Investing in solar panels is a big step toward freeing yourself from having to contribute to non-renewable energy issues, but it also frees up your bank account when you no longer have to pay for your electric bill. Converting to solar energy is freeing, but it comes with its own set of responsibilities that have to be tended to in order to make sure that your solar panels are working at optimal capacity for years on end.
Cleaning your solar panels is probably the single most tedious task associated with having them, and requires you to either know exactly what you’re doing or find someone trustworthy that can do it well. We don’t recommend trying to clean your solar panels yourself unless you’re confident that you can get it done without risking your own safety or the integrity of your panels. If you do try to clean them yourself, you could run the risk of damaging them in a way that would void the warranty altogether, which would end up costing you far more than it would to simply pay for someone to clean them in the first place.
Luckily, you won’t need to clean them often. Solar panels sit on your roof, and depending on where you live you won’t need to get them cleaned more than once every few years. In Southern California neighborhoods like Oceanside, this is particularly true. Places like harsh desert or mountain environments that see a lot of dust or winter weather may need to be cleaned more often, so Southern California customers are often pleasantly surprised to find out that they don’t need to get their solar panels cleaned nearly as often.
The first thing you want to do when looking for a solar panel cleaning service is to call the manufacturer itself and ask for a service in your area that the manufacturer recommends. These ones often work with the manufacturer, and can assure that your panels will be fixed or replaced if they get damaged in the cleaning process.
Once you find a cleaning service, make sure to both read the reviews and ask for customer testimonials or references—most should be able to provide both of these. This will give you an opportunity to ask any questions to former or current clients that the cleaning service is working with.