Great job. I live in So Cal. I have two strings that produce the same amount. I cleaned one string and it produced 7% more than the dirty string. Since I can do it myself, it is a no brainer to keep them clean.
I have an 18 panel system that produces 35 kWh per day in the summer and 22 kWh during the winter, grid tied. This is how I clean mine. From Lowe’s, I bought telescopic polar-arm. At min 8ft. max 24 ft. pole arm with a microfiber Velcro fastener. Use Water hose. No soap. No detergents. I clean mine twice a year. After pollen season in spring (May) and in November or December in Florida. My price? $4 to $6 in water bill. I have a lot of neighbors who also have Photovoltaic systems and they never clean them. They just let the rain during rainy season do the cleaning. The pollen would stay on their system for months. I know I needed to clean them since NASA had an issue with their mars rover would no longer charge due to the dust. What I have noticed, the roof where the panels are mounted, mold buildup happens on the shingles. That is what costly and takes up time for me.
In areas where electricity rates are very low, cleaning solar panels probably wouldn't make sense. But in reality, getting solar panels in the first place in areas where electricity is already cheap may not be a very good financial investment. But for areas with high rates, that's an entirely different story. In California, PG&E's current summer off-peak rates start at $.43/kWh on the lowest end, with peak rates being as high as $.62/kWh. I'll use $.50/kWhr to get an average price for the calculation below. Whether or not cleaning makes sense is simple math: For example, take a system designed to produce 10,000kWhrs of electricity over the course of a year. A 10% increase in production after cleaning(s) translates into an extra 1,000kWhrs. In dollar terms, that's 1,000kWhrs x $.50/kWhr = $500. As long as you're paying less than $500 for the cleaning(s), you're coming out ahead. If you are cleaning them yourself, you're pocketing the entire $500 yourself, so cleaning does make sense for almost everyone paying PG&E's ridiculously high rates. Since the vast majority of a system's production happens over the late spring through early fall (when days are the longest and there is the most sunshine/non-cloudy days), keeping the panels clean during those months is the most important. If you're only going to clean them once per year, cleaning in mid-spring will get people the most bang for their buck.
I worked in the biggest solar farm in portugal and i can say that we got a team to go clean the panels (~660k units, at 2sqm each) once we got cuts in the production in the order of 10-15% (the ones that were at 15, usualy had vegetation shading the modules, not necessarily from beeing dirty). First time they were cleaned was something like 2 or 3 years after install. For reference, they are installed at a 15-20º tilt, even tho, the farm sits at like 37º latitude
Thanks for sharing, that's very interesting. I like that approach - tracking your production and then scheduling or doing a cleaning once it drops by a certain percentage.
Your test is wrong for 1. You are not taking solar irradiance values so your before and after is not accurate as the solar irradiance would be diffrent,yet you are not recording the solar irradiance. 2. You are not taking into account an installation that has 20 panels or more connected in a string, where you would have a compounded energy loss on multiple panels which will bring down efficiency of the whole string.. You have just demonstrated that you don't understand how solar works. It's videos like this that are not helpful for the industry.,spreading mis information
Solar panels are an investment just like many other things. Do you wash your car? It will still drive the same, even with a dirty exterior. Car wash businesses seem to be doing just fine. I imagine the more you let gunk build up on your panels, the harder it will be long term to clean. Solar panel cleaning to me seems very reasonable, whether that's once a year or every six months. If you happen to have the money for it and care to maintain them, then have at it.
As someone who has a pressure washing business and offers solar panel cleaning as a service add on option, I would like to make a few points in favour of getting them cleaned. Firstly, we're always upfront to the customer that they are unlikely to get 20% increase, we're based in Australia and our customers typically report an average increase of 15%. Furthermore, it's not just a matter of increased electricity, but increasing the longevity of these solar panels. We also don't tell customers to come back to us every x months, we tell them to only come to us after there has been a long streak of no rain/ drought. That's when they get hardened dirt caked onto them, that why we use specialised equipment and demineralised and heated (to solar panel temp) water. Also on a separate note, if you're doing anything on a roof, especially if it involves water, just hire a professional, there's a reason why liability insurance is so high for any business that has employees on a roof. Ultimately, not everyone needs their solar panels to be cleaned, it's a case by case basis. Amazing video!
All depends on how the panels are configured , parallel you won't gain as much however series it can, due to the shadow effect! Only need just one panel dirty can reduce the hole array output! Like a shadow does
I do my own cleaning but decided to go a year without doing it because I'm oversubscribed on my solar and not yet using as much as I make. I was cleaning monthly resulting in a 4% increase . I eventually started cleaning every other month and the increase was linear for about 8% which surprised me. I figured the loss would flatten out after a while. The other day, I cleaned a single panel. For reference, this panel and the panel on the left and right made made 1.54, 1.52, and 1.55 kWh. I then cleaned the center panel and the next day, the production 1.53, 1.97, and 1.55 kWh. This was a 30% increase which means I was losing 25% due to dust. Note, that even though it had been a year, the massive rains we had ending in Februrary left the panels nearly spotless, this this lost production was basically 6 months worth of dust. I do live in the country where dust from almost harvesting makes the panels for more dirty than living in a major city. I'd say if you live in a metropolitan area, you could get away with yearly cleaning....or never. But if you live out in the country, you'll want to clean at least every two months during the dry season. I personally think everyone should do their own cleaning. I use a 35 foot extension pole with a 30 inch wide window mop. I rinse with deionized water to prevent water staining. Lastly, in order to truly test the amount of reduction due to dust, you need to collect the entire day's production because dust effects production least during the middle of the day when the sun is highest because there's less microscopic surface area blocking than when the sun is hitting at an oblique angle.
The difference between the car and solar panels is that the car doesn’t require the sun for any of its function, or any production. But solar panels do.
I enjoyed this test. But.... Organic buildup provides a better seal than flour... I would ask that you clean actual roof mounted panels with various levels of organic growth on them and perform the same test in the same order.
