Maintenance tips fo solar panels

Maintenance is the key to sustaining a strong, properly functioning, efficient, and effective structure. With the purchase of solar panels, consumers are in luck. Fortunately, solar panels require very little maintenance. Nonetheless, there are some things that you need to consider to ensure that your system works as it should.

Here are eight tips that can help you to prolong the life of your solar system, avoid having any hassles with it, and help you to achieve maximum system performance and power output.

1. Keep your panels clean

The first and foremost tip is keeping your panels clean. This will ensure that you are getting the most power output from your system. Consider checking the cleanliness of your panels every month or so. If you notice any dust, bird droppings, or leaves, wash your panels with a sponge or flush them with a garden hose.

2 Avoid moisture and dampness

Your solar panels usually cannot be damaged by moisture. However, your backup battery, power inverter, or diodes can. Even though your system is probably well sealed, you need to check and make sure that there is no way that moisture can penetrate the system and render some of its parts inoperable.

3. Keep the panels free of shade

If you have a larger system (e.g., 24V) with a series of cells connected together, you need to ensure that your system is not shaded. Larger systems will typically have bypass diodes in them, which will allow for the electric current to pass around the shaded areas without damaging them by stronger current.

Yet, just in case, it’s better to ensure that your system is free of shade or that the shade is spread evenly across as many cells/panels as possible.

4. Energy Use

Another way of checking on the amount of energy being produced by your solar panels is to have an energy monitor installed. These systems can range from the very simple display-only meters to a sophisticated, comprehensive monitoring system.

Having an energy monitor can be an early warning system to prevent the shock of receiving a large bill from your conventional energy provider if your solar thermal system is underperforming.

5. Use a smaller 12V system

If you suspect that your battery could be discharging at night (i.d., you note that there is less energy in the battery in the morning compared to what you saw the previous evening), the problem could be the absence of a blocking diode in your set up.

A smaller 12V system can do without a blocking diode, while larger systems need to have working blocking diodes that prevent the battery from draining at night.

6. Ensure that the panels are professionally installed

There is no way that the panels will work effectively and last for long if they aren’t properly installed. Professionals recommend that you avoid installing solar panels on a roof that is more than 15 years old. While you can replace the roof after you have installed the panels, it’s usually not as easy as it sounds.

Most solar companies provide technicians that help you with the installation, but if they don’t provide you with one, you should be sure that the professional you hire is certified and experienced at installing panels.

7. Get rid of impediments

The major impediments that you need to keep an eye on are the trees. If there are trees growing over your panels you should cut the branches. Doing this not only gets rid of branches which prevent the panel from getting as much energy as possible, it also eliminates the worry of buds and leaves blanketing the panels.

If you are living in an area that is prone to snow, you will need to regularly remove the snow using a push broom. This will prevent panel damage.

8. Analyze your system

If your system stops working, you will need to analyze what could have gone wrong. The most common issues with solar powered systems include: disconnected wires that need to be reconnected, a failed inverter that needs to be replaced, or failed diodes that may also need to be replaced (or simply removed if the system is smaller than 12V).

Finally, make sure your solar panel system is properly maintained to be sure to have an efficient supply of energy in your home and savings on your bills. You will also be helping the environment.