How To Maintain Your Solar Panels For Maximum Return

So, you’ve invested in a solar power system to lessen your environmental impact and lower your energy costs. Good for you!

How do you get the most out of this investment? You will need to regularly perform maintenance on your solar panels to maximise efficiency and prevent system degradation.

If you want to learn more about your solar power system, keep reading as we give you a comprehensive list of tasks you can either perform yourself or hire professionals to complete for you!

How To Maintain The Performance Of Your Solar Panels

Cleaning, performing checks, and placing your panels in the correct position can all positively affect their performance. The last thing you want is to invest in a solar panel system that becomes redundant due to damage or system degradation.

Here’s how to prevent this from happening:

Perform An Annual Inspection

If possible, it’s best to delegate this task to a professional, as they will be able to identify causes and signs of system degradation much more easily than you can.

Annual inspections ensure your system will get necessary repairs before any faults start to affect its functions. Delegating cleaning tasks to professionals assisting with your yearly check is recommended if you can’t find the time to do it yourself.

Avoid Placing Your Panels In Shaded Areas

Shade can harm the electricity output of your solar panels. If one of your photovoltaic cells is shaded, it can act as a resistor and harm the performance of surrounding cells, even if they are in direct sunlight.

You should avoid placing your panels in areas where tall trees or buildings will block the sunlight for long durations of the day.

If this is not possible, or trees have grown over time and are now obstructing the light, consider hiring a professional to trim overhanging branches. The tree will survive, and you will be able to maximise your solar panel’s efficiency.

Monitor The Performance Of Your Panels Using Energy Output

In order to know when efficiency drops in your panels, you will need to be able to monitor their performance easily.

This way, if there is a drop in your performance, you can find the cause and resolve the issue. If you remain unaware of the problem, then you could be running at a lower efficiency for months without any indication.

Monitoring your solar panels this way will indicate the need for any cleaning or repairs to be carried out. In addition, you can purchase Solar Inverters that have built-in remote monitoring.

Install Wildlife Guards Around Your Panels

One leading cause of damage to solar panels is wildlife. Bugs, rodents, and birds can all cause unnecessary damage that can be avoided with proper wildlife guarding.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to stop birds from defecating on your panels, causing them to be cleaned frequently. However, you can prevent animals from nesting in your solar panels, chewing on wires, etc.

This is an important preventative measure to take, and if you do happen to get an infestation, you will regret not having installed wildlife guards. In order to protect their solar panels, Sydney residents should install wildlife guards, especially with reports of a ‘mouse plague’ looming.

Check For Elemental Damage To Wiring Connection Points

Your solar panel system comprises many connecting wires connected at specific points and is vulnerable to damage.

Intense weather conditions, including extreme heat or cold, can cause your wiring connection points to become worn over time and come loose.

During your yearly solar panel inspection, you should include a check of the wiring connection points to identify any weakened areas before they become a problem.

Get A Solar Battery For Storage Of Excess Energy

If you don’t have a solar battery, you should invest in one right away.

With a Tesla Powerwall Home Battery System, you can store excess power for later use or sell it back to the grid. This means you will have a backup resource of power should your panels break. This can maximise the return you get from your solar panels.

Regularly Clean Your Solar Panel System

To make cleaning your solar system easier, many solar panel cleaning kits are available, including biodegradable soap, water, small brushes, and brushes with long handles for easier access to solar panels on the roof.

When your panels are wet, use a squeegee or brush to remove dirt as you wipe the water away. These brushes come with instructions to show you how to clean solar panels.

If you clean your panels regularly, you may be able to get away with simply using running water from a hosepipe to remove the dirt, as it won’t be heavily caked on.

While cleaning, it’s vital not to scratch the glass. Solar panels are costly to replace or repair – so don’t risk them.

Use only glass-friendly materials, such as biodegradable soaps and a non-abrasive sponge or soft rag. Clean the panels regularly so that you don’t have to use an aggressive or abrasive cleaning method.

It’s not just the glass on your panels that needs cleaning. You should also be sure to regularly clean your inverters to keep them free of dust and debris. Clean the filters and fans to improve the lifespan of your inverters. This is something you could add to your annual inspection.

Summary

Looking after your solar panels is relatively easy. If you have installed them in the right place, away from shade, and with the proper wildlife protection, the maintenance should consist of only three tasks:

• Cleaning
• Monitoring performance
• Yearly inspections

It’s that simple! You can have access to environmentally friendly and free power all year round if you perform these maintenance tasks to maximise your panels’ performance.

If you want to set up the most efficient solar power system for your home, check out your local providers. Ensure they provide top-quality products such as LG solar panels and Tesla solar panels. This way, you know you are investing in the best possible option for your home.