Cleaning Photovoltaic Solar Panels

Solar panel wash video source polywater use water with a similar temperature.

Cleaning photovoltaic solar panels.

Grime and bird poop doesn t need to cover an entire panel to have an effect. Cleaning ones solar panels is not hard at all. The first thing you want to do is to check with your solar panel manufacturer. Homeadvisor s solar panel maintenance cost guide provides prices to hire services to clean solar roof panels and diy cleaning costs.

How to clean solar panels. Solar panel manufacturers do not recommend the use of cold or hot water to clean the panels. Remove snow dust and dirt to maintain maximize operation and lengthen the life of your solar energy system. Your solar panels need to be exposed to sunlight in order to produce power.

The reason behind this is that sudden and drastic differences in temperature could crack the surface of the glass. But first let s look at when and why you might need to invest in solar panel cleaning equipment or hire a professional cleaning service. Simply put if you can clean a window you can clean a solar panel. All the electrical stuff is safely protected with aluminum frames hardened glass and insulation.

Check with your solar installers and providers to determine if there is any information about solar panel cleaning recommendations and dos or don ts when it comes to cleaning your system. Solar panels are generally self cleaning but in particularly dry areas or where panel tilt is minimal dust and other substances such as bird droppings can build up over time and impact on the amount electricity generated by a module. We ll get to the best way to clean your solar panels in a minute. They found that tilted panels don t require cleaning as much as flat panels.

Google did a study on the need to clean solar panels. They might have specific recommendations for cleaning. They may look scary and technical but in fact the technology is securely sealed inside the solar panel. However unless you live somewhere with high amounts of smog dust dirt or sand blowing around solar panel cleaning is generally not necessary 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.

However cleaning is one aspect of solar panel maintenance that should not be taken lightly. How to clean your solar panels.