Plain and simple, your solar panels will get dirty. Despite what little or no maintenance requirements your sales person told you, the fact is, your solar panels require proper cleaning care to maintain their optimal rated performance.

What people don't realize is that your installers have deliberately positioned them in the most conspicuous place high off the ground or on top of your roof. This is really not rocket science but they have been designed to be placed in the best open area to capture the most sunlight. That is, away from shades as much as possible but constantly subjected to all the wonderful elements of mother-nature.

While you can't blame your installer (but maybe your sales person) for doing their jobs nor can we blame mother-nature, what you can do is employ the best solar panel cleaning and maintenance care and we have just the right solutions for you!

There are many culprits that can cause your solar panels to be dirty and each of them has varying detrimental effects to the energy output of your system.

With black on black, you won't be able to tell even at a close distance so imagine trying to figure out if your solar panels are dirty from atop your roof! In case you didn't know, your solar panels will always come in black color in order to optimally absorb sunlight. Granted, dirt can be a brownish color too but regardless of black or brown, dirt will decrease your energy output unless you exercise regular cleaning care and maintenance for your solar panels using our cleaning kit.

Moisture is yet another major headache that occurs while you are sleeping at night. Your solar panels will collect moisture in the evening that will eventually dry throughout the day, mixing with dirt and dust in the air, leaving behind water spots. Water spots start small but become larger over time blocking out more and more sunlight from your solar panels. Water spots are difficult to spot until they become larger in size and you'll have to be close to your panels to be able to inspect them for water spots.

Water spots

Moisture also attracts mold which can be problematic since they can reproduce in the millions within hours. Mold needs moisture, oxygen or air, and a food source. They are not very picky about their food source which can be dead insects, bugs, or derivatives of plants that land onto your panels. Mold infestations are easier to spot since they reproduce in large quantities forming batches rather than being scattered in different places and can be an assortment of colors such as white, blue, or green. Since you won't be able to stop moisture from occurring or to remove air from the environment, your best bet is to remove the food source of mold by cleaning up your solar panels on a regular basis.

Another culprit is bird droppings that land onto your solar panels. Left unattended, they WILL cover a small area of your panels, preventing those solar cells from converting the suns energy into electricity. Worst, if left to dry in hot sun, the droppings will be difficult to remove and will permanently scratch or etch the surface of the glass on your panels.

To compound matters, you will have to apply a lot of pressure to clean up the dropping and it won't an easy job to do high up on your roof. Clean up the spotted bird droppings immediately to protect your green investment!

Luckily, bird droppings are easy to spot so don't procrastinate when you see them. They commonly are white, green, or brownish color. Our cleaning kit will make cleaning and maintenance of bird droppings easy, fast, and safe!

Dirt and bird droppings are the more common culprits that can dirty your solar panels. Another culprit is sap. Sap from trees or plants can cause the most detrimental damage. Sap is a thick fluid consisting of water, hormones, and mineral elements dissolved in it. When sap comes into contact with glass, it can form a tight bond to the glass when left to harden in the sun. If they ever land onto your solar panels, they'll have every opportunity to harden in the sun!

So how does sap get up onto such high places? You'll have to give credit to both the insects (yet another culprit) that are attracted to tree or plant sap and the birds that prey on those insects. Unless you have an insect infestation or a large garden nearby, you probably won't have too much to worry about from sap or insects.

Do not underestimate the mess insects can cause who can deposit their fecal matter everywhere they travel to. Even though insects are small in size, they are large in terms of an abundance of them.

Efficiency of solar panels is currently averaging around 15%. That is, 15% of the captured sunlight is converted into electricity which is why they are built in large arrays to generate enough power for real world household consumption. Better technology will help crank up that number above 25% but regardless of the efficiency, solar panels still need proper cleaning care and maintenance in order to operate at their rated efficiency.

