Clean them only if you want them to work at peak efficiency. Dirty (commonly referred to as “soiled”) panels can degrade system performance by as much as 30%. Even those panels marketed as “self-cleaning” rely on frequent rain to rinse away the ongoing collection of pollutants, dust, pollen, ash, and insect or bird droppings. With that logic, we can argue that cars, windows, decks, houses, and driveways are self-cleaning, too. Correct? We live in Southern California. Frequent summer rains? Get real.
A photovoltaic system performs best with completely unobstructed access to the suns rays for most or all of each day. Soiled solar panels should be cleaned a minimum of every 6 months to keep them operating optimally.
Even if you could see your panels, and even if you could reach your panels, doesn’t mean that standing on a tile roof with a garden hose is the easy answer. With luck, you may dissolve the rock-hard bird poop, but you will start creating layers of mineral build-up courtesy of the SCV’s hard water. Panel manufacturer’s recommend cleaning with a soft brush and using only deionized water. Deionized water is created by passing tap water through an electrically charged resin which removes calcium, sodium, and chlorides. Deionized water leaves a spot-free finish that is more resistant to dirt accumulation and provides a better, more long-lasting result.
You made a significant investment to reduce your energy costs. Water deionizing systems are expensive, tile roofs are fragile, and ladders can be dangerous; we urge you to leave solar panel cleaning to the professionals. Let Window Genie help preserve your system efficiency with water-fed pole and deionized water technology to safely and effectively clean your solar panels.
For more information on Window Genie of Santa Clarita please call 661-568-6768 or visit our website:www.windowgenie.com/santaclarita.