Recently, Kelly Cleaning was given the opportunity to clean the solar panels at the Thacher School in Ojai. Thacher School has 7000 solar panels and our cleaning technicians were able to complete this job in five days. We use specialized tools that allow us to clean each panel with precision while carefully avoiding damage or scratches to the sensitive surfaces of the panels. These tools allow us to complete the work quickly and efficiently in an eco-friendly manner.
Close up image of clean solar panels.
Newly cleaned solar panels in Ojai, CA
Solar Panel Cleaning Preserves Efficiency
Many residents of California have started to make use of the awesome power of the sun to redirect that energy into their homes and facilities. Solar energy is a completely free source of energy and it’s abundant, especially in sunny southern California. The downside of living in a dry part of the country is dust and debris is copious and abundant. As a solar panel accumulates debris on its sensitive surface, their power output declines significantly. A small amount of dirt may cause a five percent output decline. As more dirt and dust settle on the panel, the output power can decline by greater than twenty percent! That is just lost energy.
This is how solar panels should appear – clean and free of artifacts on the surfaces.
Pure Water Cleaning System
Cleaning Difficult to Access Areas
Kelly Cleaning uses state of the art technology to clean solar panels with swiftness and precision. A specialized telescopic tool is used to clean hard to reach panels. Using a professional cleaning service ensures that the panels are cleaned properly using equipment most private parties don’t have access to, and most importantly, keeps everyone safe. The roof of a house or building is a dangerous place, and solar panels are often located in areas that are difficult to access. Therefore you should never attempt to clean solar panels yourself, not only because you could damage your investment, but because you risk serious injury.
The solar panels are naturally a deep blue color. The red material is dirt which has stuck to the surface of the panels. Ventura County has a lot of dirt and wind which causes dust to settle on every surface. Over time, you can see that dirt covers the entire surface of the solar panels. Just like your car becomes very dirty after a few weeks of not being washed, a solar panel collects dirt.
Telescopic Cleaning Device
The telescopic cleaning tool that we use is a featherweight, industrial strength pole that has a solution line connected to a cleaning brush that provides solution management and maximum cleaning. The solution passes through a pressure chamber that enables the cleaning technician to control the water flowing through the solution line with great accuracy. The tech can clean an entire large panel in about four minutes leaving it spotless and ensuring close to one hundred percent power converting efficiency. The technicians have been trained to pre-spot out any blemishes that would hinder the solar panels effectiveness.
The cleaning procedure is done very carefully and gently. The dirt is removed, but the surface is not scratched. The panels look amazing when they’re clean.
Annual Cleaning is Recommended in Windy Regions of California
The results of our cleaning service is that the surface of the solar panels are like-new and primed to produce power at their typical high level of efficiency. Ventura County is one of the windiest regions in California, and as a result homes and buildings with solar panel installations should have the system professionally cleaned annually.
As you can see, all of the red dust prevents a lot of sunlight from hitting the panels. Note how clean and pristine the panels appear as they are cleaned.
What a difference the cleaning makes. Not only can the panels do their job of converting sunlight to electricity, but they’re beautiful to look at when they’re clean.
