Is Cleaning and Maintenance of the Solar system necessary?

We keep our windows clean so that we can see what’s going on outside our home. We clean our car’s windshield so that we can drive with ease. In the same way, we do the Maintenance of our home so that it looks good, and we stay healthy. For cars, regular maintenance is essential to prevent any considerable damage.

Same way for the solar system, Solar panels are an essential part of electricity production. If there is Dust or any other material stuck on the glass of solar panels, then it will decrease the output of the panels. If we don’t take any care further, then it can permanently do damage to the solar panel. That is why cleaning of solar panels at regular intervals is a must for better production and longer life span of the system.

Maintenance of the core parts of the solar systems like Inverter, solar structure, and other electrical pieces of equipment is also necessary. Cleaning and Maintenance will help to maintain the excellent quality of the overall system and thus increase the life of the system. In this blog, we will learn some necessary precautions you as a client should take care of.

What are the reasons for dirt on solar panels?‍

1. Normal Dust

• Dust is one of the apparent things that occur at any solar power plant. The amount of Dust that occurs on the solar panels depends on the surrounding areas, the humidity of the location, and some other factors.
• This Dust doesn’t affect much on the efficiency of solar panels because light can still travel through them, and also panels can give production.

2. Bird dropping

• These problems are widespread in countries like India, and out of our control
• Bird dropping is a sticky substance, so it doesn’t go away smoothly with the rainwater. Due to its stickiness, it decreases the output of solar cells and affects the overall output of the solar panel.

What are the ways to clean solar panels?

Solar panel cleaning activity depends on the type of dirt that gets collected on the modules.

• Dirt should never scrub from the solar panels. Hard scrubbing can remove the coatings that may be on the panels or permanently destroy the glass of panels. Loose dirt can be removed by sweeping; this method avoids water waste and is simple; you only need a good broom to perform the task.
• Use a soft sponge and soap to get rid of dirt and sticky substances build-up on your panels
• Do not use sharp metal objects to remove bird droppings.
• There are Solar cleaning kits available in the market which consist of long brushes with soft spikes at the end and water solution. You can use this as this will remove dirt as well as birds dropping off the panels.
  
• Sprinkler solutions are also available in the market, which are connected at some intervals of your solar system. When you turn the system ON, it will spray water too tall over the solar panels. Sprinklers are the very trending solution, but research has shown that it does not clean sticky substances and thus doesn’t clean panels accurately.
• Solar Robots are also available in the market nowadays with very efficient technology. These are water-driven as well as without water, powder-based solutions. For large solar plants, it is the best solution. For residential solar plants, it is costly as an outcome is not that profitable.

One important thing you should remember before cleaning is the time of cleaning. You should clean panels when they are not hot, so early morning or night is the best time to clean panels.

Benefits of Clean solar panels:

According to one research, Dirty panels can reduce the overall output of the system by 10-15%. So large power plants must clean their solar panels at regular intervals. More output and More savings.

Below are some key benefits of clean solar panels:‍

1. High Efficiency
2. Better warranty period – In case of any damage or fault, a manufacturer cannot blame you for not cleaning your panels regularly.
3. Increase Durability
4. More Savings
5. Better Return on Investment
6. More environment-friendly electricity

Maintenance of Solar system

Like any electrical device, Maintenance of the solar system is also essential. It drastically increases the durability of the whole power plant and thus the efficiency of the plant.

There are some general checks that we, as a consumer, have to do for our solar plant, and we will see them briefly.

1. No ground erosion occurs at the base of the solar structure. This can have a threat of damage to the entire plant.
2. There should not be any loose wire or corroded wire in the system. This can short circuit the system and thus make it a failure.
3. There should not be any debris or other material in the inverter mounting area or nearby.
4. The monthly service of Inverter is recommended because it is an essential part of the system. Any future problem can be mitigated by monthly inspection.
5. Between each connection of wires, there shouldn't be any loose contact or space. This can lead to accidental fire also, so we have to check it once a month.
6. Remote monitoring of the system should be checked once in a week to get an idea about the efficiency of the plant