Solar panel cleaning advice

I am in the process of cleaning some solar panels for a company that actually makes solar panels. I haven’t really done any before and had a few questions.

Am I able to clean them in direct sunlight? The owner of the company was worried that the water could potentially crack the glass on them if they’re boiling hot? I know that’s rare in England but you know how this summer has been!

Should I use any chemicals/ degreasers or just go straight with pure.

Should I use a specific brush head?

ive read some people use tap water to rinse? Would I not be better off rinsing with pure to avoid limescale buildup as the tap water round here is horrific at 345ppm.

Thankyou in advance for replies ?

You can clean in direct sun but as they sit not in the shade they get very hot. Either wait until its cooler or the sun has moved as there is a chance of the panels having shock and cracking yes.

Manafactuers recommend pure only. We find people leave cleaning of them to late, until they lose the nice bonus in their pocket to have them cleaned and thus it needs a little TFR or such to hell shift the dirt.

We use whatever brush we fancy on the day.

We only use pure. Because its 'pure' there's less something or other for electricity to jump to and give you a belter. Plus, as you say no limescale etc...

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Surely if you are working for the company that makes them they would be able to give you the answers to your questions ?

from experience cleaning panels in hot weather unless you are using iced water there will be no issues as the water will be warm to a degree due to the ambient temperature , if you google this there is a guy putting boiling water on frozen solar panels and they don’t crack , Ime not advocating doing this but it goes to show the extream that can be gone to without causing damage , we have been cleaning some panels last week in 32 degrees all day no problem at all , we use hot water all year round and have cleaned many thousands of panels and never had any issues evan when it’s been frosty , With regards to chemicals all the companies we do panels for insist on pure only and that includes rinsing . Brushes I don’t think it makes much difference some like flocked brushes we generaly use Gardiners 45 cm brushes if they aren’t to dirty if they are thick with muddy like dried on dust so you cannot see the panel colour then a normal Gardiners supream window brush , but I don’t think the brush type makes much difference it’s a personal thing 

Quality, Thankyou for the replies and advice guys. I’m waiting to hear back from their maintenance team so at least when I speak to him I’ll be able to confidently know what I’m talking about now. ?

Not sure if this will help but did a little experiment  I know it’s not the same but is extremes in temperature 

On 17/07/2018 at 10:01, Squeaky Clean Dave said:

Not sure if this will help but did a little experiment  I know it’s not the same but is extremes in temperature 

Click to expand...

Must say i cracked one last winter , accidently turned heater all up max , 70-80 degrees celsius in -4 , it cracked on the spot . A window , not solar 

Is there any risk of electric shock from cleaning these panels?

Sam Hodgson said:

I am in the process of cleaning some solar panels for a company that actually makes solar panels. I haven’t really done any before and had a few questions.

Am I able to clean them in direct sunlight? The owner of the company was worried that the water could potentially crack the glass on them if they’re boiling hot? I know that’s rare in England but you know how this summer has been!

Should I use any chemicals/ degreasers or just go straight with pure.

Should I use a specific brush head?

ive read some people use tap water to rinse? Would I not be better off rinsing with pure to avoid limescale buildup as the tap water round here is horrific at 345ppm.

Thankyou in advance for replies ?

Click to expand...

Why not ask the manufacturer, what the spec is on cleaning?

solarpanelcleaningltd said:

Why not ask the manufacturer, what the spec is on cleaning?

Click to expand...

Because I’m dealing with the owner and he has mentioned the possibility of me cleaning the buggers in the evenings/ nights due to the sun. He’s speaking to his head of maintenance and because I want to sound like I know what I’m talking about when dealing with him as this opportunity could open up an entire new business venture for me.

Sam Hodgson said:

I am in the process of cleaning some solar panels for a company that actually makes solar panels. I haven’t really done any before and had a few questions.

Am I able to clean them in direct sunlight? The owner of the company was worried that the water could potentially crack the glass on them if they’re boiling hot? I know that’s rare in England but you know how this summer has been!

Should I use any chemicals/ degreasers or just go straight with pure.

Should I use a specific brush head?

ive read some people use tap water to rinse? Would I not be better off rinsing with pure to avoid limescale buildup as the tap water round here is horrific at 345ppm.

Thankyou in advance for replies ?

Click to expand...

It is possible for freezing cold water to crack perfectly strong glass. I was cleaning the van with a car wash brush, plugged into the outside tap and dishing out nice cold water. With no little chips etc a crack came from the bottom of the screen. I was lucky that I had the screen replaced in September and they replaced this cracked screen under warranty, called it a stress crack.

My neighbour runs a car valeting company with a few vans on the road so I asked him if they have ever had this problem. In short the answer was no and we came to the conclusion this is because the water in the back of the van is not freezing cold, it warms in the heat as do the panels. Personally I would do it with just pure and make sure it wasn't my first job of the day to give the water time to get to temperature.

On 17/07/2018 at 09:01, Squeaky Clean Dave said:

Not sure if this will help but did a little experiment  I know it’s not the same but is extremes in temperature 

Click to expand...

The difficulty here is the glass if fine and intact. Plenty of people head out and pour boiling water over a frozen windscreen in the winter and have no issues. I watch my neighbour do it every time her car is frosty.... Plenty of people also put warm water on a windscreen and get a crack, if the window is weak in any way then you couldn't guarantee that it would be fine.