Solar cleaning twenty questions

[Pjj]

hi can i justcome in on thisone quickly iam here cause a custy wants me to do her pannels i thought id just check if i need a solar brush for what ever reason. months ago custy had about 20 panels on a grass bank in his garden i used a flocked gardiner window brush seamed to work ok took about half an hour dont think i did any damage did i ? thanks as usual

Just use what ever brush you use on windows it’s very unlikely a brush will do any damage to a solar panel

 

[Diamond geezer]

not sure like button is working on PJJ so must say thank you and Ched

 

[Fraggle]

An acquaintance asked me to clean his solar panels today. I have an slx 22 with a number 6 extension and as expected it wasn't long enough.

I cleaned the bottom row and even with that he noticed quite a jump in the reading on his solar panel app.

They weren't filthy or covered in lichen, just dust.

Would purchasing the extensions 7,8 and 9 along with a 70cm gooseneck(I'm sure I saw that mentioned on a thread here) allow me to clean most panels on an average semi? I'm not interested in any that can't be done with pure water, that's a different level. I'm thinking about offering this along with the window cleaning.

Thanks

 

[Part Timer]

The gooseneck will help to keep the pole off the gutters, as for long enough this would also depend on the terrain and pitch of the roof.

 

[Fraggle]

Thanks, I'm guessing the gooseneck is strong enough to cope with the weight of the pole?

I'm thinking the best way to extend is once the brush is on the roof, rather than full extension and trying to lift it on?

 

[Part Timer]

Stick the pole up as if cleaning windows and once clear of the gutters walk back extending it as you go

 

[Pjj]

dont extend the first two sections to much this will make the pole stiffer and help stop it hitting the roof or gutters

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I just jamb the ladder under the gutter with ladder mitts and clean with an 18' pole.

 

[Fraggle]

Seems an appropriately titled thread to ask another question...

I cleaned some solar panels the other day, customer was pleased, he could see the output going up on an app on his phone as I was doing them do that was great.

I found a fairly new estate closeby, all detached houses with two large solar panels on each, but after chapping many doors it seems alot of residents had turned them off or had no idea what they were for. Others said they were for hot water only and thought they were a waste of time.
This estate is approximately ten years old.

My question is, in much newer estates that are going up now or last year or so with solar panels built in as standard, would they be likely to be similar, ie hot water only so not really worth getting cleaned? Or are they more likely to be like solar panels that people install and can benefit greatly from getting cleaned for higher efficiency?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pjj]

Seems an appropriately titled thread to ask another question...

I cleaned some solar panels the other day, customer was pleased, he could see the output going up on an app on his phone as I was doing them do that was great.

I found a fairly new estate closeby, all detached houses with two large solar panels on each, but after chapping many doors it seems alot of residents had turned them off or had no idea what they were for. Others said they were for hot water only and thought they were a waste of time.
This estate is approximately ten years old.

My question is, in much newer estates that are going up now or last year or so with solar panels built in as standard, would they be likely to be similar, ie hot water only so not really worth getting cleaned? Or are they more likely to be like solar panels that people install and can benefit greatly from getting cleaned for higher efficiency?

Thanks in advance!

My next door neighbours have two of these hot water panels they do work well and produce loads of hot water on sunny days cleaning them will increase the temperature but they aren’t anyway near as sensitive to cleaning as solar panels they will benefit far more from being cleaned and will produce more power than the cleaning costs incoured

 

[Chris34]

Just want to ask for a bit of advice fellas.

I've been asked to quote a solar panel clean, 22 panels on a bungalow. Never done one before or been asked to quote before but it is something that was on my list of things to look into as the rate they're being installed is pretty rapid, so seems like a good add on.

Just wondering, how do you go about pricing it, like how much time per panel do you allow? I'm presuming it's just straight forward using only water, is there anything to be concerned about with the electronics of it all? Like are there any wires that could be dislodged in the cleaning process?

I'm thinking around £120 but have no idea whether this is too cheap or on the high side. If it's as easy as cleaning windows then I'd expect it to take around an hour but obviously adding more on just in case it's a lot more work than initial impression.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Just want to ask for a bit of advice fellas.

I've been asked to quote a solar panel clean, 22 panels on a bungalow. Never done one before or been asked to quote before but it is something that was on my list of things to look into as the rate they're being installed is pretty rapid, so seems like a good add on.

Just wondering, how do you go about pricing it, like how much time per panel do you allow? I'm presuming it's just straight forward using only water, is there anything to be concerned about with the electronics of it all? Like are there any wires that could be dislodged in the cleaning process?

I'm thinking around £120 but have no idea whether this is too cheap or on the high side. If it's as easy as cleaning windows then I'd expect it to take around an hour but obviously adding more on just in case it's a lot more work than initial impression.

You would need to see them first. One of my old customers got stung by a chancer who said he cleaned her panels, think he sprayed water on them. I had to do it and they were that bad I had no choice but to use degreaser and my hotwater pole. 18 panels came up great and I charged £100 and she was delighted so you are spot on with the price.

