Installing solar panels in your home is a worthy investment for the future.
With everyone trying to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to saving our planet, this is one of the best approaches you can take. It helps you not only reduce energy consumption but also lower your monthly utility expenses.
However, one of the more important tasks that people sometimes forget is to take care of their solar panels by doing regular checkups and fixes.
Maintaining solar panels is essentials if you wish to use them in the most productive and efficient way, especially if you want to save money on unnecessary repairs.
With that in mind, let’s see how to take care of your solar panels, so that they can take care of you!
Do weekly or biweekly checkups
The number one strategy to prevent larger issues with solar panels is to do regular checkups. It can be on a weekly basis or every two weeks, but it is important that you keep them in check. If needed, you can keep notes for easier tracking.
Possible issues with solar panels
It is true that solar panels are placed high above the ground so technically they are protected from any possible damage. Nevertheless, there are things that can affect the effectiveness of solar panels:
- pollen buildup
- tree debris
- accumulated dust or dirt
- insects or birds
- possible damage after a storm or hail
All of this can be easily discovered if you are regularly checking the general condition of your solar panels.
Cleaning solar panels
The most essential way to maintain your solar panels is to clean them from time to time. It is good that there are no movable parts you can break, so you can give them a good rinse when needed.
However, keep in mind that it is vital not to scratch the glass, as it could affect the amount of gathered energy.
The best way to clean solar panels is to wash them down with a hose. One of the best things about solar panels is that you don’t have to clean them if there was rain, especially if the angle is steeper.
Rain will remove any dust or pollen that can build up over time. However, if it is a dry season, make sure to wash your solar panels often.
How to monitor sun and shade
One of the crucial steps in maintaining solar panels is to always monitor sun and shade levels. Even though these panels are usually placed where there is a lot of direct sunlight, sometimes the surroundings change. A tree might grow taller than your house and completely block your solar panels.
Since we said that solar panels can reduce your bills, this step is important if you wish to save some money.
Manual checkup
The easiest way to monitor shade and sun exposure is to look at the solar panels yourself. It is quick, and you can easily tell if there is any shade on top of your home.
Install a monitoring display
A more modern way to check sun and shade statistics is to install a monitoring display in your home. With it, you can track any possible data available from solar panels. Within a matter of seconds, you will get correct data about productivity and effectiveness.
Energy usage statistics
Another important piece of information you can check with a monitoring display is energy usage statistics.
Have in mind that, even if you have an arrangement with your local company, you will not always get the correct data. That is because you are not measuring direct energy output. That’s why having a monitoring display in your home is a good idea.
Basic inverters measure current power output and some additional data. More advanced inverters can translate kilowatt-hours to pounds of CO2, so you can always know how much you are saving.
Furthermore, not only can you install a monitoring device in your home, but there are also numerous apps for mobile devices. This way, you can always check solar panel information in just a few seconds, even if you are away from home.
Keep a journal
While it is always a good idea to use your free time to handle tasks you’ve been postponing, it’s not always easy to remember everything. A good way to keep track of when was the last time you performed a maintenance checkup on your solar panels is to keep a journal.
You can document all issues and solutions, and over time, find a better way to take care of any future problems.
What to do when relocating solar panels to a new home?
Maintaining solar panels doesn’t only mean checking them every few days or weeks. It is also important to check if they are installed properly. If you are relocating solar panels to a new home, a preliminary inspection is necessary.
Installing solar panels is not a task that anyone could complete, so it might be a good idea to reach out to professionals who can do the heavy work for you.
Maintaining solar panels during winter
When winter comes, there will be a lot of snow and ice. It is not that uncommon that a solar panel gets frozen due to low temperatures.
What you should do during winter is protect your solar panels from frost and ice, since that can compromise the integrity and reduce effectiveness.
A good idea is to install heaters and clean any snow from solar panels.
Tips for maintaining solar panels – delivered!
We hope that these tips for maintaining solar panels gave you an idea about what to expect and how to properly take care of any issues you might have during the year. If you don’t have the time to do weekly or biweekly checkups, try to do a monthly and yearly inspection.