PV panels do not last forever and there are many companies eager to clean them, often unnecessarily. But the panels do not last forever and some, especially the rly installs, might be needing some maintenance. From Finn Peacock at SolarQuotes, via The Guardian.
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Pretty good article.
The timeframes for inspections are commensurate with the installation and the installation conditions.
There are two huge causes of failure in an otherwise normal installation, assuming everything installed ‘correctly’
01 - sap,dust, bird poo and debree on your panels. If enough covers a cell, your panels by-pass diodes will start to kick in.
02 - Panel installation angle. Most panels are self cleaning. However, some panels and by exception can be installed at quite a low angle of inclination. Apart from the cleaning aspect, there is one huge issue with this. The water will pool at the bottom of the panel and butt up against the aluminium frame. It will not drip dry as it is supposed to - instead it will need to evaporate off the panel. This will discolour your cells, and over time degrade your panel leading to an otherwise earlier than normal failure.
How do I know? I run a solar business and have fixed these issues many times. Commercial systems are a big candidate for the low angle of inclination installation.
What to do? Clean them more regularly - certainly more than every 5 years.
