SolarEdge Overheating/Throttling

[J.P.M.]

It’s impossible to tell given the thick layer of pollen over each panel. I doubt it boosts performance but I’m content just increasing the inverter’s useful life.

Thank you for the reply. Understood.

I can pretty much promise you the pollen impairs your output. You might be able to estimate how much by keeping an eye on the weather forecast and looking for 2 days with clear skies and ~ equal temp and wind conditions. Hose the array off EARLY in the A.M. of the 2d day and compare the output of the days.

I'd think array fouling from pollen or any type of semi uniform coating would lower inverter input and so reduce the potential for overheating/potential for tripping, but unless the pollen impairs output by > ~ 10% or so, I kind of doubt it'll change what the inverter does.

I'd be interested in reading want you find going forward.

[soby]

I tried to clean off the panels a few days ago and all I was able to do is get my siding wet. That roof is way, way up there... Luckily we are expecting some rain this weekend.

I can say that, for the first time on a sunny day, I had almost no clipping. 8.538kW peak on 5/20 down to 7.977kW peak on 5/27. That's a 6.5% drop in a week which I attribute exclusively to pollen.
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[J.P.M.]

I tried to clean off the panels a few days ago and all I was able to do is get my siding wet. That roof is way, way up there... Luckily we are expecting some rain this weekend.

I can say that, for the first time on a sunny day, I had almost no clipping. 8.538kW peak on 5/20 down to 7.977kW peak on 5/27. That's a 6.5% drop in a week which I attribute exclusively to pollen.
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I don't know about exclusively, but fouling from pollen or other things sure doesn't help production. I'd bump the water pressure a bit.

Every situation is different, but FWIW, at my site, without any rain/cleaning, my array fouls at a rate of very roughly but (it appears) somewhat consistently somewhere between 0.75 % and 1.0% per week. Long, boring story how I came up with that est.

FWIW, it seems that after about 8 -10 weeks without rain, my array's output penalty due to fouling from what's mostly dust and caking from evaporation of the morning dew/dust soup typically/nominally might level of at maybe 6 - 8 % or so total fouling penalty and get asymptotic around there, but in the 6 /12 yrs. I've had the array, it hasn't been rainless for that long to be able to investigate further.