Solar Panel Cleaning Bath

The honest answer is: light dust yes, the real problems no. UK research puts typical soiling losses for residential arrays at around 2-4% of annual generation, and a well-pitched roof sheds most loose dirt in the rain. What rain cannot shift — bird droppings, lichen at the panel edges, the films that dry on between showers — is what cleaning is for.

If the glass is visibly soiled, yes — that is literally what the dirt is doing, blocking light. A bird dropping can shade a disproportionate share of an individual panel because of how the cell strings work. We will not promise a percentage gain before we have looked at the array — but visible droppings and lichen are recoverable generation.

We would never walk on the glass, and you should be wary of anyone who does. Point-loading a tempered panel while the frame flexes is how micro-cracks start, and it falls outside what most panel warranties expect. Everything is done with long-reach poles from the ground or roof edge.

Yes — and it is often the sensible pairing, since one visit takes in the whole roofline. A clear gutter run behind a clean array means the rain that keeps the glass free of light dust is also being taken away properly. Booked together it is cheaper than two separate call-outs.

On a mild, overcast morning — cool glass, no frost. Spring is the popular slot because it clears the pollen film ahead of the strongest generation months, and an autumn once-over takes the leaf litter and bird traffic off before winter. We avoid hard frost and the hottest glass.