A system for automatically commissioning a solar panel array comprises a plurality of panel monitoring devices, each panel monitoring device connected between a positive and negative terminal of a solar panel. Each panel monitoring device comprises a switching device, the switching device configurable to disconnect an output from the solar panel. The system further comprises logic configured to automatically obtain a relative position of each panel monitoring device in the system by appointing serially a series of masters from among the panel monitoring devices, each master in turn broadcasting a unique identifier and enabling its output. Each panel monitoring device listens to the masters' broadcasts and stores in memory the unique identifier and information indicating whether the panel monitoring device detected the masters' voltage. The panel monitoring devices determine their respective locations by analyzing the information broadcast by, and the voltage detected from, the masters.