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22 Mar 2016
Cleaning Your Solar Panels

Solar Myth Mondays: Solar Panels Require Too Much Maintence

A common myth is that solar panels require a lot of maintenance. This is untrue. Since solar panels do not have any rotating parts, they do not require regular maintenance. The most work you have to do is hose the panels off, say once a year or so. Tough work, huh? Most solar panel owners never actually clean the panels and just let mother nature do the job. First try if your garden hose alone does the job. If a lot of dust and dirt has accumulated, you might need to clean more thoroughly. Fill a bucket or spray bottle with warm water and soap – no other special equipment is needed. Clean the surface of the solar panel with a soft cloth or sponge.

However, if that big oak tree in your yard decides to take a nose dive on your precious solar panels, then you should have our professionals at SolarGem check it out to assess the damage.  No worries though, you can rest assure we’ll be here to answer all of your other solar panel system myths!

 

For more information, check out energyinformation.org

29 Feb 2016

Solar Myth Mondays: Solar Doesn’t Work in Cool, Cloudy, or Foggy Climates

Many people have questions about how the operation of solar panels on cloudy or rainy days and are afraid that these devices do not work on days like this. However, this is not a significant concern since the solar cells have ways to work around this problem.

FACT: Solar panels work just fine in ambient light and will produce significant energy in the fog or on cloudy. In fact, solar panels are actually more efficient at cooler temperatures than hot ones. Although this might seem counter-intuitive, consider that solar panels on a rooftop in cool, foggy San Francisco produce only one percent less electricity than one in nearby Sacramento, where it’s sunny and hot. Consider too that Germany leads the world in residential solar right now, and doesn’t have a sunny climate.

Read more from our friends at sciencealert.com about a new technology that a team of European researchers have announced.