Information on Cleaning and Maintaining Solar Panels
Owning solar panels is a big investment, and solar panel maintenance is necessary to ensure your long-term benefits. Here are a few tips for solar panel maintenance and solar panel cleaning.
Tips for Maintenance of Solar Panels
- Keep solar panels out of shade as energy production becomes inefficient when they are kept from absorbing any sunlight.
- Keep an eye on the solar panels and make sure the inverters are flashing green lights. If they are not flashing, you are losing money by no longer compensating for your electricity use.
- Document the day-to-day performance to improve solar panel maintenance. It is important to write down how much energy has been produced at a consistent time every day and make special note of dates where it is very cloudy. Some of the results will be inconsistent. (Your manufacturer would be able to provide you with the best monitoring system for your solar panels.)
- Monitoring systems help you see how much you are benefiting the environment and how much CO2 you are emitting into the atmosphere. They can also help you know how much you could benefit from the feed-in tariff scheme.
- You can also see information about your solar panels servicing on a wall-mounted display when you are at home.
- If you have no time in cleaning solar panels, you can install automated cleaners that work like sprinkler systems or even schedule appointments with solar panel cleaning companies.
- Luckily, because solar panels have no moving parts that could be affected by rust or break down, solar power maintenance may not be needed.
Cleaning Tips for Solar Panel Cleaning
- Solar panel cleaning kits come in very handy for cleaning solar panels. Inside the kit, you will find a biodegradable soap, a wiper, and a small brush or brush with a longer handle. Mix the soap in the bucket with water. Instructions are provided on the bottle. Dip the brush in the bucket and begin gently wiping the solar panels.You can use plain water or a soft brush to remove any grime or dirt that has built up on the panels.
- How to clean solar panels has never gotten easier! Clean solar panels when they are moist or wet so any dirt so residue that is stuck on them can be wiped off easily.
- Never use an abrasive sponge or soap for your solar panel cleaning as you may scratch the glass. The best way to clean solar panels by using a soft rag or biodegradable soap.
- It is important not to use harsh materials when cleaning solar panels as they could cause damage, and solar panels are costly to repair.
- If you clean often, you might be able to just run a hose along the panels to remove any dirt. Fewer calls on solar panel maintenance.
- For your safety and the safety of others around you, use a long handled wiper to clean the panels while you are standing on the ground.
- If you must get on the roof, take proper care as once you begin cleaning, the roof becomes slippery and you could slide off when you get down, so use safety ropes or a harness for support.
- Always watch out for dirt on the solar panels to make sure it doesn’t build up since they can absorb sunlight better when they are free of dirt.
- Many people question, do solar panels need cleaning? – the answer is yes. Depending on the type of panel you have, you might be weekly or monthly in cleaning solar panels. Your solar panel manufacturer should be able to advise you on this for solar panel cleaning.