 

[Pjj]

Just want to ask for a bit of advice fellas.

I've been asked to quote a solar panel clean, 22 panels on a bungalow. Never done one before or been asked to quote before but it is something that was on my list of things to look into as the rate they're being installed is pretty rapid, so seems like a good add on.

Just wondering, how do you go about pricing it, like how much time per panel do you allow? I'm presuming it's just straight forward using only water, is there anything to be concerned about with the electronics of it all? Like are there any wires that could be dislodged in the cleaning process?

I'm thinking around £120 but have no idea whether this is too cheap or on the high side. If it's as easy as cleaning windows then I'd expect it to take around an hour but obviously adding more on just in case it's a lot more work than initial impression.

There are no wires that will be affected by the cleaning process .
clean the same as a window pure only .
pricing we now charge £100 for the first 16 panels then £5 per panel extra . The caveat to this is if they are covered in lichen then it’s much dearer .shouldn’t take more than 25-45 muinits for the average array .
if any panels are damaged don’t clean them , it is possible to get an electric shock from them but as far as ime aware no one has ever died cleaning solar panels from electrocution a few have had falls from height though .

 

[Chris34]

There are no wires that will be affected by the cleaning process .
clean the same as a window pure only .
pricing we now charge £100 for the first 16 panels then £5 per panel extra . The caveat to this is if they are covered in lichen then it’s much dearer .shouldn’t take more than 25-45 muinits for the average array .
if any panels are damaged don’t clean them , it is possible to get an electric shock from them but as far as ime aware no one has ever died cleaning solar panels from electrocution a few have had falls from height though .

Seems like price wise I've got it pretty much bang on then.

How do you know if a panel is damaged? Obviously if they're smashed then that's obvious.

I've already seen them as I went to originally quote for other stuff, they looked quite straight forward but were the older type, not the all black modern type. They're 10 years old and have never been cleaned. Didn't notice anything other than normal dirt but I'll make a second visit just to be sure (I'll give him an estimate and then if he's happy I'll pop back and have a proper look).

 

[Pjj]

Seems like price wise I've got it pretty much bang on then.

How do you know if a panel is damaged? Obviously if they're smashed then that's obvious.

I've already seen them as I went to originally quote for other stuff, they looked quite straight forward but were the older type, not the all black modern type. They're 10 years old and have never been cleaned. Didn't notice anything other than normal dirt but I'll make a second visit just to be sure (I'll give him an estimate and then if he's happy I'll pop back and have a proper look).

You can only look at them if any obvious signs of damage don’t do them look for cracks dents or mis shaped edging . To be fair the only damaged ones we have come across have been very large commercial arrays with thousands of panels and had been damaged by vehicles hitting them and we had a couple that had been hit with a telly handler on a roof of a barn . If they are 10 years old guessing they will be fairly dirty.

 

[Iron Giant]

Seems an appropriately titled thread to ask another question...

I cleaned some solar panels the other day, customer was pleased, he could see the output going up on an app on his phone as I was doing them do that was great.

I found a fairly new estate closeby, all detached houses with two large solar panels on each, but after chapping many doors it seems alot of residents had turned them off or had no idea what they were for. Others said they were for hot water only and thought they were a waste of time.
This estate is approximately ten years old.

My question is, in much newer estates that are going up now or last year or so with solar panels built in as standard, would they be likely to be similar, ie hot water only so not really worth getting cleaned? Or are they more likely to be like solar panels that people install and can benefit greatly from getting cleaned for higher efficiency?

Thanks in advance!

I have similar houses on one estate David Wilson Homes aka Barratts I charged a customer £10 for that one big panel as that's my minimum, I've only cleaned two in 10 years, The issue for the homeowner with these systems is they can't find a single person who knows anything about them or anyone who is willing to touch the storage tank and whatever is connected to it,

A customer asked me around 2 months ago and said her hot water was only lukewarm so asked me to clean the panel to see if that would improve things at all I haven't spoken to her about it since if the panel is the only way to heat the hot water it's going to be pricey I'd have thought to have it all safely disconnected and removed and have a combi installed.

 

[Crystalalan]

does anyone use a stiff bristled brush on solar panels got a job on monday and the panels have a few lichens on them was wondering if it might be a good idea to use one.

 

[Pjj]

does anyone use a stiff bristled brush on solar panels got a job on monday and the panels have a few lichens on them was wondering if it might be a good idea to use one.

Yes especially if they have licken on them

 

[Orgasmic window cleaning]

does anyone use a stiff bristled brush on solar panels got a job on monday and the panels have a few lichens on them was wondering if it might be a good idea to use one.

If there’s lichen, you won’t remove it properly without getting up to the panels with either a picker or scaffold. The root won’t be removed easily from the floor, although it won’t be seen. It’ll just grow back, you need to break the bond between the root and the surface of the panel.
To do a proper job, scaffold or powered access is the only way.