cleaning panels = higher output

TenMile

Just thought I'd share my results of some spring cleaning today. Our setup is a cabin in the woods and we tend to get quite a bit of dust from the dirt road before the municipality oils it in June. As a result, we get a light dust buildup along with some organics on the panels that accumulates near the aluminum frame and across the glass. Visibly, the panels don't look terribly dirty.

In full sun at noon today I was seeing about 13Amps of net energy production. Our panels are capable of producing a max of 21Amps but today, we had some loads running on the inverter. I got up the ladder with a soft brush and mild soap and gave the panels a good bath and rinse. With the same loads running, net output jumped to over 18Amps -- or roughly a 25% overall gain.

I was quite surprised at how much of an overall increase I saw. Will likely make cleaning a more regular routine.