Do You Need To Clean Your Solar Panels

Be sure to check your panel manufacturer instructions for shutting down the system before cleaning if necessary.

Do you need to clean your solar panels.

Solar panels can become incredible hot in sunshine. They might have specific recommendations. First try if your garden hose. However if they are located on the roof then you must use a soft brush coupled with a long extension to make the work easier and safer from the ground.

Fill a bucket with warm soapy water or cleaning solution designed for solar panels. This can be organised through an accredited technician. In most cases you won t need to clean your solar panels often if at all. In most situations panels are self cleaning and do not need to be cleaned.

If you ve got a lot of bird droppings on your panels rain might not wash these off very readily so it s a good idea to clean them off. A third issue is bird droppings which if heavy enough could block enough sunlight to make a cleaning necessary. How to clean those dusty dirty solar panels 1. There are some times it might make sense to clean your solar panels though.

How to clean solar panels the first thing you want to do is to check with your solar panel manufacturer. Birds are usually not a problem unless your last name is hitchcock and you live in bodega bay. Some say panels need an annual scrub others say quarterly. Your solar panels need to be exposed to sunlight in order to produce power.

If your solar panels are installed on the ground then you can opt to use a simple sponge to clean them up or a soft brush as well. After all anything that accumulates dirt on them for example dust or pollen will get washed off the next time it rains. A small amount of soiling say a light dusty film may only cause a 5 percent output decline. Either clean your solar panels in the morning afternoon or pick a.

In some cases this will be enough to get them clean but sometimes you ll need to do a more thorough cleaning. Avoid using water with high mineral content. However if you can see build up on the panels or if your bills or monitoring tools suggest a decrease in the efficiency it may be worth considering a system health check or clean. Yes you have to clean your rooftop solar panels and you have to clean them regularly.

As panels get dirtier their output declines. In most cases occasional rain will be enough to naturally and safely keep your solar panels clean and free of debris that could lower production. If you do find it necessary to clean the panels and wish to carry out the task yourself contact the installer to find out if you should take any special precautions aside from not falling off the roof. One company selling an automated washing system says panels should be washed every couple of weeks.

Rooftop solar panels get dirty primarily from wind blown dust and pollen. However unless you live somewhere with high amounts of smog dust dirt or sand blowing around solar panel cleaning is generally not necessary. Use your garden hose to spray down the panels.