X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Mike90250
    replied
    Originally posted by khanh dam View Post
    cooling panels in hot weather produces better results. guy on youtube used rain water and had impressive results.
    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)

    Leave a comment:


  • sdold
    replied
    Originally posted by ARSAC View Post

    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...2IJDMjDoksUngg
    Glad you stuck around, you might want to use the search feature to find some threads where JPM and others here have looked in-depth at dust accumulation and its effect on panel output. My own experience is based on an array with microinverters, which give a crude power and daily watt hour measurement, and cleaning certain panels and not cleaning others to see what the difference between the panels is before and after the cleaning. I never saw more than about 5% but that was just with my dust and this is all really subjective.

    Leave a comment:


  • khanh dam
    replied
    cooling panels in hot weather produces better results. guy on youtube used rain water and had impressive results.

    Leave a comment:


  • organic farmer
    replied
    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.


    Leave a comment:


  • ARSAC
    replied
    Originally posted by sdold View Post
    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.
    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...2IJDMjDoksUngg

    Leave a comment:


  • organic farmer
    replied
    I did it. Good luck

    Leave a comment:


  • sdold
    replied
    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:


  • ARSAC
    started a topic Residential Solar Panel Cleaning System

    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.

    https://forms.gle/gf4coNJbPCAKzXse7
Working...
X