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DetectDefect | 1 month ago

Oh, okay. Does a warranty cover sweeping snow off your panels and washing them many times throughout the years? I guess if one does not value time, then solar panels could be considered "free" - but this is a bizarre sacrifice.

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darkwater|1 month ago

Lies. I'm using solar panels since 2022, still producing same peak energy and not cleaned them once. Some companies/electricians will try to sell you a cleaning and maintenance service for ~80-100EUR/year here but it's basically throwing money.

eitally|1 month ago

I live in a fairly arid place (Bay Area) where it rains in winter but gets quite dry and dusty in the summer. I've had rooftop solar since 2016 and have noticed that generation decreases by as much as 8-10% when the panels are covered in summer dust.

lostlogin|1 month ago

Where are you getting this maintenance schedule from?

I haven’t touched ours, they are clean and have been going fine with zero maintenance, though admittedly it’s only been a year.

DetectDefect|1 month ago

> I haven’t touched ours, they are clean and have been going fine with zero maintenance, though admittedly it’s only been a year.

> Where are you getting this maintenance schedule from?

The solar panel owner does not know the required maintenance they are now permanently responsible for. Ibid, your honor.

csoups14|1 month ago

I got solar panels installed two years ago and I've washed them once. I'm still getting great production. Are you trying to convince yourself that maintaining solar panels is difficult? Because it isn't.

DetectDefect|1 month ago

> I got solar panels installed two years ago

> I've washed them once.

> I'm still getting great production.

Thank you for reiterating my point.

boringg|1 month ago

You don't bother with the snow. Winter is low production energy due to the suns positioning - it melts in the spring and your back to producing. Most solar power is between march - september anyways.

rsynnott|1 month ago

Washing solar panels _at all_ would be fairly unusual, and arguably pretty pointless, particularly given they're so cheap now; you're looking at, optimistically, a 5% efficiency improvement, but many studies say more like 1% in practice.

If you're in a place that gets significant snowfall such that they're often covered then production during winter is likely to be fairly marginal anyway, so may not be worth your while.

lostlogin|1 month ago

Why do you think that level of maintenance is needed?