Solar Panel Maintenance Services
Solar panels last a long time, often needing no maintenance at all. The panels themselves are generally warranted to last at least 25 years. Once they are installed and working, they keep generating.
If there is a problem with your solar array or if you would like some re-assurance, we are here to help.
Of course, the first port of call for maintenance questions would normally be your installer. However if your installer isn’t trading anymore or you would like a second opinion, please do get in contact.
The most common maintenance requirements for solar panels:
1) Something has tripped:
The most common maintenance call is often as simple as something has tripped in the fuse board! This can be easy to resolve over the phone but sometimes requires a bit more investigation and on occasion, some work on your electrical setup.
For instance, it’s recommended that a solar array is installed on an MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker) rather than an RCD (Residual Current Device). This is because solar panels sometimes cause nuisance tripping if connected to the RCD.
2) Solar Inverter replacements:
Solar inverters may need replacing within the solar array’s lifetime. Inverter warranties normally start at around 5 years but can be as long as 20 years. If you have access to your solar “handover pack”, check your inverter warranty. Otherwise its fairly safe to assume it is 5 years. We may be able to diagnose an inverter fault over the phone with you, if not, we can arrange a visit.
If we do find that the inverter is faulty, we would be able to quote for a replacement. Typical inverter replacements cost in the region of £750 - £1,000 including VAT.
3) Birds!
Sometimes birds like to nest under your solar panels. This can be fairly harmless but left for a long period of time can become annoying, messy and eventually cause damage. If you notice birds nesting its prudent to try to resolve it as soon as possible.
We often supply and fit bird protection as standard with a new installation and of course we can retro-fit it to an existing array. However there are bird protection specialist who have special access equipment. They maybe able to fit protection more cost effectively. Contact us and we can recommend a specialist for you.
If the panels have been damaged by the birds it will require a more comprehensive investigation.
4) Panel damage or dirt build up:
Of course, it’s possible to damage solar panels, this could be from building work above your array or cricket balls for instance. This is normally covered by your buildings insurance in the same way that a broken window would be insured. If you spot a broken panel or suspect a breakage, please get in contact with us.
If your panels are not visible from the ground, we can use a drone to check on their condition. If we spot an issue we can arrange for a quote to replace or repair.
5) Reduced generation and general solar health checks
You may have noticed that your panels are not generating as much as they used to. Perhaps your feed in tariff payments have gone down.
In this case, its probably time for a solar health check. Generation reduction can be cased by a number of factors such as: a) increased shading from trees or new buildings, b) dirt build up on the solar panels* c) Panel damage d) Panel degradation (for very old arrays). Please get in contact for a consultation.
6) Solar Panel Cleaning
*Panels tend to be self-cleaning. Bird mess and leaves dry out on the panels and are easily washed off in the rain. However some roofs maybe in an area were the dirt starts to stick. If this applies to you, then a panel cleaning routine would resolve the problem. We recommend a soft brush or sponge with warm water but no products like soaps. Ideally use de-ionised water as it leaves no mineral residue when it dries, resulting in a spot-free finish. Your window cleaner may be prepared to do this for you or there are specialist solar panel cleaners.
