Moss on pv

[Oz07]

Seen some panels with moss on today walking around. What's the way to keep this off? Regular cleaning or can you just stick a length of copper wire to the house ridge or at top of panels?

 

Edited Monday at 17:05 by Oz07

[Oz07]

[SteamyTea]

What orientation are those panels at.

Not really seen moss on south facing ones. But then we get a lot of rain and high winds here.

 

Regular cleaning is probably the easy way.

I have a floor cleaner that washes windows brilliantly.

[Oz07]

SE I would say

[Oz07]

This one as well maybe more SSW but you can see in full sun. Maybe older panels and protective coating wears off?

[Oz07]

9 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

What orientation are those panels at.

Not really seen moss on south facing ones. But then we get a lot of rain and high winds here.

 

Regular cleaning is probably the easy way.

I have a floor cleaner that washes windows brilliantly.

I just thought for the sake of a few blobs of silicone or something and a coil of copper wire when installing. Would it be effective or is that a myth?

[SteamyTea]

Not heard of them having a protective coating. Usually slightly dimpled, low reflective and transmittance, toughened glass.

 

Probably caused by sappy leaves off the nearby tree.

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Would it be effective or is that a myth?

Think it is a myth. If it worked, all rendered walls would have it.

 

[MikeGrahamT21]

Mine were advertised with a self cleaning coating, and it’s worked pretty well, when they first went up the water used to bead off them like crazy, now not so much. Had them cleaned a couple of years back, didn’t make a difference to power output but they looked a lot nicer.

 

There are coatings available which you can reapply to give repellent and anti reflective properties, but it’s hard to come by and super expensive. Most window cleaners should be able to clean them with a long pole.

 

This is the coating

 

https://www.nano-care.co.uk/product/solar-pv-panelguard/

[Oz07]

I'd be tempted to try to copper on a newbuild. It costs next to nothing while you're up there on the scaff. Id guess a window cleaner would want atleast 50 quid to clean them especially full 2 storey. That's a chunk out of your return each year

[SteamyTea]

Self cleaning glass has a tiny crisscross pattern etched into the surface. The ideas is that water droplets form easier (because of water's high surface tension and less glass area to act on).

Not very good long-term though.

 

We used to use RainX on the Steamroom ceilings, that worked well, as did a weak detergent solution.

[Oz07]

1 minute ago, SteamyTea said:

Self cleaning glass has a tiny crisscross pattern etched into the surface. The ideas is that water droplets form easier (because of water's high surface tension and less glass area to act on).

Not very good long-term though.

 

We used to use RainX on the Steamroom ceilings, that worked well, as did a weak detergent solution.

You're the science boffin whats the theory on the copper?

[SteamyTea]

40 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

You're the science boffin whats the theory on the copper

More botany than Physics, but I think it is to do with polar forces i.e. repulsion between surfaces, and cell membrane rupturing, which is caused by polar forces, but attraction to the cell nuclei, which breaks the cell wall.

 

Quite simply, and as with most things, if it worked reliably, it would be common practice.

 

https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/University_of_Kentucky/CHE_103%3A_Chemistry_for_Allied_Health_(Soult)/05%3A_Properties_of_Compounds/5.03%3A_Polarity_and_Intermolecular_Forces

Edited Monday at 19:25 by SteamyTea