[Soupy]

What do you reckon?

[Shrek]

Here’s how much my 3kw system generated per year in £ since 2012
Iv cleaned maybe once a year for the past couple of years , each year the amount of £ per kw increases with inflation (not sure exact % increase).
Cost £7k and I’m on the original high tariff.

2012 - £1116.55
2013- £1212.20
2014- £1246.98
2015- £1301.86
2016- £1281.55
2017 - £1298.24
2018- £1455
2019- £1463.95
2020- £1541.50
2021- £1493.82
2022- £1675.06
2023- £1689.46 (so far , last reading due in dec)

I think cleaning has kept them in good condition and stopped the build up of dust/bird crap etc

[Ched]

Cleaning won't actually increase the panels outputs by much - I doubt many systems would show an increase.
The real benefit is to stop lichens growing as they will reduce the output. Lichens, moss and algae grow on the bottom edge as there is a lip on the frame that holds dirt and moisture which allow stuff to grow. You only need to look at the roof tiles to see the white lichen growing to know that unless the panels are cleaned it will grow on there too.
Solar panels are daisy chained together in to 'strings' , unless you have optimisers on every panel, if even a single panel has a reduced output due to lichen, dirt etc then it reduces the whole output of that string!
If my customers ask me I say they should be cleaned once a year to remove dirt and as a preventative measure to stop lichen taking hold.

[tonyoliver]

Yes and no for us as cleaners it’s work
For us as  customers most don’t have panels installed
It’s hard work it destroys poles and as most are on roofs  they are often hard and dangerous to get to
I used to clean some for the s.s  and they were at first fun interesting and after a while they got less fun  less interesting and financially draining  after snapping  my  largest pole  £1500 was a hard pill to swallow
For a £30 job
getting on farm roofs and on roofs where the panels were often owned by someone else so the roof owner had no incentive to help you in any way  and made the job awkward and difficult
the panels got cleaned like gutters only when they were so dirty they were useless 
I still keep the bird poop pic on my phone  to remind me not to do any more
it was white not a bit of the panel could be seen  and there were  a hundred panels a 80 mile drive there all for £120  was the last straw thankfully the work dried up  as the franchise took over so back to nice easy clean quiet local windows  easy parking no roofs or cherry pickers and no sea gulls !!

[deeege]

Don’t we still need a license from Solar Steve to be allowed  to clean panels in the UK?

[tonyoliver]

Yes

[dd]

Only solar panel jobs I go after now are on bungalows where they are easy to reach. Generally just not worth the hassle to clean IMO.

Not sure what the Gardiner ultimate pole would be like to use on them, but not interested in buying one personally. Plenty enough to do just cleaning windows.

[windowswashed]

Cleaning won't actually increase the panels outputs by much - I doubt many systems would show an increase.
The real benefit is to stop lichens growing as they will reduce the output. Lichens, moss and algae grow on the bottom edge as there is a lip on the frame that holds dirt and moisture which allow stuff to grow. You only need to look at the roof tiles to see the white lichen growing to know that unless the panels are cleaned it will grow on there too.
Solar panels are daisy chained together in to 'strings' , unless you have optimisers on every panel, if even a single panel has a reduced output due to lichen, dirt etc then it reduces the whole output of that string!
If my customers ask me I say they should be cleaned once a year to remove dirt and as a preventative measure to stop lichen taking hold.

The answer is to parallel link them instead of the other way

[windowswashed]

Here’s how much my 3kw system generated per year in £ since 2012
Iv cleaned maybe once a year for the past couple of years , each year the amount of £ per kw increases with inflation (not sure exact % increase).
Cost £7k and I’m on the original high tariff.

2012 - £1116.55
2013- £1212.20
2014- £1246.98
2015- £1301.86
2016- £1281.55
2017 - £1298.24
2018- £1455
2019- £1463.95
2020- £1541.50
2021- £1493.82
2022- £1675.06
2023- £1689.46 (so far , last reading due in dec)

I think cleaning has kept them in good condition and stopped the build up of dust/bird crap etc

Some pretty decent savings on your initial investment.

I have 5kw of off/on grid solar I mounted on my garage roof and shed and they are paying back nicely, definitely worth going solar.