Dirty solar panels can decrease the energy output by as much as 25% or one-quarter after a few months of dirt and other mentioned buildup. The rate of buildup really depends on your area but the important point to understand is that your solar panels need proper cleaning care and maintenance to perform at their rated efficiency.

Let's break down the efficiency numbers so there's less confusion. With todays solar panels efficiency of 15%, a 4 kW (kilowatt or one thousand watts) solar panel system in the bay area generates an average of 8000 kW hours in a year.

Improper care can decrease that output of power by 25% so instead of generating an average of 8000 kW hours in a year, it will generate 6000 kW hours or 2000 fewer kW hours a year!

Another way to look at this is in terms of months. If you are losing 25% of energy output per year, that equates to 3 lost months of energy output! You could have enjoyed 3 more months of zero or low electricity cost. Now, shouldn't you start taking cleaning care and maintenance more seriously?

Determining how much energy output you are losing to dirt or other culprits is not straightforward. For starters, the level of sunlight will vary everyday so it will be difficult to compare with previous months. A few record breaking hot days in a month can easily throw off your numbers.

We recommend keeping your solar panels as clean as possible for at least 6 months after installation so that you can use those 6 months as a reference point when comparing numbers. You will also need to access information about your solar panel system such as energy output either through your system or your electric bill.

If you notice your energy output from your solar panel system or cost savings has went down, then it's time for a cleaning! Be sure to compare with months of similar weather and to check for any malfunctions that can occur with your system.

Lastly, you will have to factor in for small degradation in performance of your solar panels which is normal wear and tear for any electrical devices you buy such as an LCD HDTV. A typical solar panel will last about 20 years before needing a replacement.

We offer the best solar panel cleaning care and maintenance solutions. Every solar panel system will have different cleaning care needs depending on how reachable they are on your home or business. Some homes have a flat roof that can be easily accessed while others have a low pitch to them that are harder to reach. Read through our options as we provide detailed guidance to help you decide the best options to suit your needs.

Using your water hose to clean your solar panels is an ineffective way to clean. If you plan to spray water to clean from the ground, you'll end up splashing the dirt on your panels all over your home which will eventually drop onto the ground where you have to clean up that mess. Water will only lift off the top layer of loose dirt but many of the other culprits remain such as grime. Moreover, water spots can form afterwards allowing for further dirt buildup.

Some owners will take their water hose using a ladder to get closer to their solar panels. This is a disaster in the making and we highly recommend against this! Water hoses are notoriously difficult for handling and tangle easily especially when they have to travel a long distance.

There are two types of ladders that owners can choose to use - an extension ladder and a step ladder.

Extension ladders are ladders that can are adjustable to a certain height and are leaned against the house. These ladders come with grips that prevent the ladders from moving while anchored to the ground. Some ladders have hooks that can latch on to some object on your home to prevent the ladder from tilting over. We highly recommend against using these types of ladders for solar panel cleaning. You put yourself at a high unnecessary risk every time you use this ladder. Leave this to the professional cleaning service folks who are experienced with how to safely utilize these types of ladders.

A step ladder or A-frame ladder are ladders that have two legs that make they resemble an "A" frame. These ladders offer better stability over the extension ladders since you do not need to lean them against your home. Due to the size of these ladders, they do not have as high of a reach as the extension ladders. Only if your solar panels are in hard to reach places on your roof, we recommend using a step ladder in combination with our solar panel cleaning kit to clean your panels. To prevent scratches or cuts from handling these ladders, you should wear utility gloves at all times.

Manual care using our unique Solar Panel Cleaning Kit is the most cost effective way to clean and maintain your solar panels. Our Solar Panel Cleaning Kit consists of a cleaning pole that can be extended from 7 feet to 24 feet, a detachable cleaning brush, and a residue-free cleaning solution.

If you have to elevate yourself to clean, you put yourself at high risk for injuries! Our cleaning kit has been designed to allow you to clean your solar panels from the ground giving you the safest, quickest, and most effective way to manually clean solar panels!

