Should You Clean Your Solar Panels
Should You Clean Your Solar Panels – The appearance of an unknown object on your solar panels can be cause for concern. We were recently contacted by one of our customers about white powder dust on their tables. Our investigation revealed that the cause was pollen that had accumulated on the solar panels, so there was no need to panic, because the panels were still producing power, they just needed a good cleaning.
We suggested they start by hosing down the pollen to clean the baseboards. Then we recommend signing up for a full panel cleaning service at least once a year. It will prevent future build up and ensure maximum efficiency and savings from their solar energy system.
Should You Clean Your Solar Panels
These homeowners’ concerns got us thinking about the solar panel cleaning questions most homeowners have:
Reasons Why You Should Use Solar Power
You need to lubricate, maintain and clean your car so that it runs more efficiently. Others want their home windows to be crystal clear and free of dirt so they can enjoy the view of their property. For the same reason, solar panels also need to be cleaned. Accumulated leaves, bird droppings, and other debris can block large amounts of sunlight, reducing the efficiency of your system.
We all love trees, because they make our property beautiful and fresh. But birds also love it for nesting or chilling. If you have branches hanging over your rows of solar panels, you should be prepared to do some extra cleaning.
Bird droppings are more popular than dust, leaves and pollen, especially if they become solid and stick to tables. Accumulated bird droppings can block a lot of sunlight, and are difficult to remove by simply spraying the panels with water.
Fortunately, there are products and services that can show if bird droppings are affecting the current flow of your solar energy system. Micro-inverters help with this, as the technology lets you know when the panel is producing less electricity as a result of clogging or debris.
The Wonderful World Of Solar Panels: How They Work And Who Benefits
Pollen grains have developed into a sticky substance that does not dissolve in water. As a result, it can be difficult to clean because it doesn’t blow away in the wind. If you live near farmland or areas with a lot of vegetation, expect pollinators such as wind, insects and birds that carry pollen to pass over your shingles and drop some on them. In fact, windy weather is more likely to cause pollen to be spread onto the panels in the first place rather than blown away.
You may also need to deal with leaves falling on your shingles, especially if your trees are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves in the fall every year. While dry leaves blow in the wind, wet leaves usually stick to the table because heavy rain can act like glue.
Dust and dirt are a common enemy of solar energy systems, and their effects can be devastating. It is true that sunlight can still pass through a thin layer of dust, and much of it can be quickly removed by wind or rainwater. But if your PV array is located near dusty areas such as farmland, main roads, cement plants and mines, the story changes. Your solar panels will need special care and frequent cleaning because they are exposed to more dust and dirt.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “Wait. I asked that customer to use water to clean their painting. Why is it on the list?”
How To Clean Your Solar Panels For Maximum Efficiency?
Fair question! The problem is related to the cleaning or collection of rainwater on horizontal solar arrays. In addition to reducing solar energy production, water levels can leave a muddy residue after evaporation, requiring frequent cleaning.
Like anything that’s outside all day and night, your solar panels will eventually accumulate dirt. But how often you need to wash panels depends on several factors, including:
Bird droppings and other pollution factors can affect the performance of your solar panels, especially if your panels are already horizontal to the roof. This is where washing the panels becomes important, although in many cases thorough or regular cleaning is not necessary.
As we suggest to customers who have white powder on their panels, cleaning your solar panels is usually a relatively simple task. All you have to do is stand on the ground and spray the boards with medium pressure water from a well angled garden hose.
How To Keep Your Solar Panels Clean
If you need extra cleaning power, a long hand mop or soft brush combined with a medium pressure hose can work wonders. Using a nozzle, it will be easier to direct the spray. You then clean the water with a squeegee to maximize power generation. This method provides more cleaning power, but it depends on your roof, the height of the ceiling and the angle at which the panel is placed, because even with a long handle not everyone will be able to reach their face.
Maintaining your panels is essential, but you don’t need to clean them as often as most people think. Sometimes you may need to remove leaves, bird droppings, and other debris to increase the amount of sunlight your panels receive. Any regular wind and rain will usually wash most of the dirt away, so it’s best to let nature take its course and do a thorough cleaning only once a year to maximize energy production.
When it comes to any comprehensive cleaning and maintenance, it’s best to hire a professional who has the knowledge and tools to do the job safely and correctly the first time.
Researchers from the University of California left solar panels on the roof without cleaning for 145 days. Their conclusions? The energy efficiency of the panels decreased by 7.4%.
How To Keep Your Solar Panels Running During Winter Weather
You might be surprised how long your solar panels can remain intact given their exposure to debris, dust, heat and rainwater. But you can trust your panels to withstand the regular wear and tear of the elements.
Solar companies use only leading technologies and engineering expertise in manufacturing their products. Their design processes usually take into account the effects of dirt, water and pollen from daily use.
You still need to look for any obvious structural issues with the panels, trusses and roof.
As we have seen so far, the short answer is that “the impact of dirty solar panels on solar energy production depends on a variety of factors.” But we’re interested in the long answer, aren’t we? Let’s dig a little deeper into science and math:
Do You Need To Turn Off Your Solar Panels To Clean Them?
An experiment involving solar panels on a low-sloping roof found a difference in energy production before and after thorough cleaning.
Researchers found a 3.5% increase in energy output (the amount of energy produced over time) after cleaning the panels using a soft cloth and water. The point here is that the increase in energy production is low, despite the high level of dirt accumulation.
Things got interesting when heavy rain did the cleaning. Average performance increased by just 1.9% after rainwater wetted the dirty panels. What does it mean? A good air shower can take care of some of the cleaning, but it’s not as effective as the right tools and some elbow grease.
You may want to check the cost of dirty solar panels in terms of energy production. Here is a simple formula to determine the cleaning value of solar panels:
Common Residential Uses Of Solar Power In Your Houses
For example, if your residential solar system can produce 10,000 kWh of electricity per year, and you assume a 5% loss in production due to dirty panels, and you pay your utility 20 cents per kWh for electricity, it’ r Annual Electricity Cost of Damaged Dirty Panels They are as follows:
A 5% loss in power generation may not seem like much, but it can certainly add up, and suddenly you’re paying your utility company more than your electricity bill requires.
Yes, rain helps to wash off solar panels and wash away dirt, but this has several disadvantages, which can lead to major performance problems for panels installed at a low angle:
Should we eliminate the need to clean solar panels? Not yet Google solar farm researchers have a different story.
Protect Your Solar Panels With Quality Cleaning Service
In one set of their experiments, they studied 1.6 MW horizontal solar panels located on flat parking lots in Mountain View, California. This board remained active for 15 months.
After cleaning it, they realized that the energy produced from the solar panels in their garage had doubled overnight! Eight months later, they cleaned the same solar panels and found that productivity increased by 36%.
So, what is our conclusion? All solar panels still need frequent cleaning, especially if they are horizontal or nearly horizontal on your roof. If properly flooded, moderate rainfall will mostly clean it, but an annual scheduled visit by a cleaning professional can further help with overall renewable energy production.
Cleaning solar panels doesn’t have to be an extensive or dangerous task. If you decide to clean your panels yourself, it is important that you follow these cleaning tips to protect you and your solar system.
Complete Guide To Cleaning Solar Panels
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