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Safety precautions when cleaning panels

Skywalker

Member
Messages
54
Location
Essex
Hi Everyone 

Quoted a solar job today but never cleaned any to date.  Been reading on here about it and the actual clean sounds a doddle,

but bit concerned about electrical dangers.   Some say oh it’s fine, and other say you need to be really careful,  and now Im bit freaked out.  

I saw some 1000volt electricians gloves on amazon for £40 so pretty much breaking even after doing the job but I’ll have them for next time, so not sure if to buy them????

Any advice at keeping me alive would be great. ?

 
According to solar Steve  if you haven’t been on his courses you will die cleaning solar panels ????although he quoted someone who had been electrocuted he could not provide any evidence and if you google it nothing comes up either , funny old thing that !,  we have cleaned tens of thousands of them and never had any issues at all , obviously don’t  clean damaged panels,you can use electrical gloves but you sweat like a pig using them and makes your hands soar , we only do a few domestic and farm arrays now as there is no money in it compared to window cleaning , don’t be fooled about how easy they are to clean it’s not as easy as you think especially if they are covered in lichen , access to ones on roofs isn’t always great and doing them from the ground needs a lot of distance from the house , unless you have something like an ultimate 46 and 10 inch goose neck the pole will hit the gutters , just remember all that glitters isn’t gold ???

 
The only ones where I could do a fairly easy, decent job were on the ground, well, about 4/5 foot above ground, so was able to easy use elbow grease. On a roof I'd done, dont think I made much difference.

 
I’ve never had any issues cleaning them. But ultimately you need to choose yourself. I don’t wear any gloves unless it really cold. 

But when I started I thought I’d clean loads, and it would be an amazing add on. And even though I have a good 30+ properties with solar panels etc, I only get asked about twice a year (average job maybe 10 panels? so £15-£20 bungalow height, and £25+ house height) But I wouldn’t be that fussed on house ones now as I don’t like working off ladders with a pole in my hand anymore, as from the ground as @Pjj said you’ll need at least 35 feet+ 

One posh house I’ve got, my super max 27 with one extension (so 32 feet) with me holding all of it above my head is still about 8 feet away from the bottom of the panel, and it’s one of those really big long panels about 10 feet. So I would need like a 50 foot pole haha! It’s just 4 panels lol. They’ve Never been cleaned I don’t think and hope they don’t ever ask me. 
 

And yes as mentioned, unless they’re cleaned every 1-2 years or so, lichen or moss can be a right pain to remove. And remember NO CHEMICALS AT ALL ON THEM ?

 
The only ones where I could do a fairly easy, decent job were on the ground, well, about 4/5 foot above ground, so was able to easy use elbow grease. On a roof I'd done, dont think I made much difference.
I clean a solar house owned by the director of a solar panel company - the panels are a ******* pain to clean as on a low pitched two story roof so only just get em with a 35ft pole + 72" gooseneck. Its back break work too - interestingly though the guy has an app that monitors all his energy for the home. The panels were decently new and looked quite clean to me when i did them first time around (no obvious lichen ect.) - after i cleaned them he showed me the energy graph and you could clearly see a spike of improved output from the panels. So it really does work apparently - also i didn't die which was nice ? ?

 
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I clean a solar house owned by the director of a solar panel company - the panels are a ******* pain to clean as on a low pitched two story roof so only just get em with a 35ft pole + 72" gooseneck. Its back break work too - interestingly though the guy has an app that monitors all his energy for the home. The panels were decently new and looked quite clean to me when i did them first time around (no obvious lichen ect.) - after i cleaned them he showed me the energy graph and you could clearly see a spike of improved output from the panels. So it really does work apparently - also i didn't die which was nice ? ?
Yes I guess even if its just taking that layer of pollen/dust etc off it stops it building up and must make them able to absorb more sunlight.

 
I clean my own panels and its not an easy job. I also PW roofs and replace slates and tiles. I had 4 roof leaks last week and I am just getting round to them now. I have decided to bite the bullet and buy a Boss Tower about 10m high and 2 foot by 8 foot wide. It will come in handy for my solar panel cleans, roof cleans and roof repairs. Already sold 2 scaffolds as I wanted to concentrate on window cleaning but its hard up here getting trustworthy tradespeople that are reliable. I have come to realise that I want 100 maximum window customers which will take me a week and earn me £800. I knew i would have needed to bite the bullet and make a decision regarding the direction of my business. 

 
I clean my own panels and its not an easy job. I also PW roofs and replace slates and tiles. I had 4 roof leaks last week and I am just getting round to them now. I have decided to bite the bullet and buy a Boss Tower about 10m high and 2 foot by 8 foot wide. It will come in handy for my solar panel cleans, roof cleans and roof repairs. Already sold 2 scaffolds as I wanted to concentrate on window cleaning but its hard up here getting trustworthy tradespeople that are reliable. I have come to realise that I want 100 maximum window customers which will take me a week and earn me £800. I knew i would have needed to bite the bullet and make a decision regarding the direction of my business. 
 Those towers are handy, will help earn money if you do those add ons. I did some panels on a roof, covered in lichen and needed some real effort. There was builders scaffolding already up for some other work, else without that doubt i could've shifted the lichen.

 
 Those towers are handy, will help earn money if you do those add ons. I did some panels on a roof, covered in lichen and needed some real effort. There was builders scaffolding already up for some other work, else without that doubt i could've shifted the lichen.
I sold two Boss Towers because I was getting away from roofing but my customers were forever calling me back because of all the chancers they got. Made my decision yesterday when i went to see 2 leaks, pvc clean and gutter clears for a couple of surgeons. They knew no one to do it and I was in their house inspecting leaks myself. There and then I realised its all about Trust and I had no choice but to cross the Rubicon and go back the way to eventually go forward. Okay, 3 grand for a scaffold but its also 3 grand for an industrial Vac with poles. In the end, you need to speculate to accumulate or lose customers. I have one fantastic customer who is getting me all his friends. So I've kinda got no choice but to move in that motion or someone else will step in. ?

 
I grew up with a roofer (mums other half).

Easy work if you know what you are doing but it keeps you off the glass and patios where the money is.

Up to you but not for me.

I do repair the odd tile with my slate ripper and some copper wire (if you have to ask you don't know what you are doing) but never advertise it.

 
I grew up with a roofer (mums other half).

Easy work if you know what you are doing but it keeps you off the glass and patios where the money is.

Up to you but not for me.

I do repair the odd tile with my slate ripper and some copper wire (if you have to ask you don't know what you are doing) but never advertise it.
There's not really much to roofing now but the working at height regs have doubled the price of a job now. It all depends on me getting a job to fix a roof and clean the dormer pvc. If I get it, then I'm buying a 2 grand Boss scaffold but i need a massive clearout first.

 
Are you talking about Magid Safety gloves? I use them anytime I am working on anything electrical, especially when installing a new breaker or working with 220 AC. I still shut everything down, test it with a voltage tool, and this gives me triple protection.

 
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