Do solar power panels require regular cleaning to maintain top efficiency or does the occasional rainstorm complete the job? The facts are. It depends. In some cases, rain or snowfall may clean a lot of the dust buildup, however in certain conditions, it could do more harm than good. In both climates that are dry more humid ones, environmental factors, different types of dust, and location and installation facets will all influence:
- How dust that much will gathers on buildings in the long run.
- How much of an effect dust buildup will have on the energy manufacturing of solar panels.
- Whether rainfall will wash the dust off enough to revive panels of at minimum 95 percent of top performance levels.
Does rain help or hurt? How much?
In research conducted in Spain, researchers measured an average performance decrease of just 4.4% after a year’s worth of dust buildup. Most solar panel owners could probably live with that. But the study also discovered that in “long periods without rain. Day-to-day energy losses are higher than 20 percent.”1 So, in a climate that is dry dust buildup is the main problem, the problem remains pretty simple: a lack of rain results in dust buildup that might get progressively worse the longer the dry spell lasts.
Meanwhile, normal rain can rinse away dust and keep solar panels producing at around 95 percent of the maximum capacity. That conclusion may cause you to assume that solar panel systems in climates with regular rainfall should require less maintenance. Not too fast! Many of the right time there’re more towards the equation than simply dust. Pollen, bird droppings, leaves, ash, and a hazy film that can form whenever smog or smoke hangs heavy in the atmosphere can all combine as a layer of surface soiling, which could or may not wash away in the rain. Here’s a report from Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews2 that digs into the countless complex variables involved. The investigation concludes that allowing rain to perform some work of cleaning solar panels is just a decision that is fine, and just if, you live in the proper kind of place, such as:
- A spot where dust accounts for all the buildup that forms on solar panels.
- A place where the makeup of the dust is such that rain will effectively away wash it.
- A place where it rains with the frequency that is right keep dust buildup from depleting the energy production of solar panels. Think about it: then why is the car wash everyone’s first stop when a rainstorm ends if rain was really an effective method of cleaning? A little rain might not clean anything with the wrong combination of pollutants. It may just become the basic ingredient that combines a group of contaminants into a type or sort of slurry. Just to illustrate: the account of one family staying in a rainforest that is temperate the environment completely rules down dust as a issue. Three years after installing their solar power panels, they noticed a 10 percent performance falls. They got a canned answer about how the frequency of rain in their area should prevent any significant buildup from forming when they called locally installed to ask about cleaning services. Nevertheless when a window washer who they fundamentally hired went around clean their panels, he found a sticky haze that is brown he said wasn’t prone to rinse down in the rain. Then when the panels were cleaned, the homeowner stated that efficiency jumped back up by 20 percent, surpassing their production that is original level 10 %!3
If rainfall won’t do the trick alone, how can you determine if cleaning is worthwhile?
If you’ve had solar panels cleaned for a while—a year, maybe more—you’ve most likely noticed how their energy production differ from month to month due to weather modifications and the sun’s changing position overhead as the seasons progress. With a little bit of expertise monitoring your solar array, you’ll learn how fluctuation that is much expected over the course of per year. You’ve come to expect. Dirty panels could be the main factor if you start noticing reduced output at a time when weather patterns seem on par with what. If or when that happens, consider these questions:
- Do your panel lie pretty flat between zero and five degrees? If therefore, they may accumulate more surface soiling than others.
- Do you live downwind from a highway, airport, or farmland? If so, the air in your area may carry high quantity of dust.
- Is rainfall sparse enough to allow heavy dirt buildup? If so, your panels may have to be at minimum sprayed off with water.
- Do you reside in area susceptible to pollution from industrial smog or wildfire smoke? If so, you could locate a film that is hazy the surface of your solar panels which could maybe not rinse down.
- Is your house surrounded by tall trees? If so, you might find a buildup of fallen leaves and/or bird droppings in your panels.
- Have you simply come through a season of high pollen count? If so, you may find a residue that is sticky prevents rain from washing dirt and dust away.
- Is your local climate humid enough for moss to grow around your home? If so, you can’t assume rain is maintaining your panels clean? Rain may function as the issue.
Ideally, you want to completely clean your panels in a manner that recommendations of the stability between expense, work, and the potential efficiency improvements to your benefit. If it seems clear your panels need to be cleaned one way or another. The next phase would be to figure out the way that is best. At that time, consider this next directory of questions, based on your observations.
- Does the buildup seem to be mostly just or are here more sticky substances like bird droppings, pollen, and smoke within the mix?
- Is it possible to spray your panels off with a hose from the ground or will a ladder is needed for you?
- Is there a way either that is safe ladder or otherwise to climb onto your roof if necessary?
- Are you panels mounted far enough from the edges of the roof yourself to safely reach each one that you can move around and position?
- Do your roof materials and roof pitch create a safe platform to work from? Or is it excessive, steep, fragile, and/or slippery?