Can You Power Wash Solar Panels

Power washers are good for a lot of things but cleaning solar panels is not one of them.

Can you power wash solar panels.

Most snow will melt fairly quickly as the dark solar panels attract heat and sunlight. Read more about solar and snow here. Many homeowners opt to clean their own solar panels. Pressure washers are too powerful to safely clean polar panels and can end up causing scratches or other damage.

Because you don t want to scratch the panels in any way it s best to use just water and a non abrasive sponge to apply soapy water. Performing solar panel cleaning is the best way to keep your solar power system performing it s best as well as receiving the maximum lifespan out of your solar panels. Once the panels reach 140 150 f the risk of cracking is much greater. The most effective way to clean your solar panels is with a hose and a bucket of soapy water.

Some of the sunniest places also don t get much rain which does a good job cleaning panels. One has to be extremely careful not to crack solar panels by washing them when they are too hot. Yes you have to clean your rooftop solar panels and you have to clean them regularly. One company selling an automated washing system says panels should be washed every couple of weeks.

Essentially in the same manner you would wash your car at home. Some say panels need an annual scrub others say quarterly. A basic temperature gun is good for checking surface temperature before cleaning. If you have dirty solar panels you could be loosing up to 30 efficiency out of your system.

Soaps can leave a film or residue that not only shades panels like the dirt that was just washed off but it can also encourage dirt to stick and build up faster said daniel green bland marketing director. The best way to clean solar panels is through professional help as of may 31 2020 australia now has more than 2 43 million solar power systems installed across rooftops. California based solar installer and maintenance provider bland company never uses a cleaning agent on solar panels instead relying on deionized water and a rotating brush system to wash solar panels. If your solar panels are dirty it s best to use a non abrasive sponge and soapy water.

Over time that can reduce much of your savings by using solar power. Solar panels become hot.