Ive got proof of 32% increase from a customer. 54 panels never cleaned in 7 years. Had some issues. Came out to clean them and the next day he had a 32% increase. Souther California, both days sunny zero clouds in the sky. On my own system 32 panels i average a loss of 20% in 3 months give or take 2%. Been tracking this for 2 years and its extremely consistent on loss. Clean your panels folks. Do it yourself, hire someone. Solar cleaning is much cheaper now. Most costs are recouped within the first month after cleaning.
I cleaned my 30 panel array for the first time this past Saturday, 13 months after installation. Sunday and Monday's production is 17.3% higher (~9kW/day). Cleaning is a no-brainer.
@@kenhoward127 I am inland SoCal ( Ontario area ) Thanks for the info. I tell people if they haven't cleaned them for a year that they should see at least a 15% higher production but this at times is 20-30% better after cleaning. Here they get dusty quickly and with mustard colored small circles that take a little effort to remove. That improvement sounds right. I would clean your array for $250 also with filtered water. I tell people to clean them once a year and to do it themselves if possible. Blessings. -Bryan
im in socal and notice a huge difference in energy production, about 1/2 from last sept to this sept.. and since rain is sparce during most of the year and we deal with a lot of dust, ash and dirt from local fires its probably more worth it, energy production wise and money wise for me to clean my own panels..
Im also in Southern cali, we average 18 to 22% in 3 months. Yes I run a solar cleaning company but that's irrelevant. Please clean your panels every 4 to 6 months.
@@barryross7794you need to clean before any lichen growth as that’s time consuming (expensive) to clean off. Some people are fine every 5 years, some people would benefit a lot from cleaning every 6 months. If you leave it that long you will damage your panels and they’ll never be the same. Consistent shade on a panel actually voyage the warranty on most panels. Lichen growth on a panel is the same as constant shade in one spot. If you want to leave it longer you could ceramic coat them. But I would never leave it longer than 4-5 years. I recommend a super fast half assed clean (1 minute per panel) every year. This is cheap and easy and will pay for itself on most system plus ensure your panels last longer.
Hey Alex, thanks for doing this experiment and sharing the results! Just curious, why didn't you use 3 identical panels for consistency? And if they are all 100w panels, shouldn't their output all be the same after cleaning?
Just because all the panels are 100 W each since he used different panels different manufacturers build different quality panels. So yes, his test is flawed.
I don't think the test was flawed.. Just the opposite... It is showing that the percentages is the important number to get no matter what brand, size, etc. the panels are... As long as you go with the 'starting number' that it is CURRENTLY outputting and then after cleaning you get the RESULTANT output you can figure the percentage to see if it's worth it or not... Now of course there is the possibility that some brands/models of panels will do BETTER when dirty... Maybe redoing the test a second time and changing the 'level of dirt' for each one? ie: first panel was fairly clean so now make THAT one really dirty... Second panel was 'partly' dirty, so make it 'mostly clean' and the third one that WAS really dirty would then just be 'half' dirty... That would get you some 'other' numbers, but they may come out about the same anyway...
Well done. My Tesla panels are well made and in Florida the heavy rains we get certain times of the year really clean the panels well. Using water from the hose would be a big mistake. Similar to washing your car and not drying it. The water spots from the minerals build up and now you have a problem. Let the rain water do it's thing. I may clean them in about 10 years but definitely not more than that with deionized water.
Spurious correlation between how dirty a panel is and its output after being clean? The conclusion I get is a clean panel is better thana dirty one, but also that panel 3 was the most efficient panel and used as the dirtiest panel to boost the percentage change in output. If all 3 panels were of equal quality would the final output not be the same?
this is only one small panel. When cleaning a whole set up the savings will be more. not only that neglecting your panels can lead to greater damages that will result in much lower outputs. A professional will know what to look for when finding anomalies that effect output so not just dirty panels. It's not only the benefit of a clean. Its worthwhile particularly if you haven't had it done in a long time.
I live in a windy and dusty part of SoCal. I have a small set up of 3kw of panels and I clean them every month. I do notice an increase of about 10-15%, which is a good chunk for me. If you can get on a ladder with a telescoping squeegee/brush it is worth it. Not sure why people practice being lazy (well, our brains are kind of designed to be "lazy") but it takes little effort to do. And it gets easier and faster each time. Paying someone to do it if you are not able to yourself is still worth it in my area, since you probably have a large roof top system and will gain hundreds of watts. I also think utilities across the board are going to fail more and those costs pushed onto rates everywhere.
I started cleaning mine every 90 days. Never saw any gains. Moved to 6 months and never saw any gains. It's been 2 years and I check the app to make sure they're producing and that's about it. I do something a little different though. I have 4 arrays of 5 panels. In the summer I can get away with adding 1 panel to each array. But in the winter I go back to 5 panels so I don't exceed the maximum voltage of the charge controller Forgot to add that a shattered solar panel still produces plenty of power. And doesn't affect the output of the rest of the array
That right but eventually water will get into the cracks (could be months or could be years but it will). This will shirt circuit and blow the panels. Hopefully the panels inbuilt fuse will prevent it from harming your inverter and/or other panels, but don’t count on it. I’ve seen them blow inverters when they short cct. Great bang for buck if it’s by itself but not worth the risk otherwise. Additionally, because of the cracked glass the refraction and reflection and whatever else will limit output slightly. Depending on your configuration, this may limit the voltage, and therefore the output on every panel in that string very slightly. Panels are so cheap these days though you’re best off replacing it with a second hand unit (going for $10-30 each in Aus).
There isn’t many things that can last 25 years in crazy temperatures without being cleaned. 🤔 Also a lot of customers do it because they don’t like having dirty panels on their investments. So this video shouldn’t be based if it’s worth it because of how much power it produces after being cleaning. Good video though
👍inorder to avoid any argument, please try to repeat the test with six panels instead. 1- each of the 3 are in series connections 2- each of the 3 are in parallel connections Let this demonstration gives the final convincing evidence and answer. Thankfully
My thoughts are that if someone didn't clean their solar panels for quite some time (1-2 yrs), there would be calcium build up from hard water. I think that would make a 2-5% increase in your numbers. Also, I think over $150 for the initial cleaning would be too much.
