Today’s solar history is incomplete

Identify exactly what is absent

Distinguish a blank chart, a gap in the middle, a late start and a daily total that seems too small. Record the chart’s timezone and selected date. Check whether live readings are currently available.

A live dashboard with no earlier history can be consistent with a newly installed host. A complete-looking chart with a missing interval can conceal a more subtle coverage problem. Save the selected range and visible timestamps with the report.

Compare the gap with host events

Look for installation time, restarts, updates, storage errors or equipment disconnections. Record the last valid sample before the gap and the first after it. If several device histories stop together, the common host or collection path deserves attention.

Keep the distinction between measured coverage and expected operating time. The sun being up does not prove the host recorded it.

Check the date boundary

Confirm that the host, displayed chart and comparison source use the intended timezone. Midnight boundaries can place the same event on different calendar dates. A timezone change can move points without changing the underlying event time.

MDN’s date documentation explains the distinction between timestamps and local representations. Use an explicit offset when comparing exported or logged times, especially around daylight-saving transitions.

Ask where the total came from

A device’s cumulative energy counter and an integral of locally sampled power are different sources. Locally accumulated energy depends on valid samples. A later reading cannot recreate an unobserved load profile.

Sunstead’s live accumulation skips intervals that do not meet its validity requirements rather than treating a long gap as continuous known power. That makes coverage important when interpreting the result. Do not fill missing points with zeros to make a chart look complete.

If a source changed after an update or device replacement, record that boundary too. Combining unlike counters without understanding resets and units can produce a misleading total.

Preserve the investigation record

• Date range, timezone and affected series.
• First and last valid points around the gap.
• Host and equipment events during the interval.
• Whether live data has recovered.
• Whether the total is device-reported or sample-derived.
• Available independent evidence, clearly labeled.

Do not erase storage or reinstall before preserving needed history and logs. A fresh installation may remove the evidence without explaining the original gap.

When reporting performance, label a partial day as partial. You can still use the observed period for a carefully matched comparison, but it should not compete with a full day as though both had equal coverage.