Professional Solar Panel Cleaning in Manchester

City soiling is different

Manchester arrays deal with traffic film rather than farm dust. It is fine, oily and it bonds to glass, so it builds steadily and rain does not shift it. On a panel that film cuts the light getting through before you even count anything sitting on top of it.

On top of that there are pigeons, and in the city they are everywhere. Pigeon mess on a panel is dense enough to black out the cells underneath completely, and because panels are wired in strings with grouped cells, one bad splat can cost far more generation than its size suggests.

Rain does not clean panels, it concentrates the dirt

Rain rinses the loose material and leaves the bonded film, then drains to the bottom of each panel and deposits everything it collected along the frame. That dark line at the bottom edge shades the lowest row of cells, which is the most expensive place on the panel to have anything sitting.

How we clean city arrays

Purified, deionised water and a soft brush on a pole, from the ground. No chemicals, no detergents, no pressure washing, nobody on the panels. Pure water dries spot free because there is nothing dissolved in it, which matters more in the city where the alternative is leaving a detergent film that grabs the next lot of traffic film.

It is what the manufacturers ask for in their maintenance guidance and it keeps the warranty intact. See solar panel cleaning for the method in full.

Flat roofs and commercial arrays

A lot of Manchester solar sits on flat and shallow-pitch commercial roofs around Trafford Park, Sharston, Wythenshawe and the city centre. Those arrays are often large, often forgotten, and often the dirtiest we see, because nobody looks at them.

For a commercial array the numbers make the case on their own: a few per cent of a large annual generation figure is more than the cost of cleaning it. We plan the work around the site with RAMS issued in advance. See commercial cleaning in Manchester.

Pigeons and proofing

The space under a domestic array is warm and dry, and in Manchester it will get occupied. Once pigeons are nesting under there you have mess on the panels, blocked gutters below and noise in the roof. Mesh proofing around the perimeter, fitted after a clean, is the only thing that actually solves it.

Roof moss

Shaded roofs across the boroughs still grow moss, and it migrates onto the array. If the tiles are carrying growth, do roof cleaning in Manchester in the same visit rather than cleaning the panels twice.

Frequency and cost

Once a year for most domestic arrays, twice where pigeons or trees are a factor, and at least annually for anything commercial. Late winter or early spring is the best single slot.

Pricing is based on panel count, height and access. Domestic jobs can be quoted from a photo and a postcode, usually the same day. Commercial arrays are surveyed first.

What we check while we are on site

We tell you what we see: glass condition, panels that have moved, failed or missing bird proofing, vegetation shading the array, and how blocked the gutter under it has become. On flat commercial roofs we will also mention standing water and blocked outlets near the array.

Nothing electrical gets touched. Inverters, isolators and wiring are for your installer.

Questions we get asked in Manchester

Are pigeons really worth proofing against? Yes. Once they are nesting under the array you have constant mess on the panels, a blocked gutter below and noise in the roof. Mesh fitted after a clean solves it permanently.

Will cleaning damage the panels? Not with pure water and a soft brush. Pressure washers and chemical cleaners will, which is why we do not use either.

Can you do it out of hours on a commercial roof? Yes, and for most city sites that is what we recommend.