How often should I clean Solar Panels?

[Chloe Murph]

Hey guys!

I have installed a Solar Panel in my home 8 months back. My intention was to reduce the electricity bill. I have been using utility bill tracking since the installation and I can see a the difference clearly. In addition to saving bill, I am happy to use natural means to find electricity for my domestic needs.
I have a concern though. I have heard that these panels need to be cleaned every 6 months or so. This article: http://solution105.com/keep-it-clean-keep-it-green-the-importance-of-solar-panel-cleaning/ says it should be cleaned every 6-12 months. How often should I clean solar panels to keep its efficiency high. Is there anything I can do to keep it good for longer?

[Rob Beckers]

Chloe, does it rain regularly where you live? Or, is it particularly dusty?

Most places on this planet get enough rain to clean off the panels regularly without any extra work on the home owner's part. Some locations do not get much rain, and have enough dust blowing around, that cleaning the panels makes a difference.

For example, I've never cleaned the panels on my roof, nor do I know anyone around here that did. It rains often enough for nature to take care of that.

-RoB-

[Ralph Day]

The only panel I clean is on my house trailer, it sits flat on the roof, dust accumulates, but a wet cloth wipedown cleans it up after the winter.

Ralph

[Dave Schwartz]

I have cleaned my panels a few times per season but only when the rains have not done it for me. Seems we don't get regular gentle rains here anymore... mostly its a 3 or 4 week drought followed by a two-inch deluge.

I live in an agricultural area and in the spring there is lots of dust and pollen floating around. On mornings when there is heavy dew this forms a yellowish mud that builds up in thin, baked-on layers. If it hasn't rained in a couple of weeks this becomes quite obvious. My array is on the south side of the garage roof so I take a pressure washer up to the ridge from the north slope and sluice them down. I only do this at dusk when the panels are cool. Sometimes when the pollen is particularly thick and sticky I will spray some Simple Green on the wet panels and wipe with an 18' window-washing pole.

Of course, I have a 'roof rake' for the snow in the winter but you may not have that problem.

[Chloe Murph]

Thank you so much! My area does get rain, but not very often. When it rains, it rains a lot. We don't have much trouble with dust, but there may be dust accumulated over months.
So I guess, all the rain I am getting does the job well for me? That's a good news. :)

[Green Match]

Solar Panels don't require that much maintenance in order to preserve them, however, wiping them down every once in a while helps encourage its date to last. Check out further on Greenmatch to see other great features of Solar Panels [Mod: removed gratuitous advertising]

[Ian Speer]

We have little rain and dust to contend with in Western Australia and the municipal water supply comes from a desalination plant (from the ocean) thus there is a measurable salt content which causes salt rings and water marks if you use it to wash panels.

We use deionised water to wash the panels and the cars it does a great job and you need little detergent as well.

Ian

[Mabel Smith]

Solar panel usually don’t take much maintenance risk because it has got self cleaning capability but only issue is bird droppings can build up over time and impact on the amount electricity generated by a module. I lost my old solar panel and we couldn’t fix it because I was not cleaning it much…:sad:

Now I have purchased new product for here [Admin: Gratuitous advertising link removed] and its giving very good performance but I could see bird droppings are not really affecting its performance :bigsmile: or might be its not effecting because I’m cleaning it 3 months once… Cleaning I’m doing this way, clean your panels from the ground if possible. A good quality soft brush and a squeegee with a plastic blade on one side and a cloth covered sponge on the other coupled with a long extension can make for the perfect tools allowing you to stay on the ground. Use a hose with a suitable nozzle to allow the stream of water to reach the panels. Hope this information will help you to maintain your solar panel well.:)

[Awais Butt]

Hey guys!

I have installed a Solar Panel in my home 8 months back. My intention was to reduce the electricity bill. I have been using utility bill tracking since the installation and I can see a the difference clearly. In addition to saving bill, I am happy to use natural means to find electricity for my domestic needs.
I have a concern though. I have heard that these panels need to be cleaned every 6 months or so. This article: http://solution105.com/keep-it-clean-keep-it-green-the-importance-of-solar-panel-cleaning/ says it should be cleaned every 6-12 months. How often should I clean solar panels to keep its efficiency high. Is there anything I can do to keep it good for longer?

Rooftop solar panels get dirty primarily from wind-blown dust and pollen. Birds are usually not a problem unless your last name is Hitchcock and you live in Bodega Bay. As panels get dirtier, their output declines. A small amount of soiling — say a light dusty film — may only cause a 5 percent output decline. However, when panels get very dirty — perhaps in an agricultural area or location that does not get regular rainfall — the output decline can be greater than 20 percent. A good heavy rainstorm will usually wash away most of the accumulated soiling.

I use the term "usually" because on panels that are tilted at about 5 degrees or less, the rain may leave a puddle of muddy debris along the lower edge of the panel. When this puddle dries, sometimes a thick layer of dirt accumulates along the lower row of cells (sometimes moss and weeds may even grow in these areas). Depending on the design of the system, this small accumulation of dirt can cause a very significant decrease in output. This article is really helpful: http://www.reonenergy.com/how-often-should-i-clean-my-solar-panels/