Cleaning And Maintaining Solar Panels

How to clean solar panels.

Cleaning and maintaining solar panels.

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. Homeowners spend an average of 150 to have their solar panels cleaned. Some of the sunniest places also don t get much rain which does a good job cleaning panels. If it rains where you live every couple of weeks you really don t need to.

Still it s best to take a quick look from the. The first thing you want to do is to check with your solar panel manufacturer. So conveniently they require little to no maintenance. They might have specific recommendations for cleaning.

Most panels are made of tempered glass anodized aluminum and aside from tracking arrays have no moving parts. Either clean your solar panels in the morning afternoon or pick a relatively cool day. Depending on factors such as roof slant home height and system size companies charge between 3 and 10 per panel. Some charge a flat rate within a range of 150 to 350.

Grime and bird poop doesn t need to cover an entire panel to have an effect. Because you don t want to scratch the panels in any way it s best to use just water and a non abrasive sponge to apply soapy water. Don t worry about cleaning if it rains regularly where you live. Before you start cleaning be sure that you ve checked with your solar panel manufacturer to determine if there are any special instructions for cleaning or maintaining your panels.

The most effective way to clean your solar panels is with a hose and a bucket of soapy water. Essentially in the same manner you would wash your car at home. This is where cleaning solar panels may have to be done. Regularly prune nearby shrubs and trees.

Annual inspections are typically 150 before the cost of cleaning. Solar panels can become incredible hot in sunshine. And snow actually cleans your panels as it melts taking any dust and dirt with it as it slides off the slick module surface. Basically this increased amount of cleaning and maintenance is the trade off for choosing solar powered lights since it is the solar panels and batteries that allow you to harness the energy of the sun that make it necessary to put a little more time into caring for your lights.

Maintaining your solar panels solar panel maintenance is an important part of keeping your solar panels effective. Solar panels are made out of tempered glass which tends to be pretty resilient. Read more about solar and snow here. Most snow will melt fairly quickly as the dark solar panels attract heat and sunlight.