I mean if your solar panels are on your roof for years without getting clean i can imagine the amount of crud and dust crusted on that thing. Much different then throwing some stuff on it and keeping it outside for a few days.
There is a good market for solar panel cleaning. Not everyone can safely clean their solar panels on the roof. Old people can trip and break their neck. Of course, you have to choose cleaners who are careful and meticulous. You don't want clumsy teenagers who will step on your skylight or damage your roof vents.
He don’t really want anyone that isn’t an electrician to be honest. Spraying high voltage DC systems with water without knowing what to do if something goes wrong could be deadly.
I have a flat lower roof and the view from the windows upstairs is sort of revolting, because of all the seagull poop on my solar panels. They seem to like the warm place to roost. So I clean them every month or so, not because of a lack of solar output... but because of a ton of seagull output! I'm going to try to put netting over my panels and see if it cuts the solar power , and if it discourages the gulls.
if you use solar panels to save money with electric bill . then you need to rethink your plan if you pay someone to wash the panels . should you clean your panels ? sure , every little bit helps
Your test doesnt account for panels that are worse. Go look around my neighborhood, where people have had panels for 4 to 7 years and never cleaned them once, they're caked with dirt and producing almost nothing. Massssssiiiiveee difference in production.
they go from dirty to dirtiest over time, if you don't clean them at least occasionally, you'll continue to lose effectiveness. they need to be cleaned to be the most efficient. you paid all that money, to have it work 15% under capacity, and that number grows.
Thats a lie. U gotta clean them very six months or two times a year..and yes if you clean you get 100% power…maybe you sell solar panels not trying to tell people you dont need maintenance buy yes you do need maintenance..its. Like a car..
Helpful study Alex, thanks. I have a home w solar in Seattle and my son has a home with solar in San Diego. We clean once a year in spring in Seattle (lots of pollen in Seattle and summer long days are important) and twice a year in San Diego (Spring and Fall because there is good year long solar there). We get about a 3% bump with this system and can do it ourselves.
Are your panels all the same manufacturer & specs? What about higher density/ output panels? 13% of a 400 watt panel would be in round numbers 52W. Yes it still 13% but a significantly higher number. Thank you for doing this. I just discovered your channel the other day and subscribed right away. Your explanations are clear, straight forward but still with real data. I’m just starting after wanting to do this since the 70’s. Back then as an electronics hobbyist I could buy surplus individual cells from Edmund Scientific in Burlington NJ. They were The Go To Catalog for Science Geeks. We’ve come a long way.
Hi. I bought an 11.7kw Basen green Lifepo4 51.2V battery. I will charge BG battery with solar panels via a Victron MPPT 150/35. I will charge the Delta pro from BG battery like you show in this video. Output from BG battery is 50Ah (200Ah max). After a minute of charging with a output power of 15.5A, the output power from the BG battery started to drop to 3A and then to 5A, thus minimally charging the Delta Pro in waves (3A 5A 3A 5A, ...). Could it be a power output problem with too much amperage (DP max input xt60 is 15A)? How can I solve this?
I'm located in the CA bay area, electric prices are averaging about 0.44 c/kwh. I'm just in a rental house with something like 30'ish panels. Luckily its just a 1 story house, but even a *minor* spray off could make the difference. tbf, the cheapest option is to escape this stupid fucking hellhole known as Californa tho. I didn't choose to come here, I'm in the military and I fucking *HATE* this place so much. Luckily I have less than a year left until retirement.
I have had solar panels for 6 years and never once had them cleaned. Tracking annual generation figures show no appreciable soling loss; some later years had better solar than the early years, some had less - i.e. normal annual solar ups and downs. When we had additional panels installed last year and had scaffolding up I washed the existing panels; they were pretty clean, very little dust or lichen on them (after 6 years). Conclusion, no benefit in washing the panels and certainly not worth paying someone. Live in the UK
No body is charging hundreds of dollars to clean one panel. More like 10-12 bucks. Dudes giving bad advice not to mention that cleaning them will help them last longer. Especially living by the water. Cleaning the salt that is eating away at the whole structure is a smart move.
It's only a scam for those who don't understand how solar panels work.this video is full of false information nit taking solar iirafinace values before and after probes he doesnt understand how solar panels work.if it's such a scam why do all panel manufacturers have clauses 5hat talk about the owners obligations of care maintenance and cleaning. With 20 to 25 year warranty, can easily be voided by neglect.
Where it rains...panels get "washed" enough. I remember cleaning solar panels for the first time and thinking I was going to see a huge increase in the amount of power coming in. Boy, was I disappointed! Western civilization's compulsion to clean everything proved to be a huge disservice in this situation! :)
@@footprinthero In countries around the Sahara desert (any desert i guess) and as far as south Europe its the opposite. Rain is actually what makes panels even dirtier. As raindrops carry high concentrations of fine sand particles they effectively stick on any surface that the rain touches.
@@bigboiveno268 - You missed the point of what I just explained. Panels don't need to be "clean", they only need to be free of obstructions. If that's something you don't understand, I don't know how to make it any more clear.
I have a question.. u just showed one panel lose 1%… so if I have a system of 25 panels and they all lose 1 % efficiency isn’t that a 25% lost over the whole system 🤔🤔.. stop giving ppl wrong info for likes and damage those ppl business…
@@tom-kb5nj with 10 years of experience is solar panels.. would like to inform u ur wrong.. that’s like saying I have 4 quarters and u take one cent from each quarter now u have 24 cent each. And if I them put them back together amma have 99cent and not 96 cent? ..
I have 511 Solar panels for the last 23 years and I’ve never cleaned them and they’re all ground mount. I can clean them, but it’s not worth. Having someone clean them it’s just money out of your pocket not worth it
@@omegagibbletronhe talked at the end about how he did not clean them the right way but he did it for sake of the video. I am also a TH-camr and when you make videos such as these you can’t always do things exactly how you SHOULD or how you’d like because of the video process and what your trying to show to your viewer. I think he did a great job and by the looks of it in the comments by others who have cleaned their setups which were in many cases much larger panels and full sets of actual strings .. the information he gave is almost exactly what people have reported as far as energy loss and energy gain after cleaning 🤷
The whole point of percentages is that is applicable to scaling. If you mean how many watts would be 10% of your system, just multiply ten percent (=0.1) to your system specs (0.1)*(# of panels)*(power rating of panels)=Theoretical Total watts lost
@@ScoobyFermentation My math is good I do this on a daily basis, you just took some panels and did what you did. So do you clean your car ? and why do you clean your house and why? So get in the real world my friend and am sorry to say you are clueless and its your opinion only...
