Pollen On Solar Panel

Cleaning your solar panels.

Pollen on solar panel.

Even a mild rain rinses off most of the obstructing dirt pollen etc which led them to conclude. Even with tilted panels you might have some slight buildup on the lowest panel because the runoff collects at the bottom but the decrease in output based on this alone is so minuscule it s not something worth worrying about. I have micro inverters so i can monitor the production of each individual panel in my 18 panel array. However that experiment took place in the city of kathmandu.

Kathmandu was ranked the third most polluted city in the world in pollution index 2016. But after a recent particularly heavy accumulation of pollen on every exposed outdoor surface i was curious as to the specific effect of the pollen on my daily solar production. Not only do consumers and business get tax relief and or reduce their energy expenses but well maintained systems also produce energy without creating excessive amounts of emissions and waste. University of san diego researchers looked into this question and concluded that with some exceptions since less than 0 05 percent of energy could be lost per day due to dirt it was not worth the effort or the expense to clean solar panels.

Why should i clean my solar panels. Solar panels are pretty good at using natural rainfall to keep themselves free of heavy soiling but in the same way that your windows still manage to collect grime from pollen pollution and all forms of nature so do your panels. In addition most solar panels are tilted to a high enough degree that most buildup will run right off the panel instead of sticking to the top of it. Solar panel pollen metrics in kathmandu a possible outlier.

Using the example of canberra during the month of september the nation s capital has 9 days with rain on average and an average of 50mm of rainfall for the month so any pollen buildup that may occur should be washed. Good quality module glass combined with the angle of most rooftops assists with the cleaning process along with rain. Does dirt dust and pollen affect solar energy production. Dirt pollen and debris reduce the solar panels ability to perform at full capacity.

In the public solar discussion group on facebook grant asks how to clean pollen off the solar panels on his home in lakeside florida. Most solar panel installations will be self cleaning. There are many benefits to solar power. Rain can wash away pollen but if it hasn t rained for a while you ll have to clean your solar panels on your own.

We know that dust dirt pollen bird droppings and other debris can negatively affect solar panel efficiency. If the panels are dirty they absorb less sunlight and generate less electricity. Fortunately it s quite easy. Google conducted a groundbreaking experiment at their 1 6 mw solar farm in mountain view california.