Solar Panel Cleaning

“Solar panel cleaning is vital to the overall performance of your system”

Maintaining your solar system with regular solar panel cleaning by a professional is extremely important in order to save money and protect your investment long term.

One thing that dramatically affects the performance of your solar power is dirty solar panels. Without professional cleaning dirty solar panels can:
• Affect your overall output performance resulting in reduced savings
• Affect your solar panel warranty
• Can be a fire hazard with animals nesting underneath

Solar panels operate by light being absorbed by the solar cells. The more light that is absorbed by the cells, the more power the system has. If dirt, dust, salt, animal droppings or any other grime even marginally covers sections of the panel, the light will not pass through to the cells with the same strength. This is the main reasons for cleaning.

“Dirty Solar panels may void your solar panel warranty”

Cleaning is recommended by virtually all solar panel manufacturer warranty documents. Dirt build up can damage your solar panels and may void your warranty. Neglect could be used against you and compromise a claim should your solar panels fail or become inefficient. The best practice is to clean your solar panels regularly by a professional.

Your solar panel provider/installer may have sold you the system as self-cleaning. The truth is they’re not and need to be cleaned by a professional trained, experienced and licensed solar panel expert.

We only use high tech water purification equipment. Our ion exchange resin filter produces 100% pure water. Calcium in untreated tap water can leave impurities that can harm the solar panel coating. Many manufacturers state that their panels must be cleaned with de-ionised water to avoid invalidating the warranty. No harsh chemicals are used so it is safe for us, our children, pets, garden and the environment.

Here on the Gold Coast and Tweed Coast your solar panels are exposed to the harsh Queensland elements: pollution, traffic dust, dirt, salt residue, mould and animal soiling baked on by the sun. This can reduce your solar savings by up to 30%. And it only takes one cell performing less to reduce the whole systems performance.

Bird/Rodent/Bat Droppings:

Animal soiling can corrode your solar panels. Droppings are not effectively washed off by rainwater alone and are especially stubborn after being baked on by the sun.

Rain:
Rain can leave its own reside that reduces your ROI. This is more likely to happened ruing summer months when evaporation can leave a mineral residue.

Salt:
Properties within close proximity to the coast should be monitored for additional salt build-up.

Air Pollution:
The combustion of fossil fuels from roads lead to increased dirt build up on your solar panels.

Dust:
There is always a degree of atmospheric dust. Some areas have a higher concentration than others and are prone to a build-up of dust.

With every solar panel clean we can provide you with:

1. A simple scheduled maintenance plan
If you stick to an annual maintenance schedule, you will maximise your savings and preserve the life of your solar system for as long as possible. Luckily solar power systems require little maintenance; however, this does not mean the small amount they require isn’t vital for system performance.

2. A complimentary condition report with every clean
With every clean we report on the health and performance of your system commenting on the condition of the panel mounts, frames, solar panels, shading, animal nesting and animal soiling which can be provided to your supplier to meet your ‘solar panel maintenance obligations’.

3. Experienced, trained, certified and licensed technicians
Our technicians will be working at heights so all have an EWP License (Elevated work platform over 11M Licence). Solar panel cleaning training is very important to ensure your home, solar panel system and the people cleaning your asset are kept safe.

4. Only high tech water purification equipment is used
Our ion exchange resin filter produces 100% pure water. Calcium in untreated tap water can leave impurities that can harm the solar panel coating. Many manufacturers state that their panels must be cleaned with de-ionised water to avoid invalidating the warranty. No harsh chemicals are used so it is safe for us, our children, pets, garden and the environment.

How often to do my solar panels need cleaning?

We recommend cleaning your solar panels at a minimum once every 6 months. Each property has its own unique environmental surroundings affecting dirt and grime build-up and may require cleaning more often. When dirt begins gathering along the lower edge of your panels this is a good indicator that they need cleaning. Remember cleaner solar panels will produce more electricity and help you save more money off your energy bill.

What are my solar panels made of?

Your solar cells are carefully placed in a series of rows and are connected using a thin conductive strip. This strip is woven over and under each silicon cell so that every cell in the solar panel is connected and creates an electrical circuit. The solar cells are then covered with a heavy duty piece of glass and framed using an aluminium frame. On the back of every solar panel are two leads which are used to connect individual solar panels together to form an array of solar panels which are connected to your solar inverter.

How do solar panels work?

Your solar panels capture the sun’s ultraviolet rays and generate a Direct Current (DC), before being converted to an Alternating Current (AC) in the solar inverter. The way solar energy works is pretty clever, but you’d be surprised to learn if the panels are dirty, broken or partly covered by shade your savings can be significantly reduced reducing your overall ROI. Studies show this kind of situation can lead to a 30% decrease in efficiency for the entire system. Even if one cell is performing less this can reduce the whole arrays performance.

Will cleaning affect the warranty on my solar panels?

Not cleaning your solar panels may void your solar panel warranty. Warranties are based on placing the highest care possible regular maintenance is highly recommended to ensure any issue is covered by your warranty. Dirty solar panels can begin to corrode and will not be covered by the product’s manufacturer warranty. So it is absolutely vital to clean these panels regularly by a professional.

Won’t the rain clean my solar panels?

Think about your car’s windscreen. If you parked your car outside for a couple of weeks the dirt and road grime build-up would make it difficult to see through if you didn’t clean it. Even if it rained you would still need to clean it with the windscreen wipers or other means – and even then with ore driving it would get to dirty to see through again.

Can’t I clean my solar panels myself?

Climbing on top of your roof with a bucket full of slippery soapy suds, sponge, and hose can be dangerous, especially without the correct safety gear. You are putting yourself at risk and can potentially injure yourself.

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