Useful video - thanks. . In the uk I've noticed some house owners never clean their panels and even where some are covered in algae, which will prevent tbem producing any power. I will be looking to clean my own panels if i can contrive a safe method of doing this. Thanks for the tip about not cleaning HOT or LIVE panels - NOTED!
This is an important thing to consider when cleaning. Dust is easy to clean, lichen is very hard without expensive gear. You need to scrape off every little bit by hand. The solar glass is not at all smooth, it’s like a tiny mountain range if you zoom in enough. This gives the roots of any growth a lot to latch onto. So your best off cleaning (at the very least) when the first tiny little bit of lichen appears. If you have a single story house, best way to clean is with a long water fed brush and just water. Any stubborn stains can be scrapped with a plastic scrapper. Use a medium hard bristle brush. Soft bristles will be hard to clean with. If you get a pole long enough you can clean them from the ground. If you do this though, I recommend you get a 2 L bottle, cable tie to the end of your pole near the brush, and fill it with water. This will wait your brush as pushing down on a 5 m long brush takes a lot of strength due to the losses caused by leverage. You’re right about not spraying water onto a live high voltage dc system unless you’re a trained electrician with solar experience. There are way too many “professional panel cleaners” that have no electrical experience. They have no idea how dangerous what they’re doing is. I’ve spent years diagnosis and fixing solar installs and I’ve seen many systems that have a cable clamped under a panel or equivalent, causing the entire array of panels, brackets and rails to be live. DC works a bit different though so you may even be able to touch a live system without feeling it as you need to touch both + and - to get shocked. There are still several ways you can blow a hole in your body though in cases like this. Yes, turn them off before cleaning. BUT, remember that solar panels can not actually be turned off unless they are covered or it’s night time. They will always be live if light is shinning on the cells. This is why firemen (in my country at least) will not get in or on a roof until they have chopped the dc cables plus sprayed this special thick light inhibiting foam over the whole system rendering it dead. The safest way is to turn off all isolators. If you want to be truly safe, clean at sunrise and sunset when the sun is at its weakest and the panels are not so deadly. A well installed system is completely safe to clean and saturate when live. Do not ever count on your system being safely and correctly installed though. Your panels don’t have to be sparkling clean when you clean them as they will get dirty quickly anyway, just pay someone with solar experience a low price to do a fast half assed job every 6 months. 1 minute per panel.
Yeah of course its not going to be a big percentage increase right away but OVERTIME it will be. This is for people who are looking for a longer term increase. A 2% increase right off the bat (which is an extremely low end) is going to average out to a lot more savings overtime. Again this isn't a quick fix where you see immediate results, it takes time to see the profit.
I cleaned my solar panels after 3 months of no rain and dust accumulation. I registered 7% increase in solar generation. I was actually disappointed, but watching this video confirms my finding. Thanks
Bro, not even the same panels....the "grime" you put on the panels was not at all representative of what you see in the real world. I think you had a literature teacher teaching your darn science class. Who are the 35k subs this dude has?
I find it interesting that all three panels after the cleaning would differ in electrical production. Aren't they supposed to be identical? It makes sense that they would be different before the cleaning not after...
Great job. I live in So Cal. I have two strings that produce the same amount. I cleaned one string and it produced 7% more than the dirty string. Since I can do it myself, it is a no brainer to keep them clean.
I have an 18 panel system that produces 35 kWh per day in the summer and 22 kWh during the winter, grid tied. This is how I clean mine. From Lowe’s, I bought telescopic polar-arm. At min 8ft. max 24 ft. pole arm with a microfiber Velcro fastener. Use Water hose. No soap. No detergents. I clean mine twice a year. After pollen season in spring (May) and in November or December in Florida. My price? $4 to $6 in water bill.
I have a lot of neighbors who also have Photovoltaic systems and they never clean them. They just let the rain during rainy season do the cleaning. The pollen would stay on their system for months. I know I needed to clean them since NASA had an issue with their mars rover would no longer charge due to the dust.
What I have noticed, the roof where the panels are mounted, mold buildup happens on the shingles. That is what costly and takes up time for me.
In areas where electricity rates are very low, cleaning solar panels probably wouldn't make sense. But in reality, getting solar panels in the first place in areas where electricity is already cheap may not be a very good financial investment.
But for areas with high rates, that's an entirely different story.
In California, PG&E's current summer off-peak rates start at $.43/kWh on the lowest end, with peak rates being as high as $.62/kWh. I'll use $.50/kWhr to get an average price for the calculation below.
Whether or not cleaning makes sense is simple math:
For example, take a system designed to produce 10,000kWhrs of electricity over the course of a year. A 10% increase in production after cleaning(s) translates into an extra 1,000kWhrs. In dollar terms, that's 1,000kWhrs x $.50/kWhr = $500. As long as you're paying less than $500 for the cleaning(s), you're coming out ahead. If you are cleaning them yourself, you're pocketing the entire $500 yourself, so cleaning does make sense for almost everyone paying PG&E's ridiculously high rates.
Since the vast majority of a system's production happens over the late spring through early fall (when days are the longest and there is the most sunshine/non-cloudy days), keeping the panels clean during those months is the most important. If you're only going to clean them once per year, cleaning in mid-spring will get people the most bang for their buck.
I worked in the biggest solar farm in portugal and i can say that we got a team to go clean the panels (~660k units, at 2sqm each) once we got cuts in the production in the order of 10-15% (the ones that were at 15, usualy had vegetation shading the modules, not necessarily from beeing dirty). First time they were cleaned was something like 2 or 3 years after install. For reference, they are installed at a 15-20º tilt, even tho, the farm sits at like 37º latitude
Thanks for sharing, that's very interesting. I like that approach - tracking your production and then scheduling or doing a cleaning once it drops by a certain percentage.
