You Have Made It on The Roof!
Congratulations on getting on the roof and having your plan routed out.
Next Step: Assess the roof and the roof conditions.
Make sure you have a good walking path and know where the power lines are and are not. Remember the roof layout – we now need to look at areas around and underneath the panels.
Figure 2: Some not so happy kind friends under a solar panel.
There are sometimes (more often than you’d think) not so friendly pests under your solar panels. Prior to spraying, you want to make sure there are no creepy, crawly, flying things that may have you running as fast as you can in another direction. Not a very fun feeling to have while on the roof.
Keep in mind that wasps, hornets, bees and other creatures like the warmth and protection of the PV panels just as much as we enjoy the energy they produce.
A pre-inspection is crucial.
You need to look at the panels and make sure there’s no damage. You want to make sure you do not have a solar panel with a hole in it, and yes, if it has a hole in it, there is a good chance it is still producing energy. We want to avoid spraying water on the electricity making machine with a hole in it. Look at the conduit and make sure that your junction boxes do not have holes in them or cracks in them.
Figure 3: junction box with a crack.
Figure 4: box without a proper seal on it.
When you have made sure spraying water and washing your panels is not going to cause you any harm, go ahead and start to clean your panels and let that energy machine make more energy on a clean surface!
Pacific Panel Cleaners LLC is dedicated to helping protect solar investments. If you have any questions or comments, email us at: info@pacificpanelcleaners.com
Fred Brooks, CEM, CEA
Certified Thermographer Pacific Panel Cleaners, LLC
License C-34167
