Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Should you wash your solar panels?

incoherency.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 259 posts

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#91

Post by coredog64 »

mywittyname wrote: post #33
ape4 wrote: post #24

I imagine rain will clean them. In most places it rains every so often.

Rain usually just cakes the dirt. Unless it's a downpour, it doesn't move with enough velocity or volume to remove the dirt. So the dirt just gets damp, maybe moves a few cm with gravity, then dries as a mud cake.

See this all the time in Phoenix metro: A light rain just pulls down all the dust in the air and deposits it on the car. It has to be fairly sustained to wash away the initial dust collection, and even then you can still see dust on the paint.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#92

Post by [deleted] »

quickthrowman wrote: post #14
walrus01 wrote: post #2

It's a bit worrying the author is asking chatgpt about the tingle rather than making sure there's a grounding lug on all the panels and they're all bonded to a grounding rod. The rudimentary nature of the setup makes me think there isn't something like a single conductor 12awg (or euro equivalent) copper wire that bonds to all panels and a basic $30 rod.

The system in question does not have a transformer so a grounding rod is not required as it is not a separately derived system. The equipment grounds should be tied together to prevent any difference in potential though.

[deleted]

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#93

Post by fckgw »

collabs wrote: post #4

Maybe the thing to do is to NOT upgrade existing working panels but rather set up a different/separate entity with completely different accounts and new panels? And about the washing, I wonder if it would be worth it to automate the process with a spray of water periodically? You can still wash the panels but I suspect it won't be necessary if there isn't too much dust accumulation? Isn't rain supposed to wash away t…

> You can still wash the panels but I suspect it won't be necessary if there isn't too much dust accumulation? Isn't rain supposed to wash away the dust? What am I missing here?

In places where solar panels are used the most, like the Southwest US, there isn't much rain to speak of. Panels get a lot of dust accumulation from Feb-Nov typically, just when they're needed the most.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#94

Post by dgacmu »

the_sleaze_ wrote: post #77

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…

Without trying to answer your "I believe the setup circumvents the fee" implied question, which you should find an actual answer to...

See reddit's r/solarDIY. There are a lot of setups like this, either for full house power or partial. I have a relatively big server in my basemeent that I power this way, for example, with a battery system that acts as both UPS and a "charge the battery from solar and run off inverter when possible". Something like an off-grid EG4 is popular among the reddit crew as a way to manage this; the device tries to run locally but accepts a shore power feed from the grid so if you need it you draw grid power. No grid tie involved.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#95

Post by sudobash1 »

the_sleaze_ wrote: post #81
inigyou wrote: 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 often the law cares about intent, not technicalities. Technically you could argue that this is a "whole home battery solar setups with a grid backup", but clearly the intent is as a workaround.

I'm not saying this is bad. I love a good workaround for onerous laws & fees, but random Internet commenters aren't the best at determining what workaround will or will not pass muster if a judge gets involved.

Like someone said in another recent thread: "U.S. law though is highly non-autistic and what you were trying to do is just as important as what you superficially did." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49064242

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#96

Post by jader201 »

CrzyLngPwd wrote: post #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.

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

This honestly sounds like a non-trivial strike against installing solar panels, especially if they’re installed on tall roofs.

I definitely wouldn’t want to have to clean them that often, or pay to have them cleaned that often.

If you’re spending only 10 minutes on them, then maybe you don’t have that many, and they’re not up high.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#97

Post by retired »

delusional wrote: post #36
wodenokoto wrote: post #6

> why would you clean them when you're about to sell the house? So they look good and the potential buyer sees something that looks to be in good condition and working well.

Exactly the same reason you should probably clean the rest of the house when you're selling it. Theoretically, the price of the house before cleaning should be equal to the value if the house after cleaning, minus whatever the cleaning costs. In reality, you'll get much less for your house without cleaning it, because human emotions.

I spend €125 on an interior decorator and another €500 in furniture and decorations after to make my condo more cozy. And then another €300 for professional photos and drone shots.

The photos looked like those fancy interior magazines. I will never know if it is because of my effort and investment but I’m certain that it attracted a lot of attention. People really want a move-in ready home that looks like the magazines.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#98

Post by marcosdumay »

toast0 wrote: post #87
marcosdumay wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

The regulations that tradespeople must obey and how they are contracted varies from one country to another.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#99

Post by indoordin0saur »

delusional wrote: post #36
wodenokoto wrote: post #6

> why would you clean them when you're about to sell the house? So they look good and the potential buyer sees something that looks to be in good condition and working well.

Exactly the same reason you should probably clean the rest of the house when you're selling it. Theoretically, the price of the house before cleaning should be equal to the value if the house after cleaning, minus whatever the cleaning costs. In reality, you'll get much less for your house without cleaning it, because human emotions.

> because human emotions

A messy, shabby looking home also signals that the previous owners were likely not diligent in taking care of their property.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#100

Post by bityard »

tclancy wrote: post #65
walrus01 wrote: post #2

It's a bit worrying the author is asking chatgpt about the tingle rather than making sure there's a grounding lug on all the panels and they're all bonded to a grounding rod. The rudimentary nature of the setup makes me think there isn't something like a single conductor 12awg (or euro equivalent) copper wire that bonds to all panels and a basic $30 rod.

Eh, compared to what though? Compared to speaking to licensed electrician, definitely. But compared to doing a raw web search and trying to put the information in the right order for the application you’re currently working on, I think it’s at worst a wash.

> a wash

Well done on this cleanly-executed pun.

Post reply on HN