Installing solar panels is an excellent investment to save energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint. To ensure you’re making the most of your solar panels, you must keep them running in tip-top shape. Not to worry, solar panels require very little maintenance. The most common type of maintenance required is cleaning, along with an annual inspection to ensure everything is in place.
Cleaning Your Solar Panels
The most common culprits are dust and debris. Organic matter can also accumulate, such as bird droppings or leaves from nearby trees. These obstructions will reduce the efficiencies of solar panels, as they cannot fully absorb the sunlight.
If your solar panels are installed on a tilt, rain can help to wash away any dust and debris. However, in Singapore, most solar panels are installed facing upwards; therefore it still requires some cleaning. Read more to see how you can keep your solar panels clean.
Cleaning Do's and Don'ts
Do's:
- Clean all the dust and debris that has accumulated on the panel.
- Use water to clean the panels. If necessary, you can also use isopropyl alcohol to remove stubborn stains, such as oil smudges and bird droppings.
- Finish up with a squeegee. You want to ensure that the panels are clean with no water streaks, as it will reduce the panels’ efficiency.
- Clean when it’s not too hot. The ideal time to clean your solar panel is in the early morning or early evening when the temperature is not too hot. Doing this will help to prevent injury while cleaning and cause less interruption to your solar energy production during the day.
Don'ts:
- Don’t use hot water to clean a cold panel (e.g. in the evening) or vice versa. Doing this might cause a vast temperature difference on the glass surface, causing it to break.
- Don’t use high pressure to clean. It might be tempting to use pressure washers and hose down all the debris, but it might cause more harm than good. Doing so will put unnecessary pressure on the glass, scratching the surfaces and reducing the panels' efficiency.
- Don’t use household cleaners or any other abrasive materials to clean up. Same as above, you want to keep the cleaning process as gentle as possible to prevent any damage to the panels.
Annual Maintenance
Aside from the solar panel cleaning, it is recommended to get your solar PV systems inspected annually to ensure that everything is in order and working optimally. Ideally, you should engage a Licensed Electricity Worker (LEW) to conduct these annual maintenances. If you are on solar leasing / solar PPA plans, your contractor will usually conduct all of these annual maintenances at no cost to you.
The annual maintenances should ensure that:
- Solar panels are clean, secure, and free of debris or any obstructions.
- There is no visible damage to the solar panels, inverters, and other electrical components.
- There is no visible deterioration or corrosion on any components.
- There are no exposed cables.
- All components are securely attached without any loose fittings.
- There is no abnormal temperature detected on the electrical components.
- The performance of the solar PV system is within the optimal range.
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