The model

Seven areas.
Six levels.
One spine.

In the maturity model of the Solar Operations Maturity Institute (SOM Institute), every area is rated on the same 0–5 spine, so levels are comparable across areas. What changes from one area to the next is what each level looks like in practice. This page sets out every level of every area.

From blind to optimised and quantified.

The six levels every area climbs. Below, each area describes its levels in its own concrete terms; the spine is what lets a level in one area be compared with the same level in another.

Level 0: Blind
Level 1: Manual
Level 2: Reactive tooling
Level 3: Systematic
Level 4: Automated & integrated
Level 5: Optimised & quantified

How a level is read

An area’s level: The average of its questions.
Not applicable: An area marked not applicable is not rated, rather than scored zero.
Against peers: Comparison with peers is made area by area.
The gap: The level you want to reach minus where you are today.
Priority: How important the area is to you, multiplied by the gap.
Weighting: All seven areas carry equal weight.

Where the model comes from

Area 1 of 7

Monitoring

How quickly a fault at a site is identified and acted on.

All seven areas

Level 0, Blind
No monitoring
We find out a site is down when someone else tells us.
Level 1, Manual
Portal-by-portal
We log in to each vendor portal manually, when prompted.
Level 2, Reactive tooling
Vendor alerts
Per-brand portal alerts are on; someone scans them most days.
Level 3, Systematic
One view
A consolidated cross-brand view; offline sites are caught within hours.
Level 4, Automated & integrated
Alerting with ownership
Near-real-time alerts routed to a person with an escalation path and response expectations.
Level 5, Optimised & quantified
Measured & prioritised
Alert noise is managed, detection/response times are measured, and the highest-impact sites are watched hardest.

Area 2 of 7

Performance

How each site’s output is measured against expectation, and how well shortfalls are understood.

All seven areas

Level 0, Blind
Not tracked
Production is whatever it is.
Level 1, Manual
Eyeballed
Monthly glance at kWh vs a gut feel or last month.
Level 2, Reactive tooling
Vs a static estimate
Compared against the design estimate or yield guarantee only.
Level 3, Systematic
Weather-adjusted
Expected production per site reflects the weather that actually happened; shortfalls are flagged.
Level 4, Automated & integrated
Causes attributed
Underperformance is detected fleet-wide and traced to its root cause (soiling, shading, string faults, diode failures).
Level 5, Optimised & quantified
Every lost kWh explained and costed
Losses are attributed, valued in Rands, benchmarked, and drive a planned remediation list.

Area 3 of 7

Data Quality

How far the underlying data can be relied on.

All seven areas

Level 0, Blind
Unknown
Gaps and errors in site data go unnoticed.
Level 1, Manual
Found by accident
Data problems surface when a report looks wrong.
Level 2, Reactive tooling
Spot checks
Occasional manual review of data completeness.
Level 3, Systematic
Gap detection
Missing data is detected and backfilled systematically.
Level 4, Automated & integrated
Cross-validated
Independent sources (meter vs inverter) are reconciled routinely.
Level 5, Optimised & quantified
Quantified confidence
Data completeness/accuracy is measured per site, and every downstream number carries that confidence.

Area 4 of 7

Data Analysis

How far analysis goes below site totals — string, temperature, voltage, load.

All seven areas

Level 0, Blind
Raw data only
Nobody looks below site-level totals.
Level 1, Manual
Occasional exports
Data pulled to Excel now and then, when there’s a problem.
Level 2, Reactive tooling
Portal charting
Per-site charts in vendor portals, on demand.
Level 3, Systematic
String & temperature analysis
String-level and AC/DC/BMS temperature analysis is done when investigating.
Level 4, Automated & integrated
Automated anomaly analysis
String, temperature and alert-pattern anomalies are surfaced automatically per site.
Level 5, Optimised & quantified
Continuous fleet analytics
The whole fleet is analysed continuously; faults are found without anyone asking.

