It’s estimated that residential solar power installation increased by 34% over a year. When you consider the cost-saving nature of this clean energy, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
However, there is one area that new solar system owners often neglect: maintenance. Specifically, the act of cleaning your solar panels can both prolong life and make them more efficient.
That being said, it does represent an expense. So what are the facts that ultimately affect your solar panel cleaning cost? And show how to handle the cleaning yourself or hire someone to do it for you?
In this guide, we’ll answer these questions. That way, you can properly budget for this important part of solar panel maintenance.
Why Should You Clean Your Solar Panels?
There are two main reasons you should take your home solar panel cleaning seriously. First, it can drastically improve the longevity of your panels. The grime that builds up on panels can take years off of their life if it isn’t regularly cleaned.
So you’re protecting your investment by cleaning it. What’s more, you’re also getting more out of it. The second reason you want to clean your solar panels is it makes them more efficient.
When there isn’t a layer of dirt blocking the sunlight, panels can generate more electricity per hour. So you get a bigger bang for your buck.
What Affects Your Solar Panel Cleaning Cost?
It’s hard to give a specific estimate for the average solar panel cleaning because the cost can vary widely. That’s due to a variety of factors that can influence the final price.
In this section, we’ll be going over some of these factors so you can get a better idea of how much your specific solar setup will cost to clean.
Your Solar Array Set-Up
It should go without saying that the larger your solar panel system is, the more it will cost. In general commercial jobs do tend to be a lot more expensive than residential ones.
However, another factor can be the specific type of solar panels that you have.
For example, non-glass panels require specialty tools and brushes to clean. As such, they can sometimes cost more to clean than the more durable glass models.
The Amount of Labor Required
The more complex the job is, the more people will be needed to clean and maintain it. For example, a simple off-grid solar kit with two or three panels can usually be taken care of quickly.
However, a solar farm with thousands of panels will require a lot more people if you want to finish it in a reasonable amount of time. So make sure you ask about how intensive they think the job will be.
The Steepness and Height of the Roof
If the roof with the solar panels is particularly high up, dangerous, or hard to reach, it’s going to be more expensive to clean. Part of the cost is to account for the inconvenience and danger.
However, there’s also the fact that accessing these types of panels requires special equipment which can get costly. Similarly, if your system is easy to access on the ground, it’s going to be much more affordable to clean.
The Amount of Cleaning Required
Cleaning solar panels is a lot like getting a cleaning from the dentist. If you wait too long in between cleanings, plaque can get caked on which makes it much harder to remove.
The same goes for the dirt on solar panels. If you haven’t cleaned your solar panels in a while it’s going to take a long time to get them looking sparkly again. However, if they’re regularly maintained, the job goes by much quicker.
Where You Live
Your geographic location can also affect the final price. For example, if you live in a large city, prices will likely be higher to account for high labor costs.
At the same time, local market conditions might make it more affordable where you live or operate.
How Often Should You Clean Your Solar Panels?
It’s recommended that you clean your solar panels every six months. However, depending on where you live you may need to do it more than this.
For example, if you live in an area with intense pollen seasons, you may need to clean it more. Conversely, dry climates usually need to clean their panels less.
Should You Pay Someone or DIY the Cleaning?
Considering the home services costs associated with solar panel cleanings, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many people want to save some money by doing things themselves.
It’s possible to clean your solar panels yourself if you learn how to clean solar panels. However, it’s important to remember that it’s also risky on multiple levels.
The safest way to clean solar panels is by detaching them and bringing them to ground level. Unfortunately, that’s not possible for many homeowners. So unless you have the proper safety equipment, like a rope, ladder, and harness, you shouldn’t go up on your roof to clean the panels.
There’s simply too great of a risk that you could fall and injure or even kill yourself. On top of that, there’s also the threat to your solar panels. If you use the wrong technique or cleaning solution, you could inadvertently end up damaging your solar panels.
When you pay a solar panel cleaning company to clean your solar panels for you, you avoid a lot of these costs. That being said, if you do want to take the DIY route, we recommend reading this guide before making decisions to clean your solar panels.
Appreciate Learning About Solar Panel Cleaning Costs? Keep Exploring
We hope this guide helped you learn more about solar panel cleaning costs. As you can see, the final cost of your solar cleaning can vary widely depending on the nature of your system and the provider you’re going with.
However, any reputable maintenance company should have no problem breaking down the costs associated with their services.
So call one and ask about it today. Want more advice about solar energy? We have loads of more guides that can teach you a lot if you keep on exploring now.
