We’re having amazing weather in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 right now! Even though it’s technically spring, it feels like summer, with temperatures hitting 25 degrees Celsius already in early May 😎. This is super rare for us Dutchies, so we’re really making the most out of it by spending lots of time in our garden!
However, I have noticed that my solar panels on the roof are looking quite dirty. They are covered with a layer of green grime mixed with sand from the Sahara that was carried over by recent weather conditions. It’s time to clean them up!
Please note that my home has a water filtration and softener system installed. This means that the water that comes out of my tap is clean and demineralized. If you don’t have a similar system, I wouldn’t recommend using regular tap water for this purpose. Instead, you could consider collecting and using rainwater.
Online resources suggest that dirty solar panels can cause a 5-20% loss of energy production, but the exact percentage can vary depending on the source. It is difficult to determine the exact amount of energy loss in my case, as environmental conditions can change during the cleaning process. The sun’s intensity changes, clouds move, and the earth keeps spinning, making comparing power changes before and after cleaning challenging.
What I do know: They look nice and shiny again 🤩
../Frenck
