Professional Solar Panel Cleaning in Burnley

Why Burnley panels lose output

Burnley sits in a bowl with moorland on three sides, so roofs stay damp and moss establishes easily. Once it is on the tiles it works its way down to the array and builds along the bottom frame of each panel, which is the worst place for it. That line of growth shades the lowest row of cells and the loss is far bigger than the area it covers, because of the way panels are wired internally.

The M65 runs through the middle of town, and the film that comes off a motorway is oily rather than dusty. It bonds to the glass, dulls it, and rain does not lift it. Plenty of arrays around Burnley have never been cleaned since the day they went up, and it shows in the generation figures rather than in how they look from the pavement.

Rain is not a cleaning method

Rain takes the loose dust and leaves the bonded film, then runs to the bottom edge and drops everything it collected along the frame. In a wet town you get a heavier edge line, not a cleaner panel. If you can see a darker strip along the bottom of your panels from the ground, that is exactly what is happening.

How the clean is done

Purified, deionised water and a soft brush on a telescopic pole, all from the ground. No chemicals, no detergent, no pressure washer, nobody on the roof and nobody standing on the panels. Pure water has nothing dissolved in it, so it dries without spotting and leaves no film for the next lot of dirt to cling to.

It is the method panel manufacturers ask for in their own maintenance guidance, which matters if you ever need to claim on the warranty. See solar panel cleaning for the full detail.

Terraces, mills and commercial arrays

Burnley has a lot of terraced roofs where the array sits low and close to the neighbouring property, and a lot of mill and industrial roofs at Network 65, Shuttleworth Mead and Hapton carrying large commercial arrays. Both are cleaned the same way, from the ground, but the commercial jobs are planned around the site so nothing gets in the way of operations.

On a big commercial array the case for an annual clean is simple arithmetic: a few per cent of a large generation figure is a lot more than the cost of the visit.

Moss, birds and doing it in the right order

If the roof itself is mossy there is no point cleaning only the panels, because the next downpour brings more growth down onto them. Doing roof cleaning in Burnley at the same visit is the right order and cheaper than two separate jobs.

The space under the panels is warm and sheltered and pigeons will nest in it given the chance. Mesh proofing around the perimeter after a clean stops it, and it stops the mess ending up in the gutter underneath as well.

How often and when

Annually for most domestic arrays in Burnley and Padiham. Twice a year where the roof is shaded, there are trees close by or birds are active, and for commercial arrays where output matters financially.

The best single slot is late winter or early spring, so the panels are clean going into the months that generate most.

What it costs

It comes down to the number of panels, the height of the roof and how easy the access is. Tell us the panel count and your postcode and you will get a fixed price, usually the same day. Larger commercial arrays we will come and look at first.

What we check while we clean

We will tell you what we can see: cracked or clouded glass, panels that have moved on the rails, bird proofing that has failed, overhanging branches that are shading the array, and how much moss is sitting in the gutter beneath it.

We do not touch inverters, isolators or any wiring. That is an electricians job and we will point you at your installer if something looks off.

Common questions

Will it harm the panels? No. Pure water and a soft brush is what the manufacturers ask for. Pressure washers, chemicals and footsteps are what harm panels.

How much output will I get back? It depends how dirty they were. Arrays in Burnley that have never been cleaned usually show a clear difference on the monitoring app within days.

Do you need access to the roof or the loft? Neither. It is all done from the ground.