Soaps can leave a film or residue that not only shades panels like the dirt that was just washed off but it can also encourage dirt to stick and build up faster said daniel green bland.
Cleaners for solar panels.
The same study also found that rain is not a satisfying way of cleaning solar panels.
California based solar installer and maintenance provider bland company never uses a cleaning agent on solar panels instead relying on deionized water and a rotating brush system to wash solar panels.
Solar panels that were cleaned professionally had a 12 higher output of electricity compared to those cleaned by rain.
We ll get to the best way to clean your solar panels in a minute.
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.
This is where cleaning solar panels may have to be done.
The day your solar panels are installed is the day you will get the best performance out of them.
Admittedly it is a very shallow hill and it might take over 40 years to get to the bottom but day one is going to be as good as it gets.
Google did a study on the need to clean solar panels.
They found that tilted panels don t require cleaning as much as flat panels.
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.
As soon as your panels are out in the open in the clean air or not so clean air dust.
Grime and bird poop doesn t need to cover an entire panel to have an effect.
One of the reasons for this is dirt.
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.
After that it is all down hill.
Your solar panels need to be exposed to sunlight in order to produce power.