(210) 401-9030

DIY Panel Maintenance

There are a lot of reasons to go solar: take advantage of the tax credit, increase the value of your property, and reduce your electric bills. Another great reason is they don’t require much panel maintenance after installation. Outside of an occasional rinse, solar panels are surprisingly durable. It’s not rare to continue producing well beyond their 25-year warranty, even with Texas summers and hail storms. As far as cleaning is concerned, nothing beats a pressure wash. We recommend cleaning your panels about twice a year, but it really depends on the weather. If a month has been particularly dry or pollen is high, cleaning your panels could help production.

Monitoring Your Solar Panels

How can you tell if cleaning will help? check the monitoring app. We’ve used Enphase microinverters in every installation since 2020. You can monitor your panels through the Enphase Enlighten app. Watch the video below for a guided explanation. Once you’re familiar with the app, compare panel production overtime to look for any anomalies that require panel maintenance. You may notice on the app your solar panels perform differently based on the day as demonstrated in the photo below. It’s normal and does not require panel maintenance. The production of your panels will vary by the day, and especially by the season. Fortunately, Texas gets over 230 days of sunlight, and our evaluations take weather variation into consideration to provide you the most accurate estimate possible.

Tree Trimming

Another great thing about the monitoring app is its hour-by-hour production monitoring. It’s super easy to tell if a tree or bush needs to be trim based on any shadow over the panels. For example, the image below shows almost all the panels performing at peak performance, except one. The dark blue panel has a tree casting a shadow on it. If the homeowner were to trim the tree, their panels would produce more electricity. solar panel monitoring  

Required Panel Maintenance

If you’ve trimmed the trees and cleaned the panels, but still notice your panels are underperforming via the monitoring app, call the professionals. Solar Edge Pros’ 20-year workmanship warranty covers most things except for a natural disaster, which should be covered by your homeowner’s insurance. We will schedule a time to go out and troubleshoot any issue. Feel free to call us at (210) 401-9030

Additional Resources

Schedule a free solar evaluation with Solar Edge Pros here Get more information on the newest microinverter used with solar. Want to become a Solar Advocate? Join the party and get PAID    

Your Local Solar Installer in San Antonio

Solar Edge Pros is located near North Star Mall in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2014, we have done over 5,000 solar installations. All our jobs are done in-house with no sub-contractors. Schedule a free solar evaluation for your property by clicking the link below.

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Meet The Author

davidm

davidm

David is an Air Force veteran with a Masters in Diplomacy from Norwich University. He is currently Solar Edge Pros' Director of Marketing.

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