The surface of photovoltaic solar panels must be clean in order to ensure full operation and maximum efficiency. Any kind of dirt that may be on the surface of the solar module, be it dust, pollen, tree sap, bird droppings, sand, salt crystals, etc., will reduce the footprint of the sun's rays, i.e. reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the solar module cells, and thus the panel will produce less power.

To the naked eye the panels may appear clean, however there will be dirt accumulated, even if it is just the air pollution itself. A simple test to see if your panel is in need of cleaning is to wipe the surface of the panel with a white cloth or cotton pad before the actual cleaning.

According to recent studies, when a solar panel is very dirty it can lose up to 50% of its efficiency compared to a clean solar panel. However, panels with some dirt show an energy loss of up to 10%.

In fact, rain, snow, or wind alone does not wash the solar panels, because wind carries particles, snow because it blocks sunlight, and rainwater because it is slightly acidic and, when it dries, leaves spots that quickly attract dirt again, thus making the solar system less efficient.

A simple way to illustrate why the weather alone does not wash out the solar panels is to look at the windshield of your car. If you leave your windshield dirty for a long time, you will lose visibility due to accumulated dirt, but thanks to the cleaner that you apply and the windshield wiper, you can wash the glass and regain visibility in no time!

In this way, the solar panels are like the windshields of your car, except that they do not have readily available liquid for washing the solar panels associated with the windshield wiper.

In order for the warranty on your solar panel to remain valid, you should use solar panel cleaners that meet the manufacturers' requirements, such as Solar Wash Protect.

However, as a rule, products with neutral pH that are tested by international laboratories and that are approved by the solar panel manufacturers themselves as they rule out any negative effect of their use on washing solar panels. For the removal of specific contaminants, it may be necessary to use a suitable product for each case, such as the Paint Removal Agent for removing paint stains.

Adjust the product dilution according to the problem.

If your modules are contaminated with water-based spray paint, use a dilution of 1:5 (1kg PRA to 5 liters of water); If your modules are contaminanted with one of the following: exterior coatings, interior paints, wood coatings, multi-surface enamels, use a dilution of 1:2 (1kg PRA for 2 liters of water)

PRA is a removal agent for interior paints, exterior coatings, multi-surface enamels, and water-based spray paints from the surface of solar module glass.

Paint Removal Agent is a biodegradable product designed to be as delicate and safe for solar module components (ARC, silicone and aluminium frame). The product reacts chemically only with the contaminants and emulsions the particles so that they can be rinsed off easily.

In case of doubt, contact us.

PRA is a remediation product, and it should be used as such. To avoid the reappearance of the problem, you should act preventively and protect the modules with an antistatic coating such as the Antistatic Solar Armor from ChemiTek.