Clean Solar Solutions have completed the cleaning of 2,862 solar panels across 9 different schools near Croydon, Surrey. The cleaning was carried out on behalf of DPS Property Holdings.
Tens of thousands of solar panels have been installed on the roofs of schools all over the UK as a way of reducing energy bills. Schools obviously use the majority of the power during daylight hours, which makes solar power a particularly attractive investment. In order to reap the maximum gain from this investment, solar panel cleaning is a necessary part of maintaining the solar systems.
We carried out the cleaning at Thomas Moore School, Woodcote Primary School, Culvers House Primary School, Brookfield Primary School, Amy Johnson Primary School, Cheam Park Farm Nursery and Infants School, Harris Primary Academy, Limes College and Wallington Grammar School.
Each of the solar arrays on the schools will now be more efficient and produce more electricity. This increase in efficiency will mean they have to draw less electricity from the National Grid and therefore pay for less electricity.
During the course of the cleans we were able to spot a number of problems as illustrated in the pictures below.
Both of these pictures illustrate why ongoing maintenance is needed on solar arrays. The greenery which was not present during the installation of the solar panels has grown sufficiently to now overhang the solar panels and create shading, a major problem if you have solar panels. You can read more about solar shading here. Another reason for shading can be seen below.
Excessive bird excrement can also cause the output of a solar array to drop off considerably. Again, shading is the problem but again we helped the array owners solve the problem as seen below.
By fitting a number of wind-driven bird scarers to the site, we deter the birds from roosting or nesting near the solar panels. These highly effective scarers spin around and the eyes on the boards deter the birds from feeling comfortable and the mirror fitted below the boards catch the light from the sun and ‘flash’ which again deters the birds from settling in that area.
We were able to help solve the problem for the owners of these solar panels, thereby eliminating the shading and increasing the output further. A more dangerous problem in shown in the picture below.
These cables were initially found resting, submerged in a pool of rainwater. This presents very obvious risk to people working on the roof and also places the integrity of the solar array at risk and could compromise at least components of the system. While the cables and their fixings are obviously designed to be exposed to the elements, they are obviously not designed to be submerged in water. This can possibly be attributed to a poor standard of install or possibly the birds have somehow affected the cables on these panels. Again, we were able to highlight the problem to the array owner and again the problem has since been rectified.
If you own or maintain a solar array on a school anywhere in the UK please feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements for solar panel maintenance. If you live in Croydon, Surrey and would like more information or a price for cleaning your solar panels, please feel free to contact us.
