Solar panels are increasingly used because their price has been reduced in recent years. However, there are still people who do not know the correct maintenance that must be done.
Comparison between dirty and clean solar panels
Specifically we talk about cleaning: when dust, mud or other dirt accumulates on the surface of the solar panel, up to 35% efficiency can be lost, which would be equivalent to having disconnected one third of the panels of the installation.
Google, which has thousands of panels installed in its facilities in California (Googleplex), conducted a study to verify the efficiency gain of cleaning them. The results were the following:
With just one cleaning, panels that had never been cleaned doubled their energy efficiency. By cleaning them again eight months later, they regained 36% efficiency again.
In solar farms this cleaning is vital, especially if the rain fails to clean the accumulated dust. This happens when the panels are placed very little inclined (for example, in latitudes near the equator) or in areas where it rains very often (desert areas).
Dirty solar panels (dust accumulation)
For these tasks brushes or mops are usually used, which must also be very thin hairs to avoid scratching the surface of the panels; scratches on them reduce the amount of light that reaches them and decrease their efficiency.
At Sacema we are specialists in industrial brushing, with specific solutions adapted to each need. More information on our website.
