Solar panels are becoming an essential source of electricity for people everywhere. It is a sustainable source of electricity that works for a long time and can reduce energy bills that is why it has become people’s choice.
However, solar panel cleaning services are costly these days so it is vital to maintain their working by regular inspections to ensure all its components are working fine. But maintenance is not just limited to inspection but also comprises solar cleaning.
Apart from checking the inverters, loose connections, and cracks, regular cleaning is also very important. Many people neglect the cleaning of solar panels which can lead to an early degradation of the surface and can put your heavy investment at risk. Therefore, in this article, we will tell you why solar panel cleaning is important, and how and when you can do it.
Why Cleaning Solar Panels is Important?
Solar Panel cleaning is an essential practice for keeping your solar system working. It is very normal for solar panels to get dusty and dirty which compromises their working.
Research shows that a dusty solar panel can reduce energy production by 7%. But that is not all other studies suggest an unclean solar panel can reduce solar power production by 60% which is a 4.4% loss per day.
Moreover, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratories suggests a 30% loss in the solar panel’s efficiency over time if not cleaned properly. Well, these are the disadvantages of not cleaning a solar panel, let’s take a look at the perks of cleaning a solar panel.
A study reported that if a solar panel is cleaned regularly, it can perform 3.5% more efficiently. The reason behind the effect of dust and dirt on the working of solar panels is pretty simple. It is because solar cells need to absorb solar light and anything that comes between can affect the power production. Therefore, you must always keep cleaning solar panels for uninterrupted solar supply.
How to Clean Solar Panels?
These questions have a variety of answers because these days there are multiple options for solar panel cleaning. The most common one is hiring a professional. Many Solar cleaning services are available these days. You can search Google for “solar panel cleaning near me” and get an expert who will evaluate the condition of your solar panel, estimate the cost of cleaning, and do it within 2-3 hours.
A professional solar panel cleaning service can cost you around $200-500$ per visit depending on the condition of your panel. It is often recommended to hire experts for cleaning solar panels if the system is large, such as industrial and commercial but it does not mean a residential user can not use an expert for cleaning solar panels.
However, it is often considered costly because professionals use very high-end solar cleaning equipment and are experienced in does and don’t so they charge according to the services they are offering. But if you want to save the cost we have unraveled all the secrets of professional cleaning equipment in our other article but let’s also include an overview here.
Professionals use nylon brushes with a telescopic lance with deionized water, high-quality sponges, and microfiber to squeaky clean the solar panels without leaving any streaks or smudges.
Almost every solar cleaning company has this equipment in their list therefore, if you want to save the solar panel cleaning cost, you can buy these tools and start regular cleaning of your residential solar system. However, if you want a more home remedies kind of DIY solar cleaning, you can read our other article to do it at home in the right way.
Leaning solar panels with vinegar and toothpaste are very common and they have potential replacement of soap solutions that leave residues and attract dirt.
Vinegar and deionized water or even simple water can make a great solar cleaning reagent to give you premier solar cleaning.
You can use a panel cleaning brush to scrub the stubborn debris and stains and a sponge to lightly scrub down the dirt. Remember, you must clean the loose dirt before washing. Also, must remember to turn off the solar system before cleaning for safety purposes.
For a large-scale solar panel, it is only wise to seek help from experts because home remedies are only good for home solar systems. Countless new tools for solar cleaning cost thousands of dollars and are great for solar panel cleaning.
There are solar cleaning robots and automatic machines that just blow away all the dirt and dust. Solar claiming drones are also making their way into the market along with self cleaning solar panels. Therefore, commercial and industrial solar panels must use professional solar panel cleaning services to ensure cleaning without accidents.
When Solar Panels Should be Cleanded?
Cleaning solar panels is a regular task, it’s like washing a car or cleaning the fridge, if you do not maintain a routine for solar panel cleaning, your panel will end up accumulating with too much dust that it can stop working.
Therefore, it is recommended to clean solar panels every month but it also depends on many other factors such as locations, weather, and size of the panel.
If you have any construction sites near your home or commercial building, you must clean your solar panel twice a month because of continuous exposure to debris.
If you live in an area where sand storms are frequent, you must clean your solar panel after every storm in addition to the regular cleaning twice a month.
Rain can act as a natural solar cleaning source and can wash off dirt greatly, the cleaning is also very important for the solar panel maintenance if you have frequent rain in your area, you can clean your panel once in two months. However, if your region has low rain fall consider a double job of cleaning solar panels.
If you live in northern areas and the problem is snowfall, you must seek help after major snowfalls because heavy snow can damage the panel and it is often dangerous to clean it yourself.
Apart from these regular cleanups that you can do yourself, a professional inspection and cleaning is necessary at least once in 6 months for residential solar systems to avoid any major issues.
Other Causes of an Untidy Solar Panel
There are some other causes that can affect the cleanliness of your solar panel, these include bird droppings and nests and shading. Solar panels can be a cozy place for animals and birds which often turn it into their habitat.
You can install a critter guard to avoid animal and bird access from the panel and prevent their nesting. As far as bird droppings are concerned, you can do a little hard scrubbing to wash them off.
Shading is also a major problem for decreasing solar output. Nearby trees can shade the panel and prevent the sunlight from reaching the photovoltaic cells. To get rid of tree shading you can install the panel in a shade-free area or trim down the tree.
Final Analysis
After reading this article, you must have learned why you should be more cautious about cleaning your solar panel and how you can do it. Whether you have a small or large solar panel, you can do the job by any suitable method we have included above.
Just keep in mind that if you are not cleaning your solar panel properly and regularly, you are wasting all the investment you made in the solar panel because it will lose its efficacy way before its time.
FAQs
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Meta description: This article is a comprehensive guide for solar panel cleaning that tells you why how and when to clean a solar panel.
