to clean or not to clean solar PV?

[readiescards]

No rain here for all of June and still none in July so lots of solar pv generation ?

But lots of dust on my panels now.

 

Any advice regarding cleaning - wait for the rain, hose them down, brush the dust off?

 

Thanks

[jack]

Wow, you're not kidding about dust!

 

I can't see ours from the ground and have been meaning to go up on the (flat) roof for a couple of months now to check them. Your photo's given me the impetus to do it today!

 

Re: cleaning, I think some sort of detergent would be useful. Car washing detergent might be the ticket, as it's designed to be safe with paintwork etc.

 

Softened water might make it a little easier to get a streak-free finish, but if you did it in the rain (assuming it ever rains again!) I suppose that's as good.

[Ferdinand]

I used a micro fibre cloth on a continually running hose while it was raining. (!) Took about a day on a 10kWp system. Having the material softened really helped.

 

I have one of the pro window cleaning systems. There’s a thread about it if you hunt.

 

Worked well with tree fallings and some lichen in addition to dust.

 

Given that that is only about 3.4m high along the roof, a small ladder, bucket and sponge mop might have some impact. ideally a telescopic sponge mop.

 

Ferdinand

Edited July 10, 2018 by Ferdinand