Solar Cleaning and Maintenance FAQ

It usually depends on where the solar panels have been installed, how easy it is to access the solar panels for cleaning, the water availability and how many solar panels need cleaning. As a rough guide, £2 per panel + the access cost wouldn’t be far off, although there may be other factors we can take into consideration when pricing up your project.

This will depend on the size of the panels, how many panels you have, how dirty they are, what the access and water arrangements are like and sometimes, what the local environmental conditions are like at the time.

So it’s fair to say there are quite a few factors that can affect the length of time it takes to clean your panels but feel free to contact us on 01525 632238 for some initial guidance.

Helios predominantly use a specially designed solar panel cleaning robot to clean the solar panels that we work on which allows to thoroughly clean the solar panels in a safer, more efficient manner than by standard water fed pole & brush method.

We also have the ability to clean panels with brushes where the use of the robot may not be possible.

1. Water (to within 15°C of your panel temperature to maintain the warranty)
2. Access equipment (cherry picker, MEWP)
3. Labour
4. Health & Safety essentials (risk assessment, method statement etc.)
5. Trained, competent, considerate and professional employees
6. Robotic or brush cleaning method
7. Report on the condition of your solar panels together with any recommendations
8. Good manners!

Solar panels are relatively easy to maintain and will provide you with years’ worth of hassle free electricity generation if they are maintained regularly.

It may be a requirement of your insurer for annual maintenance to be carried out so is important to have your system tested and inspected annually to identify and prevent any new problems that could potentially arise.

Our experience has shown us that without annual inspections and testing, certain faults can occur including:

• Mid and end clamps become loose (they hold your panels in place)
• Rodent damage to cables (can cause insulation faults which could lead to fires)
• Internal inverter errors
• Grounding faults

All of which usually result in reduced output from your system and in the worst case scenario, be a danger to life.

Helios will conduct both visual and electrical inspections to ensure that your rooftop solar PV system is performing in accordance with your anticipated energy generation figures.

Series Resistance Testing is quite simply the testing for series resistance within a solar PV system.

Series resistance can derive from many different components of solar PV installations however it is commonly found in cables and faulty or mismatched DC connectors (commonly referred to as MC4’s). Within PV modules themselves it can be found in junction box connections and bypass diodes.

The solar cells in the PV module are where the most complex sources of series resistance lay. The busbars (usually silver) on the cell surface have series resistance and we also find it in the front and back contact materials.

Series resistance is basically a point within the PV circuitry where the flow of current is impeded. It is measured in ohms.

Series resistance is generally problematic as where there is resistance to the current flowing freely, heat soon forms in the components.