Cleaning your solar PV system is a crucial maintenance requirement. Cleaning your Solar PV System helps optimize efficiency, as a dirty Solar PV System can lead to reduced electricity production.
Generally, it is important to carry out solar panel cleaning every six months or twice a year to maintain effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency. However, depending on your location, the pollution, and the dirt level, you may have to carry out your solar cleaning regularly.
But why should you clean your Solar PV System, and what happens if you fail to clean it?
Here are reasons why you should clean your Solar PV System:
Benefits of Cleaning Your Solar PV System
Increased Lifespan
Maintaining your solar farm gives it a longer lifespan, making it serve you for a longer time. Interestingly, cleaning your solar panels is easy. With specific cleaning products for solar, you can remove debris and dust that might have stained your panels.
Aesthetic Appeal
Just as cleaning your home is important, cleaning your solar panel is equally an important maintenance requirement. Cleaning your system is essential to maintaining your panels and enhancing their aesthetics.
Enhanced Efficiency
Solar panels absorb the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity. If the panels are littered with debris and dirt, the amount of solar energy reaching your panels will reduce, resulting in reduced efficiency. Since the atmosphere can be dusty, solar farms need regular maintenance to maximize efficiency.
Inspection
Solar panel cleaning is a way of having a closer inspection of them. The perfect time to evaluate and inspect the condition of your Solar PV System is when cleaning them. When you hire a professional solar cleaning company, they can easily notice any damage that can reduce your system’s performance and proffer a solution.
Warranty
Solar farms usually get a warranty of about twenty-five years. Unfortunately, many warranties don’t cover damages due to negligence in maintaining the system, which includes proper cleaning.
However, regularly cleaning your system gives you the peace of mind of claiming your warranty when you need it.
What Happens if You Don’t Clean Your Panel
If you don’t clean your solar PV system, it can lead to reduced efficiency. There will be an accumulation of dirt, bird droppings, leaves, and other debris on the solar panels, decreasing the sunlight that gets into the cells and reducing the quantity of energy produced.
Also, you may not enjoy warranty coverage if proof shows that you don’t clean your panels when a malfunction happens.
Additionally, when you don’t clean your panels, soft grains of sand and dust particles in the environment can build up over time, cutting your system’s lifespan.
Besides, not cleaning your solar farm will reduce its aesthetic appeal. This means your panels will lose their shiny look and wear a dirt-covered look. Plus, your return on investment time is reduced as you spend more money when your Solar PV System begins to underperform.
Conclusion
Cleaning your solar panels is pretty important. It is highly advisable to clean your solar panels so they can perform optimally.
However, while you may want to try cleaning your Solar PV System on your own, going for professional hands is the best way to go. Hiring a professional utility solar cleaning service helps ensure your system is professionally cleaned.