How To Clean Your Residential Solar Panels

There are many good reasons to consider installing solar panels on your home. The technology is becoming more affordable and accessible to people, and the savings that sustainable energy can award you can reduce your utility bills over the months. Having a solar panel system may be worth the investment, but only if you take the time to take care of it. One of the most important steps is knowing how to clean your residential solar panels because clean panels can help you get the most energy out of your system.

How Often Should You Clean?

A common question that people have about cleaning their solar panels is how often you need to do it. The truth may depend on where you live and what elements your panels have to deal with. If you live in areas with dust storms or live closer to freeways, you may need to get up there and clean them more often.

Traditionally speaking, we recommend climbing up to give your panels a thorough clean at least once every six months. You can always do more if you want, but remember to practice safety and wear protective gear when climbing up to access your panels on roofs or other dangerous areas.

Removing Obstructions

The most common things that you will have to deal with when cleaning your solar panels are smaller obstructions. Things like leaves that fall off trees or those thoughtless gifts from local birds can pile up and create larger problems for your system. When your panels can’t get enough direct sunlight, it can cause shading, which may dramatically reduce the amount of power that you get. In order to minimize solar panel shading, we recommend trimming trees and other obstructions to keep your panels as clear as possible.

Wiping the Panels

When figuring out how to clean your residential solar panels, think about how you would clean your windows. You want to use a safe cleaner that won’t leave streaks on the exterior of the panel. Harsh cleaners with a lot of chemicals may corrode your panels’ surfaces and can make them less effective over time. Try to avoid abrasive cleaning brushes or cloth and use something soft like a microfiber cloth to avoid scratches.

Check out this post on natural cleaning products you can make yourself.