The problem in my setup is that the SWG comes on at 7:00 am. I need it to come on early to allow its 7 hour run to occur before PG&E's 3:00pm rate increase. So the solar doesn't kick on until later, and never the same time each day, which means I can't program around that issue. The SWG might be energized or not when that occurs. When the air gets flushed through it is completely random, and I don't have any practical way to fill the panels, and purge the air, before the SWG comes on.
I became alerted to this issue when I received a low-flow alert one morning when my solar kicked on. So my flow switch might solve for this issue. A rush of air seems to trigger it off, but is that 100% reliable? I don't really have anyway to test that. I think it's still possible, for some span of time, however brief, for the plates to be energized while air is present between them. Would that harm the plates? Or the electronics in the SWG? Or is it like unplugging an incandescent lamp for a second. Light bulb filaments are impacted a bit each time they turn on and off, but negligibly in the grand scheme of its lifespan. Same for SWG plates?