Maintaining Solar Panel Installation

Many people have taken that all important step towards having a greener home by installing what is known as renewable technologies. Renewable technologies use sources that are in essence inexhaustible, such as wind (through wind turbines of various sources), heat (through ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps for example), water (through technologies such as hydrotechnology, which has been around for hundreds of years), earth products (biomasses and woods, for example, for burners and boilers) and, of course, the sun.

Installing solar panels, whether they are solar thermal (these are the ones that heat your home and hot water) or solar photovoltaic (which provide you with electricity) is quite a large initial investment. The payback period on panels is around 12 years, if you maintain your solar panel installation properly.

Maintaining Solar Panel Installation – What You Can Do Yourself

Solar panels are generally built to last and to be able to withstand some strenuous weather conditions. However, this does not mean you should just leave them be, as you will be able to extend their lives with some good maintaining solar panel installation. When you have your system installed, you should have been given some instructions on maintaining your panels, both for solar thermal and solar photovoltaic. What you can do yourself includes:

Regularly removing debris and dirt
Checking the connections are still tight
Removing dust
Cleaning your panels by removing bird droppings and other grime with some warm soapy water.

It is also possible to repair any potential cracks on your solar panels. There are two methods for this, the first one being soldering the crack and the other being by using an epoxy resin. However, you need to have knowledge of how to do this, as well as knowledge of electrical equipment before you attempt this. Also make sure that if you are maintaining solar panel installation in such a way, that your solar panels are fully shaded during repair work.

Maintaining Solar Panel Installation – What Should Be Done By Others?

It is advised to ensure that a professional installer maintains your solar panel on a regular basis. Generally, maintaining solar panel installation through a qualified installer should be done every 3 to 5 years. Again, your installer should have informed you of this when the panels were installed.

It is very important to make sure that when you hiring someone for maintaining solar panel installation, they are MCS – Microgeneration Certification Scheme – registered, meaning they are qualified and allowed to work with solar panels.

Maintaining solar panel installation is something that should not take too much time or effort. Solar panels are built to last and their average life expectancy is around 30 years. With proper maintenance, however, you can not only extend the life expectancy, but also ensure that your panels continue to operate at maximum capacity. Maintaining solar panel installation is the key to ensure your system remains up to date and does its job as best as it can.