Devices that run on solar energy are excellent alternatives to conventional ones since solar energy is essentially free and readily available to anyone.
There are specialized solar lights on the market that you can place in your house like solar shed lights or in your backyard, lights like solar spot lights, solar pathway lights to have perpetually free lighting.
To provide you with free light all night long, these lights are recharged while the sun is up and turned on in the evening or at night. Solar lights require little to no care, but they need to be appropriately cleaned to maintain efficacy throughout their lives.
It may be time for you to check these lights and make sure they are cleaned and maintained if you have also put solar lights in your garden or backyard and noticed a decline in performance from your lighting.
You must first learn how to clean solar lights properly before you can clean your solar lights. To restore your lights to their previous degree of illumination, you will typically also need to clean the solar panel that powers them.
So that you can easily clean these devices, please carefully read our tutorial on how to clean solar lights. To ensure you have all the details, we will cover a variety of cleaning-related topics for solar lights.
Why Do You Need To Clean The Solar Light Panels?
One of the drawbacks of solar light is it requires maintenance, but it can be easily overcome by following proper maintanence procedures.
Electrical equipment can readily be harmed by outside forces. If the correct maintenance is not followed, you will notice that solar lights quickly lose their effectiveness and glow dimmer over time.
The primary cause of this is the dust and debris that eventually cover the panel and prevent sunlight from penetrating it.
Since you cannot keep them lightly covered to avoid them, these issues cannot be entirely avoided. Therefore, the only method to preserve your solar panel is to get it cleaned periodically.
You might need to clean your lights once every few months or more frequently, depending on your area and where the solar light is located. The performance of these lights will be on par with that of brand-new items once the panels and lights have been cleaned.
The lightbulb, battery, and solar panel itself are the three main parts of a normal solar light that are exposed to the environment and need to be cleaned. Make sure you follow this guide through to the finish since we will be going through the cleaning procedures for these components in depth today.
How To Clean Solar Light Panels?
1. Wipe The Debris And Dust Off With A Cloth
Make sure to brush away any loose debris, such as dirt, from the surface of your solar panel before you begin to agitate it. This step is especially important if you use a squeegee to clean your solar panels.
When using a squeegee to clean, loose dirt might make the process take longer than it should if you had swept it off first.
We advise gently wiping the panel clean with a dry or moist cloth. If the panel is especially dusty, you might also use window or glass cleaning. We advise against using any abrasives to clean your solar panel.
2. Use Dish Soap And Water
Scratching solar panels is one of the most crucial things you should avoid doing when cleaning them. Stick to utilizing a hose and soapy water to clean your solar panels.
It is an easy but risk-free technique to assist with cleaning your solar panels at home. Never turn up your hose’s pressure setting too high since doing so might harm your solar panels.
Solar panels are little impacted by normal dirt. Grime accumulates and eventually is rinsed away by rain. Cleaning will increase your panel’s output in addition to what the rain does naturally. You must be gentle when washing your panels, just as you would washing your car.
3. Wipe The Solar Panel With A Clean Cloth
Use a gentle cloth or brush on the panel’s surface to avoid scratching it. You don’t need any extra elaborate gear to clean your solar panels at home. Any worn-out cloth that is gentle or doesn’t contain any abrasives can be used.
In order to clean your solar panel’s surface more effectively, you may also use the plastic blade of a squeegee. For cleaning solar panels, a gentle fabric that doesn’t leave any residue on the surface is a much better option.
4. Repeat The Process For Top Performance Of Panels
It might not be very comforting when you’ve never cleaned solar panels. You might be reluctant to clean the solar panels as completely as possible since you know how much each one costs.
While it goes without saying that you don’t want to harm this pricey machinery, not cleaning it might reduce its effectiveness. You may always employ expert cleaners if cleaning solar panels by yourself sounds a bit frightening.
Your solar panels only actually need to be cleaned twice a year, although depending on where you reside, this may be more frequent. For instance, you might want to clean your solar panels more frequently than twice a year if you reside in a windy and dusty area.
How To Clean Cloudy Solar Panels On Garden Lights
Now, if you have many solar garden lights in your backyard, you can follow the instructions given below to clean your cloudy solar panels on garden lights.
1. Cover The Plastic With Tape
Before applying the selected clear-coat material, tape the regions surrounding the plastic, such as the cell housing or the lid of a lamp with an integrated solar panel using painter’s tape.
2. Clean The Panel With Soap And Water
Remove loose dust and debris from the area with a dry, soft cloth. Wipe the plastic down once more after dipping a cloth or sponge in soapy water.
Wipe the plastic again after rinsing the cloth or sponge. Allow the plastic to air dry, or use a different towel to pat it dry. Additional treatment is necessary if the plastic retains a cloudy appearance even after drying.
3. Apply Lacquer On The Panel
Apply a thin coat of clear nail polish or spray on clear Lacquer on the solar cells’ hazy plastic to make it seem better. These transparent coatings restore the plastic’s transparency. Once the coating has dried, peel the tape off.
How Often Do You Have To Clean The Solar Light Panels?
Knowing how frequently to clean the solar panels on your outdoor lighting is essential. The weather where you reside will determine how frequently you should clean.
The solar panels might benefit from a cleaning every six months or so if you reside in a dry but not completely arid region. The same holds true if you reside in a tropical area.
On the other hand, if you reside somewhere that is frequently dry and dusty, you should wash your solar panels every three to four months and water them down whenever you have a chance to prevent dust buildup.
For instance, you should wash them more regularly if you reside in a state in the American Southwest, such as Arizona or Texas. The same holds true if you reside close to a motorway.
It would help if you were cautious of falling leaves and other debris from the plants and trees in your yard and cleaning up dust and grime.
Check your solar lights to see whether they have been buried in dry, fallen leaves if autumn is quickly approaching.
If they are, rake or use a leaf blower to remove the leaves. If you find that your solar garden lights are flickering or going out sooner than usual at night, that is another sign that it’s time to give them a good cleaning.
This is an indication that the solar panels are not able to fully recharge the lights’ batteries during the day, and frequently, a filthy solar panel is a cause.
Conclusion
Some of the simplest ways to clean your solar panels are the ones mentioned in the aforementioned articles. This restores your solar panel’s appearance and functionality. Additionally, it aids in keeping your solar panel in excellent condition so it may operate at peak efficiency.
As a result, you may continually use the sun’s energy to support the powering of your home. Inefficient solar panels reduce the quantity of available cell area, which makes it harder to convert solar energy into electricity. You can increase your system’s lifespan and enhance your garden’s aesthetic by cleaning the panels, fittings, and batteries.
Before cleaning your solar panels, always adhere to the instructions supplied by your solar contractor. Make sure the maintenance procedure you use for your panels is within the manufacturer’s guidelines. You must maintain your solar lights if you want to lengthen their lifespan.