Maintenance of solar panels in Los Alcázares
Solar panel installations are designed to work outdoors, which means that they are particularly resistant to adverse weather conditions. In addition, their average lifetime is more than 25 years, which means they are robust and will be generating savings for you for more than two decades. Even so, in order to keep the production and efficiency of the installation at its maximum, it is advisable to maintain the solar panels every year or year and a half, depending on the environmental conditions. In the city, where the environment is more stable, a biannual maintenance can be done. In the countryside or on the beach, where conditions are more aggressive, we recommend annual maintenance.
If you want to know more about the maintenance of photovoltaic installations and see a very illustrative example, just read on.
Cleaning of solar panels
Cleaning solar panels is a fundamental part of the correct maintenance of your installation. A dirty and dusty panel can lose up to 35% of its production, which means that your electricity bill will be affected. While it is true that the maximum production of solar panels is achieved in ideal conditions of irradiance and brightness, there are losses caused by a multitude of factors such as poor tilt, shadows and accumulated dirt due to lack of maintenance. The cleaner the solar panels, the higher the yield.
It is advisable for beach areas in the Region of Murcia, such as Los Alcázares, where there is little rainfall and a lot of dust and saltpetre accumulates on the surfaces, to clean them every few months. Depending on the area, the panels should be cleaned every three to six months, especially if we have had a few days of calima.
It is important to leave the cleaning in the hands of professionals to avoid damage to the solar panels and, above all, to avoid putting yourself in danger, as working at heights always involves a risk. While it is true that a superficial cleaning can be done with a hose and a soft brush, a deep cleaning requires a conscientious work with specific cleaning tools.
What does solar panel maintenance include?
A correct maintenance of solar panels is essential to guarantee the good performance of the installation and to be able to get the most out of it.
Maintenance should include, as a minimum, the following actions:
- Visual inspection: A visual inspection of the installation is the first thing to do in order to detect any damage that may exist, whether in the panels, structures, wiring or equipment. Early detection of a bad connection or a broken panel will prevent further damage in the long term.
- Cleanliness: As we have already explained, it is essential to clean the installation thoroughly on a regular basis in order to avoid the accumulation of dirt and the consequent loss of production.
- Checking electrical connections: The electrical connections of the installation should be checked regularly to ensure that they are tight and that there are no bad contacts.
- Review of protections: It is important to check the protections of the installation, both those that protect the direct current part and those that protect the alternating current part. It is essential that the magnetos and differential protectors work correctly to guarantee the safety of the installation.
- Temperature: The temperature of the PV panels should be checked periodically and ensure that it is within the recommended operating temperature range. If the temperature is too high, it can reduce the efficiency of the array and the maintenance of the panels will be affected. In addition, checking the temperature of the solar panels can help to detect micro-cracks or cracks. A hot spot on a solar panel always means that something is broken.
Maintenance of solar panels in Los Alcázares
At ICIDE Energía Solar we offer maintenance and cleaning contracts for photovoltaic installations to all our clients. As you already know, we recommend maintenance and cleaning at least twice a year to ensure that your installation performs at its best.
In this before and after of the last installation that we have done the maintenance you can see the difference between the initial state and the state after the cleaning.
Before the cleaning, the panels were producing around 15% less than they should, due to accumulated dirt and dust, which was causing our customer's electricity bill to increase. After cleaning, the installation was back to full production.
Don't let your installation lose performance and make the most of your solar panel installation.
Do you want to know how much it would cost you to maintain your solar panel installation?
If you have a photovoltaic installation like our client's and you think it is producing less than it should due to lack of maintenance, please contact us and we will be happy to prepare a personalised quote for you, without obligation!
We are expert installers with years of experience and official technical service for trusted brands such as Fronius y Victron.
