People who have solar – whether it’s residential solar panels or commercial solar panels – all have one thing in common: They want to make sure their solar panels produce as much energy as possible. After all, solar panels are a big investment, so making sure to make the most of them is a high priority for all solar owners.
The most efficient way to make sure you optimize your solar panel production is by keeping your panels clean. So if you’re asking yourself “do I need to clean my solar panels?”, the answer is YES.
It’s actually quite simple: if your solar panels are dirty, they produce less electricity – and that defeats the purpose of you getting solar panels in the first place because your electricity bill will then be higher than you expected. The dirt (or soiling as it is often called) can actually get so bad that it steals 30 percent of the energy the solar panels are in fact capable of producing. So solar panel cleaning should absolutely be a high priority for solar owners.
“We come across many people who simply are not aware of the importance of keeping their solar panels clean. They do not know the effect soiling has on the productivity, so they don’t make it a priority. As a result, they are not getting the most out of their panels – and some even add more panels to their system later on to make up for lost production but that’s a costly solution”, said Matthew Casey, CEO of RST CleanTech Solutions, North America.
Let’s start with one very common misconception: Depending on the rain is not the answer! In fact, light rain makes it worse, because it binds the dirt to the panels, making it harder to get off.
There is a wide range of professional solar panel cleaning options available, and the important part is to make sure they get the job done without compromising the warranty or ending up costing you more than your panels save you. Unfortunately, some solar panel cleaning methods will do just that, so make sure to do your research on the different types of solar panel cleaning. As a rule of thumb, stay away from methods that use abrasive materials, methods that clean during the day when your panels are hot (as it can cause the panels to experience thermal stress and crack) – and methods that require having people walk on your roof when they clean, as that can be a liability to the homeowner.
The safest and most economical solar panel cleaning method is one that cleans the panels automatically – and regularly so the dirt doesn’t build back up. RST CleanTech is the first economical solution to solar panel soiling. It is fully automated and rinses the panels several times a week to make sure they stay clean and keep production to a maximum.
