A third issue is bird droppings which if heavy enough could block enough sunlight to make a cleaning necessary.
Do you have to clean solar panels.
However unless you live somewhere with high amounts of smog dust dirt or sand blowing around solar panel cleaning is generally not necessary in most cases occasional rain will be enough to naturally and safely keep your solar panels clean and free of debris that could lower production.
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.
At the very least you should do an annual cleaning of your panels.
The first thing you want to do is to check with your solar panel manufacturer.
If you do decide your solar panels need to be cleaned there are two main ways of doing it.
Companies specializing in cleaning solar panels generally say.
Many homeowners opt to clean their own solar panels.
This is where cleaning solar panels may have to be done.
A lot of solar companies will offer this type of service to you for a fee of course.
According to the clean energy council 2018 also saw a 45 per cent growth in commercial solar power systems.
In this article you will learn how to clean solar panels the right way.
But first let s look at when and why you might need to invest in solar panel cleaning equipment or hire a professional cleaning service.
Yes you have to clean your rooftop solar panels and you have to clean them regularly.
Do not use high pressure.
How to clean solar panels.
Using high pressure to clean the solar panels can force water to enter into the junction box or plugs that are not 100 sealed.
If you choose this approach remember that it is safer to do so on the ground where possible.
It s a good question and one with a lot of different answers.
Grime and bird poop doesn t need to cover an entire panel to have an effect.
One company selling an automated washing system says panels should be washed.
If you do not have access to de ionized or distilled water you can use a water softening hose attachment to filter those minerals.
This tends to result in a 3 to 5 increase in efficiency.
We ll get to the best way to clean your solar panels in a minute.
Most manufacturers recommend cleaning at least twice a year.
Your solar panels need to be exposed to sunlight in order to produce power.
How to clean solar panels.
If you do find it necessary to clean the panels and wish to carry out the task yourself contact the installer to find out if you should take any special precautions aside from not falling off the roof.
Hire a professional or do it yourself.
To help you we recommend you read our cleaning solar panels guide for more tips.
They found that tilted panels don t require cleaning as much as flat panels.
You can include a solar panel cleaning as part of your spring cleaning routine.
However cleaning is one aspect of solar panel maintenance that should not be taken lightly.
Some say panels need an annual scrub others say quarterly.
