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Professional solar panel cleaning? Probably a waste of money, says UCSD

A study published by UC San Diego engineers recently indicates that there’s little, if any benefit to solar power users to pay firms in the business of cleaning their panels to increase efficiency.

A recent study found that panels that hadn’t been cleaned or rained on for a period of nearly five months lost only 7.4 percent of their efficiency, or about 0.05 percent per day of accumulating dust and grime. For a typical 5 kilowatt residential solar installation, that translates to about $20 in lost energy production for panels that go without cleaning versus those washed halfway through the typical San Diego summer dry season.

“You definitely wouldn’t get your money back after hiring someone to wash your rooftop panels,” Jan Kleissl, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the university, tells UCSD’s NewsCenter.

“Dust on PV panels does make a difference but it’s not a big enough factor in California to warrant cleaning,” adds Felipe Mejia, another study author.

The study notes that while most residential customers shouldn’t bother with cleaning services, larger industrial arrays, or those soiled with heavy bird droppings or other pollutants from nearby businesses, highways or agriculture might benefit from routine cleaning.

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A study published by UC San Diego engineers recently indicates that there’s little, if any benefit to solar power users to pay firms in the business of cleaning their panels to increase efficiency.

A recent study found that panels that hadn’t been cleaned or rained on for a period of nearly five months lost only 7.4 percent of their efficiency, or about 0.05 percent per day of accumulating dust and grime. For a typical 5 kilowatt residential solar installation, that translates to about $20 in lost energy production for panels that go without cleaning versus those washed halfway through the typical San Diego summer dry season.

“You definitely wouldn’t get your money back after hiring someone to wash your rooftop panels,” Jan Kleissl, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the university, tells UCSD’s NewsCenter.

“Dust on PV panels does make a difference but it’s not a big enough factor in California to warrant cleaning,” adds Felipe Mejia, another study author.

The study notes that while most residential customers shouldn’t bother with cleaning services, larger industrial arrays, or those soiled with heavy bird droppings or other pollutants from nearby businesses, highways or agriculture might benefit from routine cleaning.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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