Your test is wrong for 1. You are not taking solar irradiance values so your before and after is not accurate as the solar irradiance would be diffrent,yet you are not recording the solar irradiance. 2. You are not taking into account an installation that has 20 panels or more connected in a string, where you would have a compounded energy loss on multiple panels which will bring down efficiency of the whole string.. You have just demonstrated that you don't understand how solar works. It's videos like this that are not helpful for the industry.,spreading mis information
let me guess, you are cleaning panels? :)
If he cleans panels or not, does not change the fact he is 100% correct.
That's great, I'm looking forward to your video on it.
20% instant is extremely unlikely. But an average of 8% instant will be an abundant difference by the end of the month
@@dayneclarke7332 yup, recently cleaned mine and got about 2 percent increase 😆
Solar panels are an investment just like many other things. Do you wash your car? It will still drive the same, even with a dirty exterior. Car wash businesses seem to be doing just fine. I imagine the more you let gunk build up on your panels, the harder it will be long term to clean. Solar panel cleaning to me seems very reasonable, whether that's once a year or every six months. If you happen to have the money for it and care to maintain them, then have at it.
As someone who has a pressure washing business and offers solar panel cleaning as a service add on option, I would like to make a few points in favour of getting them cleaned. Firstly, we're always upfront to the customer that they are unlikely to get 20% increase, we're based in Australia and our customers typically report an average increase of 15%. Furthermore, it's not just a matter of increased electricity, but increasing the longevity of these solar panels. We also don't tell customers to come back to us every x months, we tell them to only come to us after there has been a long streak of no rain/ drought. That's when they get hardened dirt caked onto them, that why we use specialised equipment and demineralised and heated (to solar panel temp) water. Also on a separate note, if you're doing anything on a roof, especially if it involves water, just hire a professional, there's a reason why liability insurance is so high for any business that has employees on a roof.
Ultimately, not everyone needs their solar panels to be cleaned, it's a case by case basis. Amazing video!
All depends on how the panels are configured , parallel you won't gain as much however series it can, due to the shadow effect! Only need just one panel dirty can reduce the hole array output! Like a shadow does
Great point!
I do my own cleaning but decided to go a year without doing it because I'm oversubscribed on my solar and not yet using as much as I make. I was cleaning monthly resulting in a 4% increase . I eventually started cleaning every other month and the increase was linear for about 8% which surprised me. I figured the loss would flatten out after a while. The other day, I cleaned a single panel. For reference, this panel and the panel on the left and right made made 1.54, 1.52, and 1.55 kWh. I then cleaned the center panel and the next day, the production 1.53, 1.97, and 1.55 kWh. This was a 30% increase which means I was losing 25% due to dust. Note, that even though it had been a year, the massive rains we had ending in Februrary left the panels nearly spotless, this this lost production was basically 6 months worth of dust. I do live in the country where dust from almost harvesting makes the panels for more dirty than living in a major city. I'd say if you live in a metropolitan area, you could get away with yearly cleaning....or never. But if you live out in the country, you'll want to clean at least every two months during the dry season. I personally think everyone should do their own cleaning. I use a 35 foot extension pole with a 30 inch wide window mop. I rinse with deionized water to prevent water staining.
Lastly, in order to truly test the amount of reduction due to dust, you need to collect the entire day's production because dust effects production least during the middle of the day when the sun is highest because there's less microscopic surface area blocking than when the sun is hitting at an oblique angle.
The difference between the car and solar panels is that the car doesn’t require the sun for any of its function, or any production. But solar panels do.
I enjoyed this test. But.... Organic buildup provides a better seal than flour... I would ask that you clean actual roof mounted panels with various levels of organic growth on them and perform the same test in the same order.
Ive got proof of 32% increase from a customer. 54 panels never cleaned in 7 years. Had some issues. Came out to clean them and the next day he had a 32% increase. Souther California, both days sunny zero clouds in the sky. On my own system 32 panels i average a loss of 20% in 3 months give or take 2%. Been tracking this for 2 years and its extremely consistent on loss. Clean your panels folks. Do it yourself, hire someone. Solar cleaning is much cheaper now. Most costs are recouped within the first month after cleaning.
I cleaned my 30 panel array for the first time this past Saturday, 13 months after installation. Sunday and Monday's production is 17.3% higher (~9kW/day). Cleaning is a no-brainer.
Hi Ken. Where are you located? Did you clean them your self? Thanks for your results.
@@watchmen-nehemiah4v20 SoCal... yes, I cleaned them myself with a final DI rinse.
@@kenhoward127
I am inland SoCal ( Ontario area ) Thanks for the info. I tell people if they haven't cleaned them for a year that they should see at least a 15% higher production but this at times is 20-30% better after cleaning. Here they get dusty quickly and with mustard colored small circles that take a little effort to remove. That improvement sounds right. I would clean your array for $250 also with filtered water. I tell people to clean them once a year and to do it themselves if possible. Blessings. -Bryan
im in socal and notice a huge difference in energy production, about 1/2 from last sept to this sept.. and since rain is sparce during most of the year and we deal with a lot of dust, ash and dirt from local fires its probably more worth it, energy production wise and money wise for me to clean my own panels..
Im also in Southern cali, we average 18 to 22% in 3 months. Yes I run a solar cleaning company but that's irrelevant. Please clean your panels every 4 to 6 months.
@@jayg3824 THANKS MAN... PEACE!
This is one panel if you have 100 panels losing that doesn’t that add up?
Ofc
Yes, but it is still the same %age. Getting 100 panels cleaned would cost more so the savings will still be minimal unless done by yourself.
Cleaning every year and you lose $$. I would clean every 5-10 yrs depending on where you leave
@@barryross7794you need to clean before any lichen growth as that’s time consuming (expensive) to clean off.
Some people are fine every 5 years, some people would benefit a lot from cleaning every 6 months.
If you leave it that long you will damage your panels and they’ll never be the same.
