Applying a water repellent coating to your panels ???

[JD6400]

Once washed, or when installed - Could you use silicon spray? Electricians usually have a tin handy.
I know it would wear off, but it should stop things from sticking.

To be honest i think you would find that it would attract the dust on to them if you used this .

 

[JD6400]

I have always said the same as you Mark , until last week when i carried out a off the cuff inspection on a 10kw barn mount we installed the back end of last March .
Admittedly it is only on a 15 degree pitch but is on a due south roof overlooking directly on to long established pastureland , I was shocked to see a 10-15 mm build up of green mildew ( like you find on cars that are not in regular use ) encroaching across the whole of the bottom of every module .
The array is only 10 months old and in my opinion is not looking how i would expect it to!

 

[Jaycee]

I would not recommend coating them with anything, the only way of cleaning them is using purified water

 

[Markc]

I have always said the same as you Mark , until last week when i carried out a off the cuff inspection on a 10kw barn mount we installed the back end of last March .
Admittedly it is only on a 15 degree pitch but is on a due south roof overlooking directly on to long established pastureland , I was shocked to see a 10-15 mm build up of green mildew ( like you find on cars that are not in regular use ) encroaching across the whole of the bottom of every module .
The array is only 10 months old and in my opinion is not looking how i would expect it to!

There will always be the exception to the rule. 15 degree should clear it but it obviously isn't. Looks like either they will need routine cleaning or there is a problem with the self clean coating?

 

[JD6400]

We only did a few sharp installs before i saw the light as they say , and the only 3 that i have seen problems with so far have been all sharp to be honest so i really do hope it is the exception !?

 

[finchy]

To be honest an annual inspection can not harm if done right and I would recommend it! A lot of customer ask about it and yes they are self cleaning but I have read loads about it on American websites, it all depends on location. Pollution creates a film on the panels, let alone a large dollop of birds crap. At the end of the day customers want to ensure maximum performance, hence a little clean of the panels check on inverter down load and analysis of outputs can't be bad.

 

[Earthstore]

Yes, you use the cat as a brush, they have lovely soft fur...

 

[Markc]

We only did a few sharp installs before i saw the light as they say , and the only 3 that i have seen problems with so far have been all sharp to be honest so i really do hope it is the exception !?

Yes agree we saw the light with Sharps about 6 months ago and only fitted some recently as that's all we could get. Haven't fitted any at 15 degree but I will certainly post if we have any issues with the in the future.

 

[SibertSolar]

GEKKO robot cleaning solar panels - YouTube
http://www.serbot.ch/gekko/index.php

There are a few options out there for auto cleaning panels, thought you might like the above links. Doesn't really apply to this thread per se but does demonstrate the fact that there does seem to be a demand for cleaning panels....regardless of whether they are supposedly "self-cleaning" or not....

 

[danesol]

I see this taking off;

"Frühjahrsputz" bei einer Photovoltaikanlage - YouTube

 

[finchy]

Not sure about walking on the boards on the pv panels, 3/4 blokes and the 'CHERRY' picker not going to be cheap! The scheletter system looks better !

 

[zeljuga]

Perhaps nice day covers can sort out droppings story???