Does anyone wash their PV solar panels?

sevenhills

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

[quote=[Deleted User];discussion/5693093]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?[/QUOTE]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.

phsci

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

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.