Yes, putting cold water on hot glass yields wonderful results (if you are a panel salesman)
I rinse mine off pre-dawn when the overnight dew has softened things up. I do it about 2x a year in summer (california dry season, dusty, no rain for 6 months)
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Residential Solar Panel Cleaning System
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Hi, that 30% looked quite high to me as well at the moment it isn't from an amazingly reputable source and we are planning on our own testing to back this up and see if there is any effect at all.
Here is one article we were reading: https://www.energymatters.com.au/ren...2IJDMjDoksUnggLeave a comment:
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cooling panels in hot weather produces better results. guy on youtube used rain water and had impressive results.Leave a comment:
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I am having difficulty in imagining any one having so much dirt collect on their panels to form a 'need' for a new device to clean them.
I knew that we would likely have issues with snow build-up, so our panels are 'ground-mounted'. They are suspended by one edge, in winter months they are set at a very steep grade so snow & ice slide off easily. In the summer months our panels are set nearly horizontal to match the angle to the sun's passage.
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Hi there,
I did the survey, People that make these types of posts rarely return, but if you do, I'm curious where you came up with the "30%" degradation figure. My residential system in the Sacramento Valley typically saw around a 5% degradation even with a very visible summertime dust accumulation, and the rain took of that in the fall, so it wasn't really a problem for us. Same with our State of CA solar-powered radio sites. A mechanical cleaning system sounds like more trouble than it's worth, much like a system that moves the panels to track the sun. I'd rather have a few extra panels to make up for the small amount of degradation than have another expense and maintenance requirement.
Now snow may be another matter
Good luck with your project.
Here is one article we were reading: https://www.energymatters.com.au/ren...2IJDMjDoksUnggLeave a comment:
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I did it. Good luckLeave a comment:
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Hi there,
I did the survey, People that make these types of posts rarely return, but if you do, I'm curious where you came up with the "30%" degradation figure. My residential system in the Sacramento Valley typically saw around a 5% degradation even with a very visible summertime dust accumulation, and the rain took of that in the fall, so it wasn't really a problem for us. Same with our State of CA solar-powered radio sites. A mechanical cleaning system sounds like more trouble than it's worth, much like a system that moves the panels to track the sun. I'd rather have a few extra panels to make up for the small amount of degradation than have another expense and maintenance requirement.
Now snow may be another matter
Good luck with your project.Leave a comment:
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Residential Solar Panel Cleaning System
I’m apart of a group Mechanical Engineering students working to create a Residential Solar Panel Cleaning System. If you could fill out the survey below we created to gauge the needs of the community it would go a long way in helping us create a well designed product. Thank you all in advance.
We are a group of Mechanical Engineering students looking to design a device to clean snow or dust off of residential solar panels. We would love to hear your opinions and experiences!
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