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Lichen on solar panels

Doug

Active member
Messages
102
Location
Frome
Has anyone found a simple way of removing lichen from solar panels without risking damaging the panels?

 
Soak them with water first when they absorb it it softens the licken making it easier to scrub off , hot water will remove it a lot quicker as well if you have it . 

 
I have customers who have never had their solar panels cleaned. Because when they were sold them they were told they don’t ever need cleaning. 

 
I have customers who have never had their solar panels cleaned. Because when they were sold them they were told they don’t ever need cleaning. 
That will be your custies 'misunderstanding' Doug - you're not to use cleaning solutions/chemicals on them but cleaning is obviously a very good idea if they want to maximise their feed in tariffs - clean vs dirty/dusty panels generate at least 1/3 more electricity (at least that's what google proved on their enormous arrays in the US used to power their server farms) 

It literally pays for itself to be reguarlly cleaned  - worth doing a little reading up on it - the cost/benefit analysis etc and explain it to your custy's so they get you back each year - I've got custies who get £2-3k back per year - they want their panels to be working optimally so they don't see a 'dip' in that return ?

 
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I have customers who have never had their solar panels cleaned. Because when they were sold them they were told they don’t ever need cleaning. 
That's correct and it states that on their policy but it was just a sales gimmick. Next we will see self-cleaning glass on roofs and windows. I just tell them if that was the case, why does solar farms pay to get their panels cleaned every 3 months, because it provides more electricity which means more money. I was amazed when my customers told me they were generating more kilowatts each day after the clean but not anymore.

 
That will be your custies 'misunderstanding' Doug - you're not to use cleaning solutions/chemicals on them but cleaning is obviously a very good idea if they want to maximise their feed in tariffs - clean vs dirty/dusty panels generate at least 1/3 more electricity (at least that's what google proved on their enormous arrays in the US used to power their server farms) 

It literally pays for itself to be reguarlly cleaned  - worth doing a little reading up on it - the cost/benefit analysis etc and explain it to your custy's so they get you back each year - I've got custies who get £2-3k back per year - they want their panels to be working optimally so they don't see a 'dip' in that return ?
This is a very controversial subject we have cleaned 10 S of thousands of panels , mainly commercial arrays , but in houses I have had very mixed results , a friend of mine runs a large B&B and has 32 panels on the roof they were two years old and never been cleaned the property is on a busy main road and the panels were covered in thick dust and some bird poo , I cleaned them for him , he has a computer program that monitors the panels out put  ,and after cleaning the output was no different .i have other customers that claim after we have cleaned them they see. 15-25% increase in out put , so I don’t know what to believe .

 
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My custy I referred to up post has similar smart meter/sw and told me she looks forward to seeing the increase in power - it even calcs the cost of that for her so she can see the direct correlation. But of course each installation is different and some may be on steeper gradient hence more cleaning action by rain - the more horizontal the panels the greater the benefit for sure (read the google study ? - I mean it's actually google's own study on their own panels, not just 'googling' any old study)  

A local plumber with about a dozen vans/guys did very well out of installing panels in the 'boom' and schedules an annual clean on them - but charges a fortune apparently - hence I keep picking up his custy - so clearly panels are able to be cleaned. Like you say those generators are hardly going to 'throw' money away for no appreciable benefit. In fact there's a thriving panel cleaning industry now days - companies just cleaning them flat out...

How is it a 'very controversial subject' ?

 
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I cleaned mine and I generated more power and even broke my record of 25kws when it stood at 24kws so i don't think they lose power as they age. We would need to see a test to see what the difference was, I may check out utube. 

 
I’m testing a new product for lichen next week, approved by a pv manufacturer. Fingers crossed!!

 
That will be your custies 'misunderstanding' Doug - you're not to use cleaning solutions/chemicals on them but cleaning is obviously a very good idea if they want to maximise their feed in tariffs - clean vs dirty/dusty panels generate at least 1/3 more electricity (at least that's what google proved on their enormous arrays in the US used to power their server farms) 

It literally pays for itself to be reguarlly cleaned  - worth doing a little reading up on it - the cost/benefit analysis etc and explain it to your custy's so they get you back each year - I've got custies who get £2-3k back per year - they want their panels to be working optimally so they don't see a 'dip' in that return ?
Thanks for the clarification. This makes total sense.

 
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