[Smudger]

Defo worth doing..

[Shrek]

Here’s how much my 3kw system generated per year in £ since 2012
Iv cleaned maybe once a year for the past couple of years , each year the amount of £ per kw increases with inflation (not sure exact % increase).
Cost £7k and I’m on the original high tariff.

2012 - £1116.55
2013- £1212.20
2014- £1246.98
2015- £1301.86
2016- £1281.55
2017 - £1298.24
2018- £1455
2019- £1463.95
2020- £1541.50
2021- £1493.82
2022- £1675.06
2023- £1689.46 (so far , last reading due in dec)

I think cleaning has kept them in good condition and stopped the build up of dust/bird crap etc

Some pretty decent savings on your initial investment.

I have 5kw of off/on grid solar I mounted on my garage roof and shed and they are paying back nicely, definitely worth going solar.

Yeah totally agree with you there , my gas & electric bill is £133 a month combined so these solar panels are paying for my energy bill . Well worth the investment 👍

[windowswashed]

Here’s how much my 3kw system generated per year in £ since 2012
Iv cleaned maybe once a year for the past couple of years , each year the amount of £ per kw increases with inflation (not sure exact % increase).
Cost £7k and I’m on the original high tariff.

2012 - £1116.55
2013- £1212.20
2014- £1246.98
2015- £1301.86
2016- £1281.55
2017 - £1298.24
2018- £1455
2019- £1463.95
2020- £1541.50
2021- £1493.82
2022- £1675.06
2023- £1689.46 (so far , last reading due in dec)

I think cleaning has kept them in good condition and stopped the build up of dust/bird crap etc

Some pretty decent savings on your initial investment.

I have 5kw of off/on grid solar I mounted on my garage roof and shed and they are paying back nicely, definitely worth going solar.

Yeah totally agree with you there , my gas & electric bill is £133 a month combined so these solar panels are paying for my energy bill . Well worth the investment 👍

I beat you lol, my electric bill last month was £28, previously £100plus for the month

[Splash & dash]

Yes and no for us as cleaners it’s work
For us as  customers most don’t have panels installed
It’s hard work it destroys poles and as most are on roofs  they are often hard and dangerous to get to
I used to clean some for the s.s  and they were at first fun interesting and after a while they got less fun  less interesting and financially draining  after snapping  my  largest pole  £1500 was a hard pill to swallow
For a £30 job
getting on farm roofs and on roofs where the panels were often owned by someone else so the roof owner had no incentive to help you in any way  and made the job awkward and difficult
the panels got cleaned like gutters only when they were so dirty they were useless 
I still keep the bird poop pic on my phone  to remind me not to do any more
it was white not a bit of the panel could be seen  and there were  a hundred panels a 80 mile drive there all for £120  was the last straw thankfully the work dried up  as the franchise took over so back to nice easy clean quiet local windows  easy parking no roofs or cherry pickers and no sea gulls !!

I think you need to seriously look at your pricing  we don’t do anything for  less than £100-125 and that’s for  up to 16 panels on domestic . If covered in liken then it’s £350-500 depending on access .

[Splash & dash]

Cleaning panels can make a huge difference to output we don’t do that many theses days  especially the  large  commercial arrays but they wouldn’t be paying thousands of pounds twice per year if they didn’t need to .

[tonyoliver]

Re the pricing the jobs were through a third party
You know who !!
The residential paid us £30 per job the larger jobs 120 to 150 on avarage
Subbing never seems to work for the person doing the job !! 

[windowswashed]

Re the pricing the jobs were through a third party
You know who !!
The residential paid us £30 per job the larger jobs 120 to 150 on avarage
Subbing never seems to work for the person doing the job !!

His prices was ridiculously low for a subcontractor but that would be his profit margin. I wouldn't touch them.

A lot of customers have solar panels cleaned on a regular basis.  There are many apps that track solar usage and how much it saves, easy to do a daily, weekly, monthly comparison to see the results with the solar panels.

Cleaning the solar panels do make a small difference in maintaining greatest output from the panels. The dirtier the panels, the greater the saving when cleaned.

