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Should you wash your solar panels?

incoherency.co.uk

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Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#81
post #80

Question for people here: my local power company charges a fee if solar is attached to the grid and is high enough to make installing residential solar impractical. I'm thinking the best thing to do would be put a large battery in between the grid and my home and selectively recharge the battery with the solar. I believe that setup circumvents the fee since the only thing using energy is the battery, as though it wer…

Ask a lawyer about the law.

Why would I ask a lawyer for advice about whole home battery solar setups with a grid backup?

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#83
There are at least a couple of outfits claiming a nano coating or a nano glass surface for solar panels that are so smooth as to not collect dusts. Their other claim is greatly improved angular photon capture since the panel is just that flat. The two companies I've seen claim ~20% improvement - and less maintenance.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In many countries it is actually illegal to use tall ladder etc. owners would have to erect a scaffolding to make access for work people to clean it safely.

There are definitely some wacky nanny state rules out there… but I’m a little skeptical of “In many countries it is actually illegal to use tall ladder”

Probably the GP meant to hire people and order them to use a tall ladder. I don't think there's any country where it's illegal for you to use one outside of some kind of contract.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#85
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Solar panels are increasingly being oriented east or west instead of south, as while it reduces overall yield, it maximises power when it's needed the most - during morning and evening peaks. I don't have numbers, but I suspect it alleviates issues with dust buildup and temperature.

isn't that more of a storage issue, which a home battery would solve?

Storage is one way to move time of supply to match time of demand. Offsetting the time of supply directly is simpler, although it probably doesn't offer a complete solution.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#86

Question for people here: my local power company charges a fee if solar is attached to the grid and is high enough to make installing residential solar impractical. I'm thinking the best thing to do would be put a large battery in between the grid and my home and selectively recharge the battery with the solar. I believe that setup circumvents the fee since the only thing using energy is the battery, as though it wer…

That depends on what options are available to you for residential solar installation. Installing solar panels + micro-inverters is very cheap in cost of parts, but possibly expensive in labor. It will easily pay off your grid interconnect fee every month once you hit break-even from operating for a few years. Financing vs cash, cost of installation, tax credits, are the biggest factors in how quickly it becomes profitable. If you are extremely handy you can DIY most of it as a homeowner (depending on local/state laws) which cuts costs significantly.

You can do a whole home backup + solar panel input (aka ESS+PV) but it's much more expensive in parts and installation and is more complex. If you don't add grid interconnect it can be much cheaper as you can use "off-grid" parts (grid interconnect requires more expensive parts certified for certain standards).

But some jurisdictions may not allow cheaper "off-grid" parts/systems to be connected to the grid, even downstream. So an alternative would be to install a transfer switch, where you manually switch from the grid to off-grid. But then you literally have to choose whether you use the ESS+PV or the grid at any given time and manually throw a switch (you can't use grid to charge your system). And yes you can set this up for only specific circuits/appliances. Again it depends on your state and local laws.

AI can do most of the research for you. Keep a Git repo and add documentation and details to it over time, and you can build up an analysis of what works for you based on all available options, price comparisons, energy requirements, and local/state laws. It is unfortunately quite complicated because there are many options but not all will apply to your location. And before you do any of this, do a solar site survey to see if you can even reliably generate enough power from the sun!

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are definitely some wacky nanny state rules out there… but I’m a little skeptical of “In many countries it is actually illegal to use tall ladder”

Probably the GP meant to hire people and order them to use a tall ladder. I don't think there's any country where it's illegal for you to use one outside of some kind of contract.

Tradespeople are typically independent contractors. You hire them to do a task, and they use their own judgement on which tools to use. You don't order them to use a tall ladder...

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#89
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ask a lawyer about the law.

Why would I ask a lawyer for advice about whole home battery solar setups with a grid backup?

Because you're asking legal question about what the law allows, not a technical question about how to exchange voltage and current.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#90
I clean my solar panels, 7kwh, every monmth or two.

When I check on the VRM portal it makes a difference, and since I am so dependent on them all year round, I have no problem giving them some attention from time to time. Ten mins well spent.

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