Do Commercial Solar Systems Need To Be Cleaned?

As a commercial solar system owner, you may be wondering how often your panels need to be cleaned. While the frequency of cleaning will depend on a number of factors, including weather and location, there are some general guidelines to follow. Here's what you need to know about keeping your solar panels clean and efficient.

Why keep your commercial solar system clean?

Keeping commercial solar systems clean is vital to ensure they are working at their highest level of efficiency. Did you know soiling can cut your production by as much as 30%?

It is important not just to visual performance, but to the longevity and reliability of the system long term. 

Proper maintenance ensures the system captures maximum energy from the sun and maintains proper energy output while keeping energy costs at a minimum. It also helps prevent dirt, dust, and other pollutants from negatively affecting other components of the system. 

Regular inspections and automated cleaning can greatly reduce performance issues related to an unclean solar system, resulting in greater ROI for owners.

How to clean your commercial solar system

Keeping your commercial solar system running in peak condition is critical, and with a few simple steps you can ensure it’s kept clean year round. 

The best and most efficient way to do this is to invest in an automated cleaning solution for your solar panels. Not only does this minimize the amount of maintenance you have to perform, but it also ensures that your system is free from dust and debris that can reduce output performance by as much as 30%.

Regular cleaning with an automated system will extend the life of your solar panels and keep them operating efficiently, allowing you to see results from day one. 

What about water scaling and corrosion?

Maintaining clean water is essential to preventing harmful scaling and corrosion. 

The automated cleaning system utilizes two separate water filter technologies to ensure only the cleanest water is used, thereby reducing the potential for issues caused by contamination. 

This helps to reduce long-term maintenance costs by avoiding build-up, system shutdowns, costly repairs, and other complications resulting from scaling and corrosion. 

Automated cleaning systems utilizing multi-stage filtration technologies provide a safeguard against issues caused by foreign matter in water that can result in unexpected operational damage.

The benefits of having clean panels

Clean solar panels are essential for optimizing their energy production, allowing them to maximize the energy savings generated by their solar system. Not only that, but keeping panels clean can help to reduce the maintenance costs of their system in the long term. 

Regular periods of maintenance and cleaning with soft brushes can prevent dirt, dust, gaps due to corrosion and other obstructions from forming on solar systems. 

These obstructions can cause significant decreases in performance and limit their capacity to generate energy from sunlight. 

Does automated cleaning effect my warranty?

Automated cleaning is popular as a maintenance solution for commercial solar systems. By cleaning the panels on a consistent basis, and avoiding abrasive brushes and solvents, automated cleaning provides an effective way to keep your system in warranty compliance with the module manufacturer. 

The advantage of automated cleaning is that it takes place at night to avoid thermal stress to the module glass, meaning you are able to reap the benefits of having clean solar panels while maximizing their efficiency.

Conclusion

Cleaning your commercial solar system is an important part of maximizing its efficiency and performance. Investing in an automated cleaning system can help to protect your investment by reducing the need for manual cleaning, while also ensuring that you get the return on investment you were promised, and extending the life of your solar modules and helping them operate more efficiently. 

Transform Energy knows that optimization and maintenance are the key to high performance. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you keep your solar system in top condition.