Cleaning Solar Panels

If you're maxxing out your panels all day long then you definitely notice a difference. Again all I can speak for here are highveld winter conditions and I strongly suspect it varies depending on location. Problem we're having right now in Jhb is the muck-filled air. Managed only 27 kWh today when it should have been a 30+ kWh day. To be fair, we did have some spikes caused by the odd bit of cloud but peak is still lower than expected.
 
Flanders said:
If you're maxxing out your panels all day long then you definitely notice a difference. Again all I can speak for here are highveld winter conditions and I strongly suspect it varies depending on location. Problem we're having right now in Jhb is the muck-filled air. Managed only 27 kWh today when it should have been a 30+ kWh day. To be fair, we did have some spikes caused by the odd bit of cloud but peak is still lower than expected.
Click to expand...
Also only hit 27 :( should have been higher on my side as well.
 
Yeah what is up with the air/solar right now. Its not normal
 
Enzo Matrix said:
Yeah what is up with the air/solar right now. Its not normal
Click to expand...

160+ on the Air Quality Index. When the stuff gathers on the panels we can do something about it but when the air is filled with it then not so much. More to come apparently and probably only the first rains will clear it up unless we have some movement in temp with a front or such.
 
Flanders said:
160+ on the Air Quality Index. When the stuff gathers on the panels we can do something about it but when the air is filled with it then not so much. More to come apparently and probably only the first rains will clear it up unless we have some movement in temp with a front or such.
Click to expand...
Plus heat, panels don't like it
 
Lupus said:
His generally will be, he likes to have them full by 10am. Just a wash down this afternoon pushed a 6% increase, which is about 400w.
Click to expand...
400W will take a long time to pay off the R80k I had to spend on my arm falling off the ladder.
 
Flanders said:
If you're maxxing out your panels all day long then you definitely notice a difference. Again all I can speak for here are highveld winter conditions and I strongly suspect it varies depending on location. Problem we're having right now in Jhb is the muck-filled air. Managed only 27 kWh today when it should have been a 30+ kWh day. To be fair, we did have some spikes caused by the odd bit of cloud but peak is still lower than expected.
Click to expand...
In cape town today we only managed 16 instead on 30 and yet it was sunny outside, but a bit hazy with very high altitude clouds.
 
My peak is 5400w. Im getting 4800 peak. It just feels a bit weird. Hosed them down already, but with that said, the quality of water in jhb probably made it worse
 
leon.davibe said:
What is the array kwp
And battery size


Many systems has small batteries and thus cannot capture all the power it could so if the panels could generate a few kwh more over the day if you don't have the battery or load to use it it would look like you lost /gained nothing

Tldr if your battery is full way before the solar day is over any losses are compensated for with this spare capacity and thus the daily production stays the same
Click to expand...
Well that was my idea. I generate 3 times more from the panels than I use. And I will be adding 2 more panels to the inverter array, 4 to the geyser array.

I don’t have to capture all of it. It’s just to compensate for cloudy days and me not having to clean panels.

If your array is too small then yeah, you probably need to clean them.

Like hell you will find me on a roof cleaning panels let alone paying someone to do it.
 
Enzo Matrix said:
This post gave me cancer
Click to expand...
And blame Wingnut. He has been preaching about panels being cheap etc so I may be going overboard with adding.

I have no trees shading my house and I haven’t used any of the house roofing. All the panels are mounted over the garages. From my estimates I can have some 30KWp if I start adding on the roof but at that point I will start crypto mining.

Theres my extra charge controller for the extra panels since I have maxed out the inverter now.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9538.jpeg
    IMG_9538.jpeg
    392.3 KB · Views: 16
leon.davibe said:
In tbe morning when the pump hasn't switched on yet if it is all lying on the floor

Waste and vacujm broom
Click to expand...
Yeah might need to do that :-( cause wow it's bad. Normally chucking in a blue block picks it all up, but this stuff is super super fine.
 
Lupus said:
Yeah might need to do that :-( cause wow it's bad. Normally chucking in a blue block picks it all up, but this stuff is super super fine.
Click to expand...
Yea the gel block works but often slow

Kreeph edges stirring it up isn't helping just starts floating making water milky

Kreepy can only pick it up if its on the floor not in suspension
 
leon.davibe said:
Yea the gel block works but often slow

Kreeph edges stirring it up isn't helping just starts floating making water milky

Kreepy can only pick it up if its on the floor not in suspension
Click to expand...
Don't mind slow :-) cause no one will really use it till late month.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X