Do dirty solar panels matter in the Gallatin Valley?
Dust costs less here than in the desert Southwest, and snow costs more. When cleaning is worth it, and how the panel makers say to do it.
Service
Solar panel cleaning in Bozeman and Belgrade
Dust, pollen and smoke film washed off with purified water and soft brushes, the way panel makers say to.
A dusty array produces less than a clean one. How much less depends on the tilt, the rain and the season, and in this valley it is usually modest: well-tilted panels are rinsed by rain through the spring and summer.
Where cleaning earns its keep is on low or flat arrays, after a long dry spell, after a smoky summer, or near gravel roads and farm fields.
Bird droppings and caked patches are worth clearing sooner. Uneven dirt over part of a panel can cause hot spots, which Canadian Solar’s manual warns may shorten a panel’s life. More in our guide to solar panels and dust.
What it costs
From $12 a panel, with a $100 minimum. Booked with a window cleaning, it costs less per panel. Steep, high or hard-to-reach arrays are quoted once we have seen them.
How we clean them
Purified water and soft brushes, when the panels are cool. No detergents, no pressure washer and nothing abrasive. Those are not our rules: the major panel makers write them into their manuals, and some treat damage from the wrong cleaning as outside the warranty.
What is included
Included
- Purified water and soft brushes only
- A look at the array while we are up there, and a note of anything that looks wrong
Not included
- Pressure washers, detergents or scraping: panel makers including REC, Canadian Solar and Qcells rule them out
- Snow clearing: REC calls it "not essential", and a December array makes little power either way
Learn
Related guides
Wildfire smoke and your windows
Smoke leaves ash and soot on glass and screens. How to clean it off without scratching the glass or breathing it in, and when to wait.
Cleaning second-story windows yourself: the ladder numbers
How many people are hurt on ladders each year, the setup rules that stop the most common fall, and when the upper floor is a job to hand over.
Services
More services
Window cleaning
Inside and outside glass, frames and sills, for homes and businesses in Bozeman, Belgrade and across the Gallatin Valley.
Screen cleaning
Screens taken down, washed and put back in the openings they came from, as an add-on to a window cleaning.
From $2 per screen
Screen repair
Torn mesh and brittle spline replaced, so a screen keeps the bugs out and sits right in its frame again.
From $15 per screen, plus mesh
Get a quote for your property
Send a few details and a couple of photos for a ballpark, usually back the same day. The firm price comes once we have seen the glass.