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Five Myths About Cleaning Solar Panels

Ashleigh AngellNovember 1, 2018 1113 0

Five Myths About Cleaning Solar Panels

When cleaning your solar panels, there are a lot of myths that go around, including the myth that you don’t need to even clean your panels in the first place. You’ll want to make sure you keep your panels as efficient as possible, but you might be confused with all the conflicting information going around about how to properly clean your panels and whether or not you need to do it at all. Keep reading this blog to learn the five most common myths about cleaning your solar panels and what the facts are so you can keep your solar panels as clean and efficient as possible.

“You don’t need to clean your solar panels.”

Solar panels do need to be cleaned, though it’s not as often as you might think. If they aren’t cleaned, a layer of dirt and grime will build up which will prevent light from reaching the photovoltaic cells. This means they won’t function efficiently. Also, if you don’t have your solar panels cleaned and checked regularly, you won’t know if squirrels are chewing on the wires or the frame is cracking, or anything else that can cause major damage down the road. Just clean them off with a hose whenever you start noticing buildup.

“It’s easy to climb up and clean your solar panels!”

Do not climb up on your roof to clean your panels! It’s extremely dangerous. And the roof becomes even more dangerous when it’s wet – like when you are cleaning solar panels. Furthermore, you can’t use cleaning chemicals because they might damage the coating, and you can’t use tap water because it might leave mineral deposits.

“You don’t need an inspection before cleaning your panels.”

Actually, there is a risk of lethal electrocution from cleaning solar panels. If the glass has cracked, either from a branch falling, a rogue golf ball hitting it, or even a bird of prey dropping a critter on it, the electric unit is exposed. You know enough about bathtubs and hair dryers to know that mixing electricity and water hardly ever ends well. This is why we inspect your solar panels before attempting to clean them.

“Commercial solar panels need to be cleaned the most.”

The award for most frequent solar panel cleaning actually goes to farms. Many farmers have solar panels on top of chicken houses or barns, where they are exposed to massive amounts of dirt and are placed at shallow angles where they do not get well washed off during the rain. Agricultural solar panels need to be professionally cleaned every couple of months.

“You save the most by having your panels cleaned.”

Actually, this depends on the price you are paying to have the cleaning done. You’re getting a certain benefit from producing electricity with your solar panel, and you lose a certain amount of money from having it stay dirty. You need to make sure that the money you save from having your solar panel clean is greater than the price you pay to have it cleaned. Some solar panel cleaning companies charge more than you save. This means you need to make sure you find the perfect solar panel company in order to properly clean your solar panels.

Want to learn more myths and true facts about solar panels and your solar system? Check out the HahaSmart blog for how best to keep your solar system running as good as possible!

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