Blog Overview
I started blogging again in July 2023 after some job changes and my children growing up which gave me a lot more discretionary time. I do this for me, but I hope some others find my posts interesting or useful in some way.Teaser Image
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I decided to clean my solar panels again as July is here with bright clear skies, and I want to maximize my solar panels for as much production as possible. Better yet, the weather pattern looked to be pretty stable so I would be able to compare the difference pretty easy.
The Results are in: 5.4% Increase
Cleaning my solar panels this year took my peak days from an average of 51.88 kWh to and average of 54.67 kWh, a clear increase of 5.4%, but less than the increase I saw last year.
Dirty Solar Panels
The solar panels definitely were dirty as you can see here at 5:55 am on July 4, 2024.
Bird Poop is on Some of the Solar Panels
Spray, Then Mop, Then Spray
My approach to cleaning is pretty simple - just spray them down with a strong jet stream of water, then take the broom mop and get all the visible debris off, and the film of dirt. Then just come back and spray it a second time. Then I go around and with my thumb remove any items within reach that I can remove by scraping with my thumbnail.
Starting to Look Better
At 6:09 am I am nearly half done, now working the lower half of the panels.
New Item - Little 'Fractures' in the Panel
I notices some distinct white lines, that I think are little fractures within the panels. So far my production looks fine, so I think these are just cosmetic when seen up close. I will watch this over time.
The Whole Process Takes about 1 Hour
For me, the whole process to clean my solar panels takes about one hour. I rolled out of bed at 5:30 am, and was completely finished at 6:34 am, and hour later.Post Metadata
- Post Number: 262
- Year: 2024
- Slug: solar-panel-cleaning-results-july-4-2024
- Title: Solar Panel Cleaning Results - July 4, 2024
- Author: Alan
- Categories: Solar
- Subcategories: Solar Panels
- Tags: solarpanels, solarpanelcleaning
- Keywords: solar, panels, cleaning
- Show On Homepage: 1
- Language Code: en
- Status: published
- Date Created: 7/8/2024
- Last Edited: 7/8/2024
- Date To Show: 7/8/2024
- Last Updated: 7/1/2025
- Views: 0
- Likes: 0
- Dislikes: 0
- Comments: 0