Solar Panel Maintenance and Cleaning

Maintenance and Monitoring is an important part of any solar program. Dirty panels produce less electricity than clean panels. The challenge for solar electric panel owners is that panel performance can become shaded with dirt and therefore give you less production without adequate cleaning. To maintain optimal energy production, solar arrays benefit from bi-annual solar panel cleanings especially in areas of high airborne particulates (dust, exhaust, organic debris, industrial processes).

Your solar panels need to be exposed to sunlight in order to produce power. However, unless you live somewhere with high amounts of smog, dust, dirt or sand blowing around, your solar panels don’t need to be cleaned often. In many cases, annual seasons and occasional rain will be enough to naturally and safely keep your solar panels clean.

The question is how often should this be done?

The design of solar panels is made in such a way that snow, rain and dirt do not accumulate on the surface, but flow down the glass. But over time, some dust and dirt still adhere to the surface of the panel and must be removed.
More dust, more pollen, less rain, less tilt – you should clean them several times per year. On the other end of those factors, you can do it less often. But once per year is always a good idea, and when in the year you do it also depends on those same issues.
When cleaning your solar panels, the most important consideration to keep in mind is that scratching or damaging the glass in any way will reduce a panel’s energy production. It’s best to approach panel cleaning the same way you might clean your car. Dish soap and warm water applied with a soft sponge or cloth is the safest and easiest cleaning method.

Remember – avoid damaging or scratching the glass at all costs!
Solar panels must be clean to receive the sunshine better!
Eco step provides free online monitoring system with wifi connection but also, we suggest getting our yearly package, which includes monitoring on site. The yearly package will include solar panel cleaning service 2-3 times, inverter monitoring on site, mounting system checking, correcting, fixing.

Eco Step offers:

• Solar panel one-time cleaning service
• Solar panel yearly package cleaning service
• Solar PV system cleaning and monitoring yearly package

As the years have passed it has become more apparent that to keep solar panels clean and free from obstruction,  they need to be cleaned.