Consistent shade on a panel actually voyage the warranty on most panels.
Lichen growth on a panel is the same as constant shade in one spot.
If you want to leave it longer you could ceramic coat them.
But I would never leave it longer than 4-5 years.
I recommend a super fast half assed clean (1 minute per panel) every year.
This is cheap and easy and will pay for itself on most system plus ensure your panels last longer.
Hey Alex, thanks for doing this experiment and sharing the results! Just curious, why didn't you use 3 identical panels for consistency? And if they are all 100w panels, shouldn't their output all be the same after cleaning?
You got him on that one 😮
Just because all the panels are 100 W each since he used different panels different manufacturers build different quality panels. So yes, his test is flawed.
I don't think the test was flawed.. Just the opposite... It is showing that the percentages is the important number to get no matter what brand, size, etc. the panels are... As long as you go with the 'starting number' that it is CURRENTLY outputting and then after cleaning you get the RESULTANT output you can figure the percentage to see if it's worth it or not...
Now of course there is the possibility that some brands/models of panels will do BETTER when dirty... Maybe redoing the test a second time and changing the 'level of dirt' for each one? ie: first panel was fairly clean so now make THAT one really dirty... Second panel was 'partly' dirty, so make it 'mostly clean' and the third one that WAS really dirty would then just be 'half' dirty...
That would get you some 'other' numbers, but they may come out about the same anyway...
Well done. My Tesla panels are well made and in Florida the heavy rains we get certain times of the year really clean the panels well. Using water from the hose would be a big mistake. Similar to washing your car and not drying it. The water spots from the minerals build up and now you have a problem. Let the rain water do it's thing. I may clean them in about 10 years but definitely not more than that with deionized water.
Hence the reason they need to be coated with Nano tech SIO2 then nothing sticks
Spurious correlation between how dirty a panel is and its output after being clean?
The conclusion I get is a clean panel is better thana dirty one, but also that panel 3 was the most efficient panel and used as the dirtiest panel to boost the percentage change in output.
If all 3 panels were of equal quality would the final output not be the same?
And after cleaning you can Ceramic Coat your panels for future easy cleaning.
this is only one small panel. When cleaning a whole set up the savings will be more. not only that neglecting your panels can lead to greater damages that will result in much lower outputs. A professional will know what to look for when finding anomalies that effect output so not just dirty panels. It's not only the benefit of a clean. Its worthwhile particularly if you haven't had it done in a long time.
clearly you work in the solar power cleaning side hustle industry
@@HiredGoonage hahaha he’s trying to vouch for his money scams
I live in a windy and dusty part of SoCal. I have a small set up of 3kw of panels and I clean them every month. I do notice an increase of about 10-15%, which is a good chunk for me.
If you can get on a ladder with a telescoping squeegee/brush it is worth it. Not sure why people practice being lazy (well, our brains are kind of designed to be "lazy") but it takes little effort to do. And it gets easier and faster each time. Paying someone to do it if you are not able to yourself is still worth it in my area, since you probably have a large roof top system and will gain hundreds of watts.
I also think utilities across the board are going to fail more and those costs pushed onto rates everywhere.
i have 20 200 watt pannels had them cleand im getting on average 25%more go figure
I started cleaning mine every 90 days. Never saw any gains. Moved to 6 months and never saw any gains. It's been 2 years and I check the app to make sure they're producing and that's about it.
I do something a little different though. I have 4 arrays of 5 panels. In the summer I can get away with adding 1 panel to each array. But in the winter I go back to 5 panels so I don't exceed the maximum voltage of the charge controller
Forgot to add that a shattered solar panel still produces plenty of power. And doesn't affect the output of the rest of the array
That right but eventually water will get into the cracks (could be months or could be years but it will). This will shirt circuit and blow the panels.
Hopefully the panels inbuilt fuse will prevent it from harming your inverter and/or other panels, but don’t count on it.
I’ve seen them blow inverters when they short cct.
Great bang for buck if it’s by itself but not worth the risk otherwise.
Additionally, because of the cracked glass the refraction and reflection and whatever else will limit output slightly.
Depending on your configuration, this may limit the voltage, and therefore the output on every panel in that string very slightly.
Panels are so cheap these days though you’re best off replacing it with a second hand unit (going for $10-30 each in Aus).
There isn’t many things that can last 25 years in crazy temperatures without being cleaned. 🤔 Also a lot of customers do it because they don’t like having dirty panels on their investments. So this video shouldn’t be based if it’s worth it because of how much power it produces after being cleaning. Good video though
👍inorder to avoid any argument, please try to repeat the test with six panels instead.
1- each of the 3 are in series connections
2- each of the 3 are in parallel connections
Let this demonstration gives the final convincing evidence and answer.
Thankfully
My thoughts are that if someone didn't clean their solar panels for quite some time (1-2 yrs), there would be calcium build up from hard water. I think that would make a 2-5% increase in your numbers. Also, I think over $150 for the initial cleaning would be too much.
Good Job,Thanks from The Netherlands
You're welcome :)
I have had panels for 7 years. No difference in clean or dirty for power output. Even coated in spring pollen...no difference
How were you measuring this lack of difference?
I mean if your solar panels are on your roof for years without getting clean i can imagine the amount of crud and dust crusted on that thing. Much different then throwing some stuff on it and keeping it outside for a few days.
Panel cleaning is important but only done perhaps once or twice a year. Do it yerself
There is a good market for solar panel cleaning. Not everyone can safely clean their solar panels on the roof. Old people can trip and break their neck. Of course, you have to choose cleaners who are careful and meticulous. You don't want clumsy teenagers who will step on your skylight or damage your roof vents.
He don’t really want anyone that isn’t an electrician to be honest. Spraying high voltage DC systems with water without knowing what to do if something goes wrong could be deadly.
Nice video” I like data” that said I clean my 35 panels in five arrays twice a year and takes about 30 min .
