It’s pretty much here! While most of us are casting off our winter gloom and getting ready for more outdoor time and fewer jumpers, the keen solar folks among us should have an extra item on their to-do lists alongside storing away their winter woolies. That’s right, prepping their panels for the best two seasons of the year.
Looking at things from a different angle
Realistically, you could just leave your panels as they are, unless they’re excessively dirty or covered with leaves, but why miss out on that lovely free electricity? The best thing you can do, if your panels can be tilted to catch the different angles of incidence that the different seasons offer, is to do just that – tilt them so they catch as much sun as possible. You most likely need a techie to do this, but it’s worth it.
Give those panels a good clean
Winter’s a tough old season. The trees may be bare, but those falling leaves have to go somewhere and it may just be on top of your panels! If you’ve gathered quite a collection, as well as a winter’s worth of muck, dust, grime and grease, then spring is the traditional time to give your panels a good old hose-down. If you can do this yourself, then just use plain water and a very soft brush. If you can’t get to your panels safely, then call in a maintenance guy with all the equipment and know-how.
Get your entire system serviced
While you’re up there (so to speak), you should get the entire system checked over and serviced. It’s about to go into its busiest season, after all, so you need to make sure everything’s working to its best ability. If you lose some capacity due to a fault or wear, then the worst time for this to happen is late spring or summer as it’ll represent the biggest net loss of power and maybe even profit. Think smart and make sure it’s in top shape.
