Solar Panel Cleaning & Maintenance
No system in the world is maintenance free and solar energy systems are no exception. Regular cleaning and maintenance will ensure the longest possible lifespan for your solar panels.
For residential clients it is recommended to have your solar panels cleaned at least once every 6 months. For commercial clients once every 3 months are preferred due to the fact that more electricity is used at commercial level. Clean solar panels will produce more electricity and yield a higher ROI (return on investment). Clean solar panels will ensure that your solar energy system always performs at its optimal efficiency.
Research has shown that dirty solar panels can cause a massive decline in energy production of as much as 25%-35%. This has a huge impact on your electricity bill and with load shedding in South Africa most businesses cannot afford a 35% decline in solar energy production.
Solar panels are connected in-series. This means that if one panel is not preforming effectively it will cause strain and a notable decline in the whole systems energy production. One cause of this may be due to soft/hard shadows on your solar panels that prevent photons from reaching the PV cells inside the panel. Some cells will then work harder than others, causing hot spots inside your solar panel. This will cause cells in your panel to burn out and reduce the life span and efficiency of the panel’s energy production.
Soft shadows are caused by objects such as trees or buildings that temporary filter/ block sunlight from reaching the solar panel, while hard shadows are caused by anything that is directly on-top of your solar panel like dust, bird droppings, leafs, grime, lichen etc. This needs to be removed to ensure maximum efficiency of your solar panels and to reduce risk of damage through corrosion of the anti-reflective coating & seals as well as the potential development of hot-spots.
The anti-reflective coating on your solar panel is very important and its purpose is to reduce the amount of sunlight reflected away from the panel to allow more photons to be absorbed by the PV cells in the panel. A damaged anti-reflective coating will have a permanent negative impact on your solar systems energy production.
The seals on the sides of your solar panels are also at risk without proper cleaning and maintenance as certain corrosive elements left long enough can damage the seals and cause water ingress and other impurities to make their way inside the panels which will lead them to malfunction.