I have a flat lower roof and the view from the windows upstairs is sort of revolting, because of all the seagull poop on my solar panels. They seem to like the warm place to roost. So I clean them every month or so, not because of a lack of solar output... but because of a ton of seagull output! I'm going to try to put netting over my panels and see if it cuts the solar power , and if it discourages the gulls.
if you use solar panels to save money with electric bill . then you need to rethink your plan if you pay someone to wash the panels . should you clean your panels ? sure , every little bit helps
Flour and white stuff hardly represent the grime that accumulates on panels in industrial areas or near major roads from diesel fumes or from algae.
Multiply by 20 or more panels
What are those specific type of solar cells? Is it coated with anything from the factory? What are there dimentions?
Try to not wash your car for a year. You will quickly realize you need solar panel cleaning at least once a year.
Your test doesnt account for panels that are worse. Go look around my neighborhood, where people have had panels for 4 to 7 years and never cleaned them once, they're caked with dirt and producing almost nothing. Massssssiiiiveee difference in production.
I wonder how this would translate to a 400W soalr panel. would the percentages remain the same ? Interesting test - thanks!
Thanks for your input
So an average 8% per panel and if you have 10 panels minimum would increase 80%
160% if you have 20 panels !
they go from dirty to dirtiest over time, if you don't clean them at least occasionally, you'll continue to lose effectiveness. they need to be cleaned to be the most efficient. you paid all that money, to have it work 15% under capacity, and that number grows.
Thats a lie. U gotta clean them very six months or two times a year..and yes if you clean you get 100% power…maybe you sell solar panels not trying to tell people you dont need maintenance buy yes you do need maintenance..its. Like a car..
“Every six months or two times a year” that’s the same thing🤦♂️
Helpful study Alex, thanks. I have a home w solar in Seattle and my son has a home with solar in San Diego. We clean once a year in spring in Seattle (lots of pollen in Seattle and summer long days are important) and twice a year in San Diego (Spring and Fall because there is good year long solar there). We get about a 3% bump with this system and can do it ourselves.
Thanks for sharing that data!
They’re actually not dirty
Are your panels all the same manufacturer & specs? What about higher density/ output panels? 13% of a 400 watt panel would be in round numbers 52W. Yes it still 13% but a significantly higher number. Thank you for doing this. I just discovered your channel the other day and subscribed right away. Your explanations are clear, straight forward but still with real data. I’m just starting after wanting to do this since the 70’s. Back then as an electronics hobbyist I could buy surplus individual cells from Edmund Scientific in Burlington NJ. They were The Go To Catalog for Science Geeks. We’ve come a long way.
The 1st one is different, the last 2 are the same. Yes nowadays the possibilities with DIY solar are pretty much endless. Thanks for subscribing :)
I would prefer my panel to clean it how the 3rd panel look like.
Good video.
Hi. I bought an 11.7kw Basen green Lifepo4 51.2V battery. I will charge BG battery with solar panels via a Victron MPPT 150/35. I will charge the Delta pro from BG battery like you show in this video.
Output from BG battery is 50Ah (200Ah max). After a minute of charging with a output power of 15.5A, the output power from the BG battery started to drop to 3A and then to 5A, thus minimally charging the Delta Pro in waves (3A 5A 3A 5A, ...). Could it be a power output problem with too much amperage (DP max input xt60 is 15A)? How can I solve this?
I'm located in the CA bay area, electric prices are averaging about 0.44 c/kwh. I'm just in a rental house with something like 30'ish panels. Luckily its just a 1 story house, but even a *minor* spray off could make the difference.
tbf, the cheapest option is to escape this stupid fucking hellhole known as Californa tho. I didn't choose to come here, I'm in the military and I fucking *HATE* this place so much. Luckily I have less than a year left until retirement.
I have had solar panels for 6 years and never once had them cleaned. Tracking annual generation figures show no appreciable soling loss; some later years had better solar than the early years, some had less - i.e. normal annual solar ups and downs.
When we had additional panels installed last year and had scaffolding up I washed the existing panels; they were pretty clean, very little dust or lichen on them (after 6 years).
Conclusion, no benefit in washing the panels and certainly not worth paying someone.
Live in the UK
I mean, if you live in areas that don't get very dusty and have heavy rain fall why would it?
Why not test ceramic coatings of solar panels - Compare dirt collection cleaned - Amateur spray on ceramic coatings - Professional ceramic coatings
That was interesting on 100w panels and now on a 500w panel how much will the gain be ?
Good question - my assumption is the percentage increases we saw in this test would hold more or less true
I only clean mine when there are bird poop on it.😅
Dude the sun does not get these hot enough for cold water to fracture them
No body is charging hundreds of dollars to clean one panel. More like 10-12 bucks. Dudes giving bad advice not to mention that cleaning them will help them last longer. Especially living by the water. Cleaning the salt that is eating away at the whole structure is a smart move.
7.3w per panel
And those solar janitors can charge upwards to $300! It's as much a scam as chiropractic "treatments." Thank you for the research.
It's only a scam for those who don't understand how solar panels work.this video is full of false information nit taking solar iirafinace values before and after probes he doesnt understand how solar panels work.if it's such a scam why do all panel manufacturers have clauses 5hat talk about the owners obligations of care maintenance and cleaning. With 20 to 25 year warranty, can easily be voided by neglect.
Funny enough i had a chiropractor charge me 800 bucks... I said F you!!! (Not yo her face though) I just left lol
Do you shower,,?
@@thetfam8338 Do you scam?
The panels are not the same😅
Where it rains...panels get "washed" enough. I remember cleaning solar panels for the first time and thinking I was going to see a huge increase in the amount of power coming in. Boy, was I disappointed! Western civilization's compulsion to clean everything proved to be a huge disservice in this situation! :)
Agreed, let the rain do it for you
@@footprinthero In countries around the Sahara desert (any desert i guess) and as far as south Europe its the opposite. Rain is actually what makes panels even dirtier. As raindrops carry high concentrations of fine sand particles they effectively stick on any surface that the rain touches.
Rain doesn’t clean your panels. Let’s say you buy a brand new car, park it outside for 3 months . I bet you , it will need to be cleaned.
@@bigboiveno268 - You missed the point of what I just explained. Panels don't need to be "clean", they only need to be free of obstructions. If that's something you don't understand, I don't know how to make it any more clear.
