- Built by one person, not a company that can be sold out from under you. Who's behind it.
Common questions
Can I get per-panel data from a SunPower system?
Yes. SunPower systems use Enphase-based microinverters, so each panel reports individually to the PVS gateway. The gateway's local interface exposes per-panel output, temperature and voltage — more detail than the official app ever displayed.
Why does the free app tier not show individual panels?
SunStrong's rebuilt app puts panel-level monitoring, historical data and analytics in its Premium tier at roughly $9.99 a month. The free Basic tier covers real-time power flow and system health only.
Why does per-panel data matter?
A single failed microinverter in a thirty-panel array costs roughly 3% of production. That is invisible on a utility bill and invisible at the meter, so it can run for years unnoticed. Per-panel data is the only way to catch it.