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3 Tips to Keep Your Solar Panels in Pristine Condition
Have you recently implemented solar panels in your home or business? This can be a very exciting and rewarding time. Ahead of you is a future with lower monthly electricity costs, long-term, increased property value, and much much more.
It is important to take proper care of your new investment to ensure they last as long as possible. Read our maintenance tips below to start caring for your solar panels.
1. Keep Your Solar Panels Clean
Although these systems are silent, it is important that you don’t forget about them completely. Your solar panels need regular maintenance and cleanings to perform at their best.
Depending on the environment where you live, you should clean your solar panels no less than once every other month. Cleaning your solar panels is often a simple task.
Pick up some non-abrasive soap and a typical cleaning sponge or rag. The goal of cleaning your solar panels is to get the glass and clean, and streak free as possible, without scratching them.
If you’ve had your solar panels for quite some time, they may have caked on dirt and grime. This might be a task for a professional cleaning service. They will have the tools and the expertise to ensure that your solar panels are properly cleaned and cared for.
2. Keep Your Solar Panels Out of the Shade
Solar panels are built to last in high temperatures. If your system ends up in the shade, they, obviously, won’t work as efficiently. If just 1/4 of your solar panel is in the shade, this can reduce the output by more than half.
When this occurs, your panels are no longer working for you, therefore costing you money and hindering your available energy resources.
If there are any chances of trees growing over your solar panels or in the way of direct sunlight, notify your local solar panel company. Typically, solar power companies should evaluate your land and ensure this is something you’ll likely never come across, but in the event that you do, they will be able to assist you in removing or trimming back the trees.
3. Log Your Solar Panels’ Daily Performance
To fully ensure that your panels will last, track their daily performance. This is a very involved step, but can be worth it in the long run.
Every day, jot down what your system has produced at roughly the same time. Make a note on days that were particularly overcast, as they can affect your overall results.
This daily log should produce the same, or relatively the same numbers. Once you start to see fluctuations in your data, you will know that it’s time for a professional to step in.
If this is too much for you to do in your daily schedule, there are now monitoring systems that can do this for you. This additional cost can help you monitor the performance of your solar panel system, while also giving you peace of mind.