@@jasonbroom7147 it voids the warranty if not periodically clean states in the owners booklet.
I have a question.. u just showed one panel lose 1%… so if I have a system of 25 panels and they all lose 1 % efficiency isn’t that a 25% lost over the whole system 🤔🤔.. stop giving ppl wrong info for likes and damage those ppl business…
No, you got your mathematics wrong, that's still 1 %. It's going to be 1 % of a bigger amount, but not 25 % of your whole system...
@@tom-kb5nj with 10 years of experience is solar panels.. would like to inform u ur wrong.. that’s like saying I have 4 quarters and u take one cent from each quarter now u have 24 cent each. And if I them put them back together amma have 99cent and not 96 cent? ..
@@TheBrianb2I can't tell if you're trolling or just so mathematically illiterate you haven't realised you've just proven yourself wrong.
I have 511 Solar panels for the last 23 years and I’ve never cleaned them and they’re all ground mount. I can clean them, but it’s not worth. Having someone clean them it’s just money out of your pocket not worth it
511 panels! Do you run a solar farm?
yes@@footprinthero
I find this “test” hilarious.. non of this is actually factual..
You mean flour isn't similar to years of neglect that doesn't come off with a sponge. At least he cleaned them in a way that will damage them 👍
What's your suggestion? How would you do it?
@@omegagibbletronhe talked at the end about how he did not clean them the right way but he did it for sake of the video. I am also a TH-camr and when you make videos such as these you can’t always do things exactly how you SHOULD or how you’d like because of the video process and what your trying to show to your viewer.
I think he did a great job and by the looks of it in the comments by others who have cleaned their setups which were in many cases much larger panels and full sets of actual strings .. the information he gave is almost exactly what people have reported as far as energy loss and energy gain after cleaning 🤷
The best way to clean panels should be spraying drones.
What would that percentage be on a 25 panel system (405 w panels)
at least over 20%
The whole point of percentages is that is applicable to scaling. If you mean how many watts would be 10% of your system, just multiply ten percent (=0.1) to your system specs (0.1)*(# of panels)*(power rating of panels)=Theoretical Total watts lost
@@mikevassiliou9639math was never your strong point
@@ScoobyFermentation My math is good I do this on a daily basis, you just took some panels and did what you did. So do you clean your car ? and why do you clean your house and why? So get in the real world my friend and am sorry to say you are clueless and its your opinion only...
Wrong information 😂
Flour is a bad substitute for built up dark grime. The flour is still reflecting light to the adjacent panels.
Useful video - thanks. .
In the uk I've noticed some house owners never clean their panels and even where some are covered in algae, which will prevent tbem producing any power. I will be looking to clean my own panels if i can contrive a safe method of doing this.
Thanks for the tip about not cleaning HOT or LIVE panels - NOTED!
This is an important thing to consider when cleaning.
Dust is easy to clean, lichen is very hard without expensive gear. You need to scrape off every little bit by hand.
The solar glass is not at all smooth, it’s like a tiny mountain range if you zoom in enough. This gives the roots of any growth a lot to latch onto.
So your best off cleaning (at the very least) when the first tiny little bit of lichen appears.
If you have a single story house, best way to clean is with a long water fed brush and just water. Any stubborn stains can be scrapped with a plastic scrapper.
Use a medium hard bristle brush. Soft bristles will be hard to clean with.
If you get a pole long enough you can clean them from the ground.
If you do this though, I recommend you get a 2 L bottle, cable tie to the end of your pole near the brush, and fill it with water. This will wait your brush as pushing down on a 5 m long brush takes a lot of strength due to the losses caused by leverage.
You’re right about not spraying water onto a live high voltage dc system unless you’re a trained electrician with solar experience.
There are way too many “professional panel cleaners” that have no electrical experience. They have no idea how dangerous what they’re doing is.
I’ve spent years diagnosis and fixing solar installs and I’ve seen many systems that have a cable clamped under a panel or equivalent, causing the entire array of panels, brackets and rails to be live.
DC works a bit different though so you may even be able to touch a live system without feeling it as you need to touch both + and - to get shocked.
There are still several ways you can blow a hole in your body though in cases like this.
Yes, turn them off before cleaning.
BUT, remember that solar panels can not actually be turned off unless they are covered or it’s night time.
They will always be live if light is shinning on the cells.
This is why firemen (in my country at least) will not get in or on a roof until they have chopped the dc cables plus sprayed this special thick light inhibiting foam over the whole system rendering it dead.
The safest way is to turn off all isolators.
If you want to be truly safe, clean at sunrise and sunset when the sun is at its weakest and the panels are not so deadly.
A well installed system is completely safe to clean and saturate when live.
Do not ever count on your system being safely and correctly installed though.
Your panels don’t have to be sparkling clean when you clean them as they will get dirty quickly anyway, just pay someone with solar experience a low price to do a fast half assed job every 6 months.
1 minute per panel.
Yeah of course its not going to be a big percentage increase right away but OVERTIME it will be. This is for people who are looking for a longer term increase. A 2% increase right off the bat (which is an extremely low end) is going to average out to a lot more savings overtime. Again this isn't a quick fix where you see immediate results, it takes time to see the profit.
I cleaned my solar panels after 3 months of no rain and dust accumulation. I registered 7% increase in solar generation. I was actually disappointed, but watching this video confirms my finding. Thanks
Bro, not even the same panels....the "grime" you put on the panels was not at all representative of what you see in the real world. I think you had a literature teacher teaching your darn science class. Who are the 35k subs this dude has?
Buy cleaning equipment for multiple locations/families and it becomes worth it, as investment drops.
Also should note that the first panel is Blue and the others are Black
The first panel is also different from the other two panels. So your average increases wrong.
Why? Temps were the same so background colour is irrelevant and percentage increases were for each panel.
I find it interesting that all three panels after the cleaning would differ in electrical production. Aren't they supposed to be identical? It makes sense that they would be different before the cleaning not after...
My thoughts exactly
They might have a diffence in age or usage.. the angles to the sun seemed similar. I was wondering the same.