Being able to clean your solar panels right from the ground, you are employing the safest way to clean. Most solar panels are reachable by our poles but if your panels are situated out of reach, then you may need a step ladder to help elevate you high enough to reach them. Read on more to determine if you can reach your solar panels.

Made of strong and durable anodized aluminum, our poles are lightweight around 4 lbs (pounds) to carry with both hands and equipped with a grip handle to prevent slippage. Our poles are easy to handle whether fully collapsed to its 7 feet height or fully extended to 24 foot in height.

For homes that have a pitched roof, determine if you can see your solar panels from the ground. As long as you can see the side of your panels or the face of your panels (the top side that is capturing sunlight) from the ground, then you can reach them with our cleaning pole. You may have to walk further away from your home in order to see your solar panels from the ground.

For most single story homes with a pitched roof, your solar panels should be highly conspicuous or visible while standing from the ground looking upwards. The same rule applies to two story homes so make sure you can see your solar panels, otherwise, it may be out of reach and you'll have to consider an automated cleaning system or cleaning service.

If your solar panels are 15 feet off the ground, then you will need a pole that can reach about 18 feet or more. Since you will be reaching your solar panels at an angle, the required distance of reach will always be greater than the height of the solar panels. A general rule of thumbs: extend our cleaning pole to at least 20% of the height of your solar panels.

For homes that have a flat roof, check to see if you can access your roof. If you can access your roof, you won't have to worry about extending our cleaning pole for a long reach. Instead, 7 to 15 feet should be sufficient to quickly clean the solar panels without having to overexert your body. Remember, your solar panel system is typically very wide so even with easy access to them, you need a better way to clean them. Our cleaning pole helps you quickly reach and clean your solar panels.

If you do not have easy access to your flat roof, then you will need to consider getting a ladder. Click here to read about step ladders.

For homes where your solar panels have been situated in hard to reach areas or on flat roofs with no easy access, you will need a sturdy step ladder that will elevate you to a point that allows you to better reach your solar panels with our cleaning pole. Although step ladders are safer to operate than extension ladders, we caution that you must exercise the utmost care if you decide to use a step ladder since there are many potential hazards that could occur.

• People who want the most cost effective cleaning care and maintenance solution will benefit the most from our cleaning kit. Our kit will save you the cost of cleaning service over the lifetime (around 20 to 25 years) of your solar panel system.
• People who have the Do-It-Yourself mentality.
• People who have solar panels that are easily accessible either from the ground using our cleaning pole or from access to the roof.
• People who want to maximize their solar investment by keeping them clean.
• People who need to keep clean their solar panels because dirt build-up occurs quickly.
• Suitable for residential care.

• Manual care is not well suited for busy people. These people should consider an automated cleaning system or cleaning service.
• Manual care is not suited for people with large solar panel systems that need cleaning often. So if your system is saving you $300 or more in electricity cost, you may want to consider purchasing an automated cleaning system where you can recoup the cost of another system within a few short years. Alternatively, you can consider scheduling a cleaning service on a regular basis.
• Manual care may not be able to reach high or difficult to reach places to clean your solar panels.

An automated solar panel cleaning system offers a great solution for optimal performance. Multiple nozzles are secured along the edge of your solar panels and spray a cleaning fluid. The nozzles are spaced appropriately to achieve full coverage of your panels. You can configure the scheduling of the nozzles from a control box that is typically installed in your garage or location of choice.

The cost of an automated system usually pays for itself within a few years by allowing your solar panels to optimally operate year around.

• The best option for little or no cleaning care for your solar panels. Just replenish the cleaning fluid source.
• Suitable for busy people, hard to reach solar panels, and large solar panel systems.
• Suitable for both residential and commercial care.

• The dirt that is washed from the automated cleaning system will eventually land somewhere and needs to be cleaned up. You would still need to address where the dirt will end up and how to clean up that mess.
• Added cost to your solar panel system although the cost is recouped within a few years.

Request a quote for an automated cleaning system