Does anyone wash their PV solar panels?

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  • sevenhills
    sevenhills Posts: 5,838
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    I have 8 panels and one of them is covered in bird poo, as my aerial is a perching place for the birds, although I have never seen birds perching.
    I am thinking about buying a long cleaning pole, and getting my aerial moved.
  • NigeWick
    NigeWick Posts: 2,714
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    mmmmikey wrote: »
    Hi, just moved to a house with solar panels and having fun playing with energy monitors. Quick questions - does anyone wash their panels? How, DIY, window cleaner or professional service? Is it worthwhile?
    TBH, I just tend to remove bird droppings as I feel they may cause damage. Dust etc seems to get washed off in heavy rain. Like Martyn, I've got an extendy poley thingy.
    The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.
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  • phsci
    phsci Posts: 70
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    NigeWick wrote: »
    TBH, I just tend to remove bird droppings as I feel they may cause damage. Dust etc seems to get washed off in heavy rain. Like Martyn, I've got an extendy poley thingy.
    Me too. However, see:
    "Carbon pollutants from human activity can build up on solar panels, causing a 25 per cent drop in performance in some places. Cleaning the panels more often might reduce the problem – but can damage panels"
    https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23531323-900-60-seconds/
    " On the basis of current solar generation capacity, PM is responsible for ∼1 and ∼11 GW of solar power reduction in India and China, respectively, underscoring the large role that PM plays in reducing solar power generation output."
    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00197
  • ASavvyBuyer
    ASavvyBuyer Posts: 1,737
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    NigeWick wrote: »
    TBH, I just tend to remove bird droppings as I feel they may cause damage. Dust etc seems to get washed off in heavy rain. Like Martyn, I've got an extendy poley thingy.
    Similar, I use an extendy pole with a brush on the end (window cleaner pole) to brush off bird poo and any leaves that stick. The rain here tends to wash most off though.

    However, have notice a bit of algae forming on the bottom edge of the panels that does not shift with the brush on a pole. We live in a bungalow, so planning to get up on the roof and wipe it off with a soft damp cloth.
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