Cleaning Solar Panels is as necessary as doing your yearly medical checkup. In short, Clean solar panels are more efficient and will yield high investment returns.
How often do I need to clean my solar panels? Solar panels should be cleaned once every six months to a year at the very least to keep their output, efficiency, and effectiveness at a maximum. Nonetheless, the frequency of cleaning depends on factors such as the degree of filth and pollution in your area.
Do I Have To Clean Solar Panels?
For a quick answer: yes, but not always. However, frequent cleaning of your solar panels is essential to keep them functioning and efficient at their best.
It’s important to remember that the frequency with which you clean your solar panels may vary greatly depending on factors like climate and season.
Perhaps you haven’t given as much thought to the maintenance necessary to maximize your solar system’s absorption. As a system owner, you may get several benefits from regularly cleaning your solar panels.
How Often Do I Need To Clean Solar Panels?
Experts in the field of solar panels have long argued about how often they need to be cleaned, but they now agree that you should get them serviced on average once every six months. There are, however, situations where you may not require it as regularly or can wait longer before cleaning it.
For instance, in a drier area, dust might accumulate quickly on the panels, especially after the summer; in this situation, you may want to clean them twice a year. It may also be necessary to clean the panels more frequently if you happen to live in densely forested regions, as this attracts a lot of bird poop.
Smart Tip: It’s best to schedule the cleaning after the winter and summer seasons when the most filth and dust will have accumulated.
Why Do I Have To Clean the Solar Panels? (Top 3 Reasons)
It’s possible that if you don’t take special care when cleaning the panels, you might do permanent damage to them. That is why it is recommended to clean them religiously.
1. Dirty Solar Panels Reduce Efficiency
Solar panels lose efficiency when they get filthy. Keeping your panels clean will unquestionably improve their overall efficiency. When solar panels are covered in debris like dust, leaves, and bird poop, they lose some of their effectiveness. Every year, dust and other particles can reduce solar efficiency by 1.5% to 6%.
2. Rain Water Is Not Sufficient To Clear Solar Panel
Rain is not a magic bullet for cleaning solar panels since it contains “airborne dust particles” that will still leave a coating of dust on the panels even after they dry.
3. Reduce Durability
If you don’t frequently clean your solar panels, they’ll get dirty and reduce efficiency. You may not notice a difference at first, but with time, the efficiency of your panels will drop, and you run the danger of having equipment fails to work much more efficiently.
When Should Someone Clean Their Solar Panels?
The optimum time to clean your solar panels is early morning, late afternoon, or on cloudy days. Cleaning your solar panels while the sun is at its strongest can result in the water and cleaning agents you use evaporating fast, leaving residues just as damaging to their effectiveness as dirt.
It’s best to do this first thing in the morning because the dew will have had time to soak into the panels and soften the filth, making it much simpler to wipe away.
The reason for claiming that the best time to clean solar panels is in the early morning is because, during the day, they get extremely hot due to sunlight, and placing cold water on them might break the panels.
So the best time for cleaning solar panels is early morning, before sunrise. Because the panels get enough time to cool down all night.
How To Efficiently Clean Solar Panels?
If you want to clean your panels without using a professional service, then ignore all the “dust talk” and proceed. For safety and liability reasons, many solar energy providers would not advise doing so. However, If you are confident about cleaning it at home, Here You Go!
Here are some tips for cleaning solar panels efficiently:
- Get Some Cleaning Tips: To begin, contact the maker of your solar panels. You never know whether they’ll give you some cleaning tips.
- Start With Yard Hose: To begin, you can use a yard hose to see if it helps. On the other hand, if a great deal of dust has gathered, you may need to give them a more extensive cleaning.
- Lukewarm Water & Soap: No unique tools are required, just water and soap in a bucket or spray bottle. You can also spray water on your panel with possible reduced water pressure, as it can cause scratches.
- Use of Soft Bristled Brush: You can use a soft-bristled brush to scrap out any hard residue on your solar panel. You can go for horizontal motion as it is more effective.
- Wipe The Dirt: Wipe off the solar panel’s surface with a gentle sponge or cloth. The wiring below is not something that has to be cleaned.
That’s All.
Conclusion
Finally, for the most significant guidance on how often to do cleaning: Be sure to keep an eye on how much electricity your solar panels produce before and after you clean them. As a result, you have your own assessment where you can tell how often I need to clean solar panels.
FAQs
Pressure Washing Solar Panels: Safe or Not?
To keep your solar panels in good working order, you should never use a pressure washer. Using a pressure washer on solar panels is not recommended because of the high risk of scratching or otherwise damaging the panels.
Will I lose money if I let my solar panels go unclean for a while?
It is estimated that 1.5-6% of a solar panel’s original efficiency might be lost if it is not cleaned regularly. This implies that they will produce less power, which you will have to buy from the utility provider at their rate.
