I tell my clients to wash your panels like you’d wash your car. Similar soaps if needed to remove pollen or harder to remove things and softer bristle brushes help.
Doing it during the heat of the day means a larger chance of mineral deposits vs cooler times depending on your water.
Myself I don’t think I’ve cleaned any of my panels in many years.
Of course you might live in a place that it’s needed because of a larger drop off in performance.
As to the shock part I agree it’s a thing. With rain it never starts as much volume you can do with a hose. Even heavy showers build up which allows the panel to cool over a longer period of time vs blasting it with a hose.
My 2 cents.
Jay
On Oct 20, 2023, at 4:32 PM, August Goers via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
I now live in a more rural part of California and the dust buildup and bird droppings on my modules cuts energy production down by about 5% during the dry months. I imagine that professional cleaning services would still cost more than the recouped energy production, especially since the dirt builds back up in just a couple of weeks.
Anyway, I've had good luck spraying down my array with water and then using a long squeegee similar to but larger than the type they have at gas stations. The sponge side is helpful to scrub the buildup off and the squeegee side helps avoid water spots. Typically no cleanser is necessary, although a mild car wash mix can help if there is sooty or oily buildup.
It is satisfying to see clean panels, even if it isn't recommended for most homeowners :)
August
Jason,
This is the way thermal shock was explained to me. Thermal shock
creates micro fractures in the glass. PV modules have tough
tempered glass so one thermal shock event, or a few dozen events,
is unlikely to cause a module to fracture; but eventually the
glass gets to the last straw when the micro fractures connect to
each other and the whole pane breaks up. You can't do much about
sun showers but you can certainly avoid spraying the hose on hot
glass.
Kent Osterberg
Blue Mountain Solar
On 10/20/2023 1:47 PM, Jason Szumlanski
via RE-wrenches wrote:
I don't understand the thermal shock nonsense. It routinely
starts downpouring here when it's blazing hot out (sun
showers) and the rain is way cooler than ground water in
summer. It makes no sense. If hose water from the ground is
going to hurt solar panels, you better not put them where it
rains!
I replied privately to Dana, but for the
benefit of the group, it takes a heavy soiling to make any
appreciable difference. I have done numerous tests at times
of high pollen and found little to no benefit to cleaning
solar panels. Certainly it would not be worth paying someone
to do it. Other climates may have different results. My
suggestion would be to test first. Module level power
electronics can provide incontrovertible proof.
Jason
Hi Dana,
See attached from REC. I would imagine these
guidelines would apply to all modules.
Cheers,
Dave
Hey ally ‘all,
Ok bad solar
installer! 7 years & I have never
cleaned my modules & live on a dirt
road. Yeah rain does a good job with the
dust but there is a film mostly on the
edges.
What does everyone
do for cleaning?
My array is 16’+
tall on a hill side. I have a pressure
washer & was going to pick up a large
sponge type mop & mount it on a painters
extension pole.
Good Biodegradable
cleaning solutions?
_________________________________________________________
Dana
Orzel GREAT
SOLAR WORKS!
C
– 208.721.7003 E – d...@solarwork.com
W
- www. greatsolarworks.com
www.solarwork.com
“Responsible Technologies
for Responsible People since 1988!”
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