Is Solar Panel Cleaning Worth It?
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Let's find out if paying to have your solar panels cleaned is worth the money...
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For general informational purposes only. Nothing in this video is intended to be professional solar or electrical advice. Please consult with a licensed professional in their field of expertise in your jurisdiction. - Věda a technologie
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 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.
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!
Thanks for your input
Good Job,Thanks from The Netherlands
You're welcome :)
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 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.
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.
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 😆
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 have had panels for 7 years. No difference in clean or dirty for power output. Even coated in spring pollen...no difference
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.
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
What are those specific type of solar cells? Is it coated with anything from the factory? What are there dimentions?
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!
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.
Nice video” I like data” that said I clean my 35 panels in five arrays twice a year and takes about 30 min .
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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
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.
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
Panel cleaning is important but only done perhaps once or twice a year. Do it yerself
👍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
I would prefer my panel to clean it how the 3rd panel look like.
The test would have been accurate if all the panels were all the same. We could see how dirt lowered the the output rather that what they produced after cleaning.
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.
7.3w per panel
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.😅
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?
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
Why not test ceramic coatings of solar panels - Compare dirt collection cleaned - Amateur spray on ceramic coatings - Professional ceramic coatings
Dude the sun does not get these hot enough for cold water to fracture them
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.
Try to not wash your car for a year. You will quickly realize you need solar panel cleaning at least once a year.
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🤦♂️
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...
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 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
Wrong information 😂
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.
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
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 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?
The best way to clean panels should be spraying drones.