A word about panel cleaning. I installed panels 6 years ago and paid for quality - BP panels. I was advised by the installer that their surface finish is such that they are essentially self-cleaning (by rain) and don’t need to be cleaned. I have kept a check on panel performance from Day 1 by weekly reading and recording energy fed into the grid (I’m on gross feed-in tariff).
I have never had my panels cleaned. My records show that there has been no loss of performance - all variation of energy generated is explained by a combination of seasonal and weather-related events; there is no long-term decline in energy generated such as you would expect from accumulation of dirt.
The other way to check performance is to watch the display of instantaneous power on the inverter when the sun’s near zenith on a clear summer day; I still get full power under such conditions.
The point of this story is to show that you don’t necessarily have to clean and its worth watching performance to see if there’s a need for it.
Also on the subject of cleaning: we have Sharp panels that were installed around ten years ago.
There were some lichen patches on the edges of the panel surfaces, as well as the frames of each, mainly near the lower edge. Fortunately, we have a level steel awning adjacent to the panels, so last month I got up and cleaned the panels using a natural bristle brush and the garden hose. I suspect they’ll be good for another ten years or so. Rain seems to be very effective at keeping them clean.
‘garden hose’ has different outcomes for some I’d be thinking - if you are in a place where TDS are low, this might not be a bad thing, but where I live TDS is nearlt 500mg/L and hardness over 200mg/L everything you wash has to be dried with a micro-fibre cloth or chamois or it leaves white streaks everywhere the water dries. I’d reckon hosing down cells here would leave them looking like they had cataracts in no time …
… for places that have rain. Dust and sand I suspect are not quite so effective …
One wonders how tolerant these cells are to cleaning agents - I’d be very cautious - but with little rain, lots of dust, and crap tap water, the solution is less straight forward than other areas …
I’m in Canberra, where the tariff has been net (for all new panels) for some years. But I got in fairly early, when it was GFiT and remaining so for a total of 20 years from commissioning. At the end of that period it’ll be a new ballgame. You’re probably right that GFiT has now vanished for all who newly install panels.
Electricity supply affects all of us. I would like to formally request Choice to perform a study and HARD RECCOMENDATIONS forthe best way to go. I have a nominal 3.5kw/h system. I have a basic J car inductive ammeter in the loop so with a little bodgey arithmetic, calculate consumption and savings. With legal retasking of off peak (my providor told me how to get the pool to run off off-peak) sensible use of my independent solar hot water maximum usage of qualifying for discounts and rebates, my bill has gone DOWN from about $950 per quater to a staggering $150 THIS LAST QTR.
It only took Ergon some 6 weeks to inspect our installation after it was installed at which point they tried not to credit us with the FIT they had recorded from the installation date to the inspection date.
They initially claimed that the meter had to be reprogrammed despite my telling them it was already recording the FIT.
The first quarterly bill had no FIT credit but the next bill showed the previous as well as the current FIT.
After I had a “chat” to them and it was escalated, they ended providing a “goodwill” credit.
I wonder just how much they have fleeced customers for in delaying the inspections and failing to credit the FIT prior to the inspection date.
In Queensland (and expect the other states will be the same), one isn’t support to turn on the PV system to allow export to the the grid until it has been inspected. The installer should have advised this on installation and turned off the system in leaving the property.
SolarQuotes has information on their website about this…
As I stated, we already had a smart meter installed and it was already programmed correctly for the FIT.
When the Ergon inspector finally turned up, he expected the system to be switched on, and when my complaint was escalated, the person who called me back had no complaints that the system was left running.
His only claim was that they do not count the FIT prior to the inspection but backed down when I made it perfectly clear that I was not going to be ripped off for my electricity which they had sold at retail, or even higher as “green energy”.