[Shrek]

Here’s how much my 3kw system generated per year in £ since 2012
Iv cleaned maybe once a year for the past couple of years , each year the amount of £ per kw increases with inflation (not sure exact % increase).
Cost £7k and I’m on the original high tariff.

2012 - £1116.55
2013- £1212.20
2014- £1246.98
2015- £1301.86
2016- £1281.55
2017 - £1298.24
2018- £1455
2019- £1463.95
2020- £1541.50
2021- £1493.82
2022- £1675.06
2023- £1689.46 (so far , last reading due in dec)

I think cleaning has kept them in good condition and stopped the build up of dust/bird crap etc

Some pretty decent savings on your initial investment.

I have 5kw of off/on grid solar I mounted on my garage roof and shed and they are paying back nicely, definitely worth going solar.

How did you manage to get a 5kw system installed? I was told 4kw was the legal maximum on a residential address

[windowswashed]

Here’s how much my 3kw system generated per year in £ since 2012
Iv cleaned maybe once a year for the past couple of years , each year the amount of £ per kw increases with inflation (not sure exact % increase).
Cost £7k and I’m on the original high tariff.

2012 - £1116.55
2013- £1212.20
2014- £1246.98
2015- £1301.86
2016- £1281.55
2017 - £1298.24
2018- £1455
2019- £1463.95
2020- £1541.50
2021- £1493.82
2022- £1675.06
2023- £1689.46 (so far , last reading due in dec)

I think cleaning has kept them in good condition and stopped the build up of dust/bird crap etc

Some pretty decent savings on your initial investment.

I have 5kw of off/on grid solar I mounted on my garage roof and shed and they are paying back nicely, definitely worth going solar.

How did you manage to get a 5kw system installed? I was told 4kw was the legal maximum on a residential address

3kw on grid & 2.4kw off grid using 48v battery storage on garage roof, taught myself.  Anything on grid has to be wired up by a qualified electrician.

[Ched]

Here’s how much my 3kw system generated per year in £ since 2012
Iv cleaned maybe once a year for the past couple of years , each year the amount of £ per kw increases with inflation (not sure exact % increase).
Cost £7k and I’m on the original high tariff.

2012 - £1116.55
2013- £1212.20
2014- £1246.98
2015- £1301.86
2016- £1281.55
2017 - £1298.24
2018- £1455
2019- £1463.95
2020- £1541.50
2021- £1493.82
2022- £1675.06
2023- £1689.46 (so far , last reading due in dec)

I think cleaning has kept them in good condition and stopped the build up of dust/bird crap etc

Some pretty decent savings on your initial investment.

I have 5kw of off/on grid solar I mounted on my garage roof and shed and they are paying back nicely, definitely worth going solar.

How did you manage to get a 5kw system installed? I was told 4kw was the legal maximum on a residential address

There is no legal maximum. Going over certain other limits can require planning permission. I have a customer currently having 20Kw of panels installed on a domestic property. There are however different permissions needed for a feed in of 3.68Kw or less then the DNO (District Network Operator - local National Grid) can't refuse your connection - a G99 form. If you want to be able to feed in more than 3.68Kw then you need approval from the DNO via G98 - they can refuse your request.
We have 5Kw of solar panels on our roof 8 panels westish 4 panels southish. Our inverter is set to export (feed in) a maximum of 3.68Kw so just a G99 form and guaranteed acceptance. We rarely get more than 4Kw generated at any one time and the base house load is about 0.5Kw so our inverter never has to clip (waste) the output.
Some solar install companies try and persuade customers that the 3.68Kw limit is all that's allowed as it's a bit of work for them to apply for G98 approval and they could be refused. If they convince the customer that 3.68kw is good for them then they have an easy time.
Also if you can't have 4Kw of panels facing south then having a bit more Kw of panels facing different ways (West/East) helps during the day when the sun moves to maximise generation.
I think in years gone by, maybe when gov launched the fit tariffs to promote 25 years of guaranteed payments, they capped it at 3.68Kw and that gave rise to some people believing there was a legal limit.

[Ggh]

Soupy, give me a call if you want to chat about clearing panels.

07813474290