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https://www.google.com/search?q=anti...rpaneltalk.com
http://sinovoltaics.com/learning-cen...-solar-panels/
My Trina AllMax have:
3.2 mm (0.13 inches), High Transmission, AR Coated Tempered Glass
From the install manual:
- Normally rain water is sufficient to keep the modules clean however it is particularly important to ensure that the solar modules are clean before onset of summer. Products installed at a tilt angle below 10degrees or which are located in particularly dusty areas, are installed in landscape orientation or in areas of high pollution or close to large bird populations will require more regular cleaning.
- When cleaning the module use a soft cloth together with a mild detergent and clean water. Take care to avoid severe thermal shocks which might damage the module by cleaning modules with water which has a similar temperature to the modules being cleaned.
- In the event that the solar modules need to be cleaned then clean the module use a soft cloth together with a mild detergent and clean water. Take care to avoid severe thermal shocks which might damage the module by cleaning modules with water which has a similar temperature to the modules being cleaned.Last edited by frankiek3; 01-25-2018, 06:30 PM.Comment
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Your installation attachment didn't come through.
Anti reflective coatings are not protective coatings. If they were they would not need special handling or consideration at installation. Scratches and abrasion are to be avoided.
They are however, and by all or most every account, pretty robust in terms of how they stand up to the environment, and to cleaning with non harsh soaps and solvents. I can verify that robustness from a lot of cleaning brushing and hosing over the last 4+ years.
As most any reputable source will suggest, if anything in addition to plain water, a small amount of a mild detergent can be used.
Abrasive cleaners or abrasive cleaning with such materials as Scotch Brite is not recommended, nor are harsh chemicals such as caustics or acids, such as, for example, fluoric acid which is used to etch glass and will destroy most dialectic materials that a lot of ARC's are made of. .
I've used Palm Olive dish soap about 6 or so times for 4+ years when I clean my array with the specific purpose of getting a very clean output estimation for array fouling measurement reasons. At such times, I also use Windex for those super cleanings and wipe the entire array with lint free cloth as a finish. A Sunpower White Paper has suggested Windex to produce no harm to the ARC. All the cleanings and rubbing I've done has produce no deleterious effects I can measure. For less strenuous cleaning requirements, I suppose car wash soap would be as adequate.
For most every month or so semi-scheduled cleanings, plain tap (hose) water works about as well as more sophisticated methods for a lot less hassle. 10 min. or so with a hose will get ~ 3/4 of the dirt. Just hose in the early A.M. before the glazing heats up. Get after the big guano by getting it wet, letting it set for 5 min. or so, and then get after it with a soft cloth. Rinse and rinse/drip dry.
If you're interested, see my prior post for why I believe hard water spots don't matter much to performance, if at all.
If anyone has data from reputable source(s) that suggests otherwise (not just some "feeling" or conjecture, or some anecdotal jibberish), I'd like to see it. I can change my opinion, but I've not found a reason to do so yet, and I've been looking.Comment
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frankiek3,
We know solar panels have a special coating on the glass but your dish soap warning kind of made it sound like you thought some brands of dish soap leave behind a protective coating harmful to the glass. I knew what you meant but I doubt any kitchen dish soap would ever be an issue.
I use rain to clean my panels. I just can't always schedule when it will fall.
Dave W. Gilbert AZ
6.63kW grid-tie ownerComment
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Dish soap is an abrasive soap to help clean pots and pans. I'm not going to recommend using it for solar panel cleaning, but to each their own. I'll fix the cut off, the manual recommends a mild detergent if not just water.
Actually many companies make protective coating products for solar panels. I'm not aware of manufacturers that do, and I guess I wrote that thinking of when dish soap is used to wash a car it will remove any wax exposing the clear coat. Sorry if I confused anyone.Comment
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Are you confusing some other type of soap with dish soap?
Most that I am familiar with will cut grease but are not abrasive. Thats why you have a scouring pad.
an example of "dish soap" https://dawn-dish.com/en-us
Dawn is NOT an abrasive, Dawn is a surfactant.Last edited by ButchDeal; 01-25-2018, 06:35 PM.OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNHComment
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Well you confused us again.
I know you meant to say dish soap is an aggressive soap (which I can agree with) but it is not an abrasive soap.
