Before cleaning your solar panels, be sure to follow these 8 great tips
A friend of mine recently sent me an email that I would like to share with everyone. Every Arizona home owner with solar panels know that the dust, the dirt, and the infrequent rains can dirty up the cleanest of solar panels. In her email, she details several precautions that a home owner should be aware of before hosing down a panel on the roof. She writes:
Homeowners should be very careful about cleaning solar panels. Here are some precautions:
- Many panel manufacturers will void your warranty if you use any chemical except water for cleaning your panels.
- Water from a garden hose has dissolved minerals. Using this water to clean panels can cause the minerals to coat out on the glass and reduce light transmission. It’s light from the sun, not heat, that produces electricity.
- My solar panels began operation on Aug. 22, 2008. That’s about three and one half years. I live in Goodyear, west side of Phoenix, where we have dust and dust storms. I have never cleaned my panels. My panels have out produced the expected production by 20.1%. Not cleaning the panels has apparently not reduced my output.
- Cleaning is sometimes necessary such as major dust storms that completely coat the panel surface. A soft dust cloth such as those used for cars works well.
- If it is necessary to remove contamination with water, use distilled water. That will not deposit minerals and will not void your warranty.
- A solar pioneer friend told me that he had personally conducted experiments to determine the impact of Arizona dust on solar panel output. He said that normal Arizona dust reduces the output very little and that cleaning can cause more damage than good.
- Shade will cause major reductions in solar panel output. Anything on your panels such as leaves from a tree will shade the panels and reduce output.
- And perhaps most importantly, homeowners should be careful on ladders and roofs. I have a neighbor who climbed a ladder to inspect his solar panels, fell and suffered a broken back. Safety First!
Thanks Dru for the great tips and expert advice! I would also add to the list that if you are in doubt, contact your solar installer for additional advice on how to properly clean your panels or hire a professional service that will do it for you.
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