Do you clean you panels?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
The less chemical used if it's not needed the better.

+1 there MEX. If water will do fine that is all I use in far more applications than this.

The less chemical used if it's not needed the better. Laugh-A-Minute, "Invisible Glass" five bucks a can. One third strength window cleaner with distilled water. Try it sometime, half empty a bottle of windex and refill with distilled water. Presto! Five dollar cleaner!

BruceMc wrote:
They look & function the same as they did when I installed them in mid-2010.

Less 2 or 3% - a change small enough to ignore. Normal deterioration of a panel is ~1% a year.

My panels conform to the roof slope, i.e. have 3 or 4 degrees slope. Not totally "flat", and they should not be. A little slope is necessary to prevent water pooling and dust accumulation. Makes washing them easier too. Some dust still accumulates, but larger particles slide down the surface.

As our MH is stored in a barn with a dirt floor, the dust builds up on the roof including the panels. I flush the roof & panels with the hose, then using car wash detergent, I mix a dob in a pan with warm water. Using a long handled rv/vehicle brush, I wash the entire roof including the panels, then rinse. Once it's all clean, I'll squeegee the panels to remove the excess water as I have a bit of calcium that will build up if left to dry. Unfortunately, I have a flat roof, so water doesn't run off easily.

Other times when I'm not dealing with a layer of barn dust, I'll use an aerosol glass cleaner and paper towels.

They look & function the same as they did when I installed them in mid-2010.

Dirt can reduce panel efficiency by as much as 10%. Don't clean them if you don't feel like and if you're getting enough power. I don't think mild solvents like ammonia in Windex would hurt rubber roof. Even if you splash acetone or methyl alcohol over, it will hardly affect the rubber. Especially acetone as it evaporates quickly. I had to prep my rubber roof when installing the panels, and can tell you that it takes a lot of rubbing with Methanol to partially remove the paint coat.

Yeah.. just water and paper towel. Birds like pooping on them.

You don't need to clean them, unless the old guy next to me was lyin
I climbed on top my MH one day, and saw an inch of dirt on the panels of a fiver next to me. I asked the old guy how his solar was working, he said, "fine".

Water, sponge, squeegee about once a year. No cleaners to affect rubber roof.

sin cal sd wrote:
Call a local solar dealer.

:D that's a good one... they probably have some special "solar panel cleaning liquid with patented brush"...

Windex, why not. The panel is covered with glass - unless yours is one of those older amorphous panels with clear plastic. I just go with a dry broom over it, to remove dust. Maybe will do Windex some years later.

I use only water on mine, but mine do not have a glass surface