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Should you wash your solar panels?

incoherency.co.uk

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Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#181

Post by ssl-3 »

Scoundreller wrote: post #172
ssl-3 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are things I've noticed when I've shopped for homes. Mostly, I notice that they look like efforts that were motivated by trying to get a high price, but are limited to being fast and cheap. So while I do note them, my perception of them is not generally positive at all. I'd rather the outlet covers be original and clean than the new, usually oversized covers (with a slight color mismatch) I often find. If I'm s…

It’s the faucets and sink fixtures that can jump out at me. I… question some of the Amazon-grade ODDALLCAPS fixtures’ ability to not spring a leak in the long term. Showerheads are more whatever .

And the rest of the plumbing. I'm not saying that homeowners can't plumb properly (many do excellent work), but: Too many times, it's just ugly.

Sometimes it's easy to find: The "soft" parts under the sink are a mess. Flexible pressure lines that are a mile too long, bendy pipes on the drain (this should never happen), traps in series with one another, bizarro-world TPCLALL-branded Amazon-sourced parts that simply do not match regulated norms at all and which haven't seen a UPC® logo ever... but that's simple to rip out and replace.

Sometimes it's harder to find. Drains that go uphill. A sea of CPVC pipes running in every direction, with dead ends, all buried in the basement ceiling. No trap for the bath tub upstairs. Mixed metals. Mixed plastics: PVC is fine, and ABS is fine, but mixing them together is bad (and shows that a trip to the parts store to get The Right Fucking Thing was just too much work, since it wasn't done). Bad or nonexistent venting.

The problems of today are caused by the lazy, quick fixes of yesterday.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#182

Post by monknomo »

dlubarov wrote: post #68
austinl wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having recently bought a house, I love thinking about things that increase perceived value relative to cost (more so because they're nice to have, not because we plan to sell any time soon). A few things we changed right away: - new mailbox (replacing a rusted 30+ year old one) - lots of landscaping work (the majority of which I can do myself) - installed a wine fridge (I always felt it gave the sense that the kitche…

To add a few more: it's similarly easy to swap cabinet handles, vent covers, outlet wall plates. Fresh caulk is nice too, even if it's a bit sloppy, still beats stained or cracked caulk.

the little rubber gaskets in sink drains for garbage disposals are also a cheap upgrade the brings a place up a notch

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#183

Post by flutas »

gizmo686 wrote: post #141
nopurpose wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd expect solicitors to find liabilities like that. How did it end?

The "before closing" does a lot of work here. It sounds like the seller made the disclosure when they were legally required to. This is pretty common in large purchases. First the buyer and seller agree in principle, then they perform their due diligence. Sometimes sales fall through at that last step. If, hypothetically, the seller never disclosed the financing, then that would be an issue between the seller and the…

> At most, the buyer would need to allow the financer access to retrieve their property. The financer could then sue the seller for the buy-out cost and/or breach of contract.

Nope, at least not typically.

Typically in the US houses are sold as-is unless it's noted in the closing docs. Everything in or on the house when you close is yours. The seller would be the one fighting with the financing company, as (again unless noted in closing docs) they would be considered fixtures and considered part of the real estate sale.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#185

Post by [deleted] »

WalterBright wrote: post #117
austinl wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having recently bought a house, I love thinking about things that increase perceived value relative to cost (more so because they're nice to have, not because we plan to sell any time soon). A few things we changed right away: - new mailbox (replacing a rusted 30+ year old one) - lots of landscaping work (the majority of which I can do myself) - installed a wine fridge (I always felt it gave the sense that the kitche…

Trump wrote in one of his books that a person selling their car that does not detail it beforehand is a fool.

[deleted]

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#186

Post by g8oz »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #176
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.

Actually in some places panels devalue a house because some people consider them an eyesore

I believe this will pass as people get used to them as part of our modern world.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#187

Post by Scoundreller »

CrzyLngPwd wrote: post #149
scarecrowbob wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am curious how much of a difference it makes. I have 4kw of panels and 15kwh of storage. I only get down to about 80% most nights (I heat with wood and propane). But my system will charge completely in about 2 hours of full sun. If it took 3 hours it wouldn't make a difference. So I generally don't clean them (well, the rain and snow do that work). I do remove snow, because that has a very noticeable impact. Is the…

I'm off grid, no mains power, and have 8x48v lithium Fogstar batteries in an external rack, since my cabin is small. On December 21, due to trees, my panels get around 2 hours of full sun, if the universe smiles on me. I use around 5-6kwh per day, if I use my computer, which I need for work. This will be the first year with the fogstar batteries, previously had 1x48v generic lithium battery, but last year I used the…

> I also have a freezer and washing machine this year

You need a heat pipe between your freezer/fridge and outside. Then it will “function” when it’s colder outside than in your fridge and otherwise sit idle(ish). Sure you’re bringing “cold” into your big warm box (home), you have wood to overcome that. All theory, but it makes sense in my mind!

(Though in most places, it rarely gets colder outside than in your freezer)

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#188

Post by scarecrowbob »

Shog9 wrote: post #148
scarecrowbob wrote: post #119

Horses for courses. My system is off grid, so any extra power is just not used, and its designed in a way that a 2-5% change doesn't do anything. That might be a more meaningful change if I were selling power to other folks. Kind of off topic, but I see a lot of folks proximate to me have built systems to turn panels so they face the sun more closely. I can see the use in that if you don't have much space or if you h…

A lot of these designs are an artifact of a time when the panels themselves would have been far and away the most expensive component in the system. The place I'm in originally had 10 125W panels that probably cost north of $8k when installed, and they were mounted on a rotating, tilt-adjustable post. Also the entire house was wired to run off DC as much as possible, with three different wiring schemes throughout and…

Ah, that makes a lot of sense.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#189

Post by hfsh »

epiccoleman wrote: post #157
WalterBright wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump wrote in one of his books that a person selling their car that does not detail it beforehand is a fool.

i find it extremely hard to imagine that Donald Trump would have ever been personally involved in the sale of a vehicle at the level that he'd be making decisions about whether or not it was detailed, but I guess it's sensible generic advice

Or in the actual writing of a book, for that matter.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#190

Post by scarecrowbob »

Scoundreller wrote: post #187
CrzyLngPwd wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm off grid, no mains power, and have 8x48v lithium Fogstar batteries in an external rack, since my cabin is small. On December 21, due to trees, my panels get around 2 hours of full sun, if the universe smiles on me. I use around 5-6kwh per day, if I use my computer, which I need for work. This will be the first year with the fogstar batteries, previously had 1x48v generic lithium battery, but last year I used the…

> I also have a freezer and washing machine this year You need a heat pipe between your freezer/fridge and outside. Then it will “function” when it’s colder outside than in your fridge and otherwise sit idle(ish). Sure you’re bringing “cold” into your big warm box (home), you have wood to overcome that. All theory, but it makes sense in my mind! (Though in most places, it rarely gets colder outside than in your freez…

If they are like me, keeping the fridge from freezing during the winter is more energy that keeping the fridge cooling during winter...
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