I still vote for rainwater applied by mother nature. If you have soft water that would be my next suggestion. That is what works for my panels on my house. "Your mileage may vary."
Dave W. Gilbert AZ
6.63kW grid-tie ownerComment
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For most situations, I'd probably vote the same. Regular rain is probably the best combination of ease and cost to keep an array clean. However, the weather may not cooperate to make life easy. As you write, Your mileage may vary.
Provided the panel or array is tilted at something > 10 deg. or so to the horizontal, depending on its intensity and duration, a decent rain may restore ~3/4 to 90% + of the clean performance of a panel or array that has been lost due to fouling, maybe all of it.
If regular rain of some consequence, maybe like about an inch/month or so can be counted on, that'll probably help to hold the overall fouling penalty to maybe 3% +/- a bit.
If performance decreases at a rate of something like 1 %/week without rain or cleaning, it'll be hard to justify any mechanical/artificial means of cleaning if an area gets, say, maybe 15" or more rain/yr. provided there is no dry season. 1X/month hosings can probably keep things reasonably clean enough during extended rainless periods or dry seasons.
A bit off topic: I could see some adjustment to hosings in a place like Albuquerque. Winter is the dry season and temps. there in the A.M. - both the ambient air and radiant sky temps. can be and often are well below freezing with array glazing temps. less than the air temp. That would make the temp. diff. between the glazing and hose water enough to crack the glazing. Not much of a consideration for most of us, but may be a consideration in cold, dry climates. The situation then becomes a guessing game at glazing temp. as f(P.O.A. irradiance). Not a crisis, at least not until glazings start cracking from thermal shock.Comment
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The rain this fall didn't clean off the panels. I noticed yesterday that since the 8" of snow from earlier in the week melted off the panels look a lot cleaner from the ground. I was getting almost 60% of rated power yesterday. I think that is pretty good considering the time of year and the angle of the panels.Comment
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The 60% thing had nothing to do with how clean the panels are. It was simply a comment that I was getting 60% of rated power yesterday. The 21 panels I have are rated at 300 watts each. My inverter was showing it was producing almost 60% of the rated capacity. I understand that achieving 100% of rated capacity almost never happens.
My panel cleanliness comments are not scientific. It is simply me standing on the ground and looking up at the panels. A week ago I looked at the panels and it was obvious they were dirty as they had streaks of dirt on them. It was the same dirt they had on them when installed. Yesterday I looked at the panels again and the streaks of dirt were gone. The only change is we got 8" of snow on Monday and it was all melted off the panels by yesterday morning.Comment
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Today was mostly sunny at my location. My array produced 60% of its STC rated output at 1010 and 1425 hrs. today. At 1220 hrs. today it was producing power at about 76 % of rated output. It's about 2 % fouled at this time. It rained 2 about weeks ago. Before the rain the array was about 8 % fouled.
The effect precipitation will have on an array's cleanliness will vary greatly with the type, amount, intensity and duration of the precipitation.The effect precipitation will have on an array's output will not be as noticeable as other factors that influence performance.Comment
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Solar panels get cleaned when it rains. It is easy to maintain and does not require much in terms of deep cleaning. But if the panel is situated in a place that is prone to dry weather or dust storms, it needs deep cleaning. The cleaning process is quite simple and can be done using a hose and a bucket of soapy water. While cleaning, take care to use a non abrasive sponge though to prevent damage or scratches to the panel.Comment
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I am surprised no one has mentioned RV power washers. Stores like Lowe's and Home Depot sell them. They are just a hose nozzel that compresses the water acting like a power washer. This is important because if your solar panels are 20 feet high like mine water pressure will be low. It also extends up to 6 feet making it perfect for cleaning all of the solar panels. An example of one of these RV cleaners is "Orbit Telescoping Cleaning Wand". I bought something similiar at lowes for $12 and it power washed 80 pounds of bird poop off my roof. It did the best job.
The argument that rain is all you need to clean solar panels is rain is stupid because birds will poop on them, there will be dirt on other debris that easily doesnt come off with rain. You need to power wash them.Comment
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howdy friday and welcome to spt. i do disagree with your asertion that you need to power wash panels as i know for a fact that you dont. now bird turds can be an issue but a spray with the hose has always worked for me and i have been tols by several manufacturers not to use any detergent or chemical of any kind just water and a soft clothComment
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