We provide award winning solar maintenance and solar panel cleaning in Canterbury, Kent. Here we showcase how we cleaned 396 solar panels on top of White Friars Shopping Centre, in Canterbury city centre.
Why Did The Solar Panels Need Cleaning?
The 97KW system is spread across 2 roofs, but with very different layouts. The 50KW system is laid on a flat roof. This system had begun to have lichen grow on the solar panels. Lichen grows when detritus and algae is allowed to accumulate over a period of time, creating a nitrogen-rich base. The lichen can then grow and flourish.
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How Were The Solar Panels Cleaned?
Clean Solar Solutions use a pre-treatment chemical to help remove the lichen. This restored the solar panel back to their original condition. Lichen is particularly damaging to solar arrays because it creates hundreds of hotspots on solar panels. If left, they can permanently damage the solar panels by causing them to overheat.
A 47KW system is mounted on top of the multi-storey car park, mounted on steel frames. This system is particularly difficult to access for two reasons. Firstly, there are a number of low-height access restrictions. Secondly, there is a lack of space between the panel rows, making access difficult.
There were more bird droppings present on the roof with the steel beams, which are important to remove. Again, like the lichen, bird droppings create damaging hotspots, which are important to eliminate from each solar panel.
With various cleaning methods, we were able to negate these access obstacles. All of the solar panels were cleaned successfully. As a result of the panel cleaning, the output of the system is fully expected to rise. This will provide the shopping centre with both increased electricity generation and savings on their electricity bill.
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What Was The End Result Of The Cleaning?
The owners of this Canterbury-based shopping centre now enjoy an increased frequency of solar panel cleaning. As a result, the lichen will not return, due to the lack of detritus build-up.
If you are based in Canterbury and would like a quote for solar panel cleaning or any other solar maintenance or servicing, please contact us.