Area 5 of 7

Optimisation

How actively the installed system is adjusted to improve its financial return.

All seven areas

Level 0, Blind
Commissioning settings
Inverters run whatever was set on day one.
Level 1, Manual
Occasional tweaks
Settings changed manually when someone thinks of it.
Level 2, Reactive tooling
Seasonal reviews
Periodic reviews of setpoints and tariff settings.
Level 3, Systematic
Per-site optimisation
Charge/discharge tuned to each site’s tariff windows and load shape.
Level 4, Automated & integrated
Simulation-backed
Upgrades are chosen from simulations with predicted ROI.
Level 5, Optimised & quantified
Continuous & verified
Optimisation runs continuously and the realised savings are measured and reported.

Area 6 of 7

Finance

How generation is translated into figures finance teams and funders accept.

All seven areas

Level 0, Blind
No financial view
Energy data never becomes money.
Level 1, Manual
Rules of thumb
Savings estimated with a generic c/kWh figure.
Level 2, Reactive tooling
Estimated savings
Calculated, but on approximate or outdated tariffs.
Level 3, Systematic
Tariff-accurate
Savings and utility-bill reconciliations use each site’s actual tariff.
Level 4, Automated & integrated
Asset-level finance
IRR and ROI per asset, with billing and reconciliation systemised.
Level 5, Optimised & quantified
Auditable
Financial reporting stands up to owners, auditors and funders.

Area 7 of 7

Reporting

What reaches clients, boards and colleagues, and how much is assembled by hand.

All seven areas

Level 0, Blind
None
No regular reporting exists.
Level 1, Manual
On request
Screenshots and ad-hoc emails when someone asks.
Level 2, Reactive tooling
Manual monthly
Someone copies numbers into a template every month.
Level 3, Systematic
Automated & standard
Standardised reports generate and send themselves.
Level 4, Automated & integrated
Role-tailored
Distinct O&M / finance / customer reports, plus a customer-facing portal.
Level 5, Optimised & quantified
Insight-driven
Reporting is exception-led; it tells each reader what needs their attention, and customers self-serve the rest.

Read across a level.

The same six levels, read across all seven areas: what each level is called in each area.

Level 0, Blind: Monitoring: No monitoring

Performance: Not tracked

Data Quality: Unknown

Data Analysis: Raw data only

Optimisation: Commissioning settings

Finance: No financial view

Reporting: None
Level 1, Manual: Monitoring: Portal-by-portal

Performance: Eyeballed

Data Quality: Found by accident

Data Analysis: Occasional exports

Optimisation: Occasional tweaks

Finance: Rules of thumb

Reporting: On request
Level 2, Reactive tooling: Monitoring: Vendor alerts

Performance: Vs a static estimate

Data Quality: Spot checks

Data Analysis: Portal charting

Optimisation: Seasonal reviews

Finance: Estimated savings

Reporting: Manual monthly
Level 3, Systematic: Monitoring: One view

Performance: Weather-adjusted

Data Quality: Gap detection

Data Analysis: String & temperature analysis

Optimisation: Per-site optimisation

Finance: Tariff-accurate

Reporting: Automated & standard
Level 4, Automated & integrated: Monitoring: Alerting with ownership

Performance: Causes attributed

Data Quality: Cross-validated

Data Analysis: Automated anomaly analysis

Optimisation: Simulation-backed

Finance: Asset-level finance

Reporting: Role-tailored
Level 5, Optimised & quantified: Monitoring: Measured & prioritised

Performance: Every lost kWh explained and costed

Data Quality: Quantified confidence

Data Analysis: Continuous fleet analytics

Optimisation: Continuous & verified

Finance: Auditable

Reporting: Insight-driven

The Solar O&M Maturity Survey

Place your operation on the ladder.

Area by area, the survey asks where you are today and where you want to be. Under ten minutes; results are emailed within about two weeks of the survey closing.

Take the survey