If you’ve considered going solar, you may have wondered about the process of keeping solar panels clean as time goes by. Do they need to be cleaned regularly? Do you need to hire a professional or can you clean them yourself? If they get dirty, how will that affect their effectiveness?
While it’s true that dust, pollen, and dirt can accumulate on solar panels, typically, the amount of buildup on panels does not adversely affect the amount of output that the panels produce. Rain does a good a job of clearing off most of the buildup that can occur, and it will usually get rid of existing grime on the panels.
Research from the University of San Diego shows that even during periods of drought, the decrease in solar output is less than 10%, meaning that it’s best to let nature do the job of keeping your solar panels clean.
However, if you have items blocking your panels that are not removed by rain, such as piles of leaves or bird droppings, a thorough cleaning may be required. In this case, you should always hire a professional to clean roof-mounted panels, for safety reasons. While it may seem easy enough to clean them off yourself, you don’t want to risk the chance of falling and hurting yourself or potentially damaging the panels.
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