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Should you wash your solar panels?

incoherency.co.uk

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Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#31

Post by wongarsu »

namdnay wrote: post #25
engineer_22 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Doesn't matter what you sell, you will get a higher price if it is cleaned and tidy when presented to the market - because the kinds of people who pay higher prices are looking for clean and tidy things.

> because the kinds of people who pay higher prices are looking for clean and tidy things. I'd say it's also "because the kind of people who clean and tidy things also maintain them"

Exactly. "Is it clean and tidy right now" is a decent proxy for "Has this been properly taken care of in the past"

Obviously it's not infallible. But even if the owner only cleaned their stuff now that they are selling it that still tells you they are the type of person to take action where it's beneficial

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#32

Post by saagarjha »

throw0101d wrote: post #23
engineer_22 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Doesn't matter what you sell, you will get a higher price if it is cleaned and tidy when presented to the market - because the kinds of people who pay higher prices are looking for clean and tidy things.

See also "staging": * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_staging

Why is it written like that lmao

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#33

Post by mywittyname »

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.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#34

Post by rcxdude »

cestith wrote: post #21
Tade0 wrote: 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.

Tracking systems are also becoming more popular. You spend a little more up front but get a lot more usable power.

I get the impression they are getting less viable because the extra cost and maintenance outweighs just putting more panels down. There are some calculations that suggest even mounting them on angled frames might not be worth the cost, depending on how dirty they get when you just lie them flat on the ground.

(This assumes that you have enough space, but for grid-scale solar this is not the limiting factor. The costs are roughly in order from most to least: the cost of the inverters and grid connection, the cost of installing the panels, the cost of the panels themselves, then the cost of the land to put them on)

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#35

Post by jjice »

namdnay wrote: post #25
engineer_22 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Doesn't matter what you sell, you will get a higher price if it is cleaned and tidy when presented to the market - because the kinds of people who pay higher prices are looking for clean and tidy things.

> because the kinds of people who pay higher prices are looking for clean and tidy things. I'd say it's also "because the kind of people who clean and tidy things also maintain them"

Definitely. On the other side, if you can't even bother to clean it before you sell it, I have no reason to believe you've put any effort in maintaining it.

Cleaning in general is also usually a core part of maintaining something. Dirt and grime lead to wear and tear.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#36

Post by delusional »

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.

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#37

Post by wongarsu »

sluongng wrote: post #17
Tade0 wrote: 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?

A battery would solve it, but it can be cheaper to have additional panels oriented east and west than to add the equivalent battery capacity

Re: Should you wash your solar panels?

#38

Post by williamdclt »

wongarsu wrote: post #31
namdnay wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because the kinds of people who pay higher prices are looking for clean and tidy things. I'd say it's also "because the kind of people who clean and tidy things also maintain them"

Exactly. "Is it clean and tidy right now" is a decent proxy for "Has this been properly taken care of in the past" Obviously it's not infallible. But even if the owner only cleaned their stuff now that they are selling it that still tells you they are the type of person to take action where it's beneficial

> "Is it clean and tidy right now" is a decent proxy for "Has this been properly taken care of in the past"

I don't think so, esp at selling time, I definitely expect that the owner has just made it look pristine. But the opposite is definitely true: if you can't even bother making it look clean and tidy when trying to sell, I'm pretty sure you've not taken care of it in the past!

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