At 06:44 PM 7/16/01, you wrote:
>Jeroen wrote:
>
> > You can prove a lot with assumed numbers. I don't know how often solar
> > panels would have to be cleaned, but 5 times per year sounds high; once or
> > twice per year sounds more reasonable to me.
>
>Solar power is very popular here - loads of sunshine and lots of room (most
>people live in suburban homes, with very few people in apartment blocks, so
>there's lots of roof area). Cleaning is very rare is most areas - rain
>does the
>job most of the time. In coastal areas, where salt buildup is a problem,
>we fit
>a small length of PVC pipe with sprinkler nozzles to the top of the panel. At
>the other end there is an attachment which connects to the garden hose and
>some
>Windex, and streams a very weak Windex solution over the panels, followed by a
>water rinse. I've never had to climb on the roof to clean the panels.
>
>Cheers
>Russell Chapman
>Brisbane Australia
Do you typically have trees in your yard where you live? In this area in
the autumn, falling leaves mixed with frequent rain may create a rather
heavy (weight-wise, that is) buildup on surfaces that are not swept
regularly. Not only do many people have to climb up on the roof to clean
out the gutters running around the edges of the roof (even "gutter covers"
are typically only partially effective in keeping leaves and especially
things like pine needles out of the gutters), but I have actually seen
people up on their roofs using brooms or even leaf blowers to sweep the
accumulated leaves and pine straw off. (As you may have gathered, pine
needles really make a mess when they fall, which is why my father cut down
most of the pine trees on the property within a few years after we moved
here.) I hardly think a weak stream of Windex will have much effect on
such an accumulation of wet leaves as we get here, though a high-powered
stream from a garden hose may do some good, if delivered at close range.
-- Ronn! :)
