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Solar Panel Maintenance FAQ Answered

Solar panels are a great investment that can provide you with a reliable renewable energy source to power your home for years to come. You may be wondering: What is the best way to maintain them to ensure that they are efficient? Do they need regular tune-ups to stay in peak condition like your car? 

Get the answers to these solar panel maintenance questions and more from our solar team at Solar Bear! 

Solar Panel Maintenance FAQ 

Here are some frequently asked questions that we get about solar panel maintenance here at Solar Bear:

Do Solar Panels Need to Be Maintained? 

Generally, solar panels require minimal maintenance to function properly, though they will need periodic cleaning to ensure any debris such as dirt or eaves, aren’t obstructing the sun’s rays. 

The only time you may need more extensive maintenance is when your panels’ energy output starts to decrease or if a storm like a hurricane has rolled through. 

How Do You Maintain Solar Panels?

If your solar panels are tilted, rainfall will clear away most of the debris that accumulates on them. During the dry season or periods without rain, you will need to clean them manually. 

We recommend cleaning your solar panels between two to four times a year. The good news? This is easily done. All you need is a quick spray with a garden hose, and your solar panels will be clean and ready to collect the sun’s rays. 

During cold weather, do not use hot water to clean your solar panels. They are made of tempered glass, and they could crack. 

How Does Weather Affect Solar Panels? 

Solar panels are designed to withstand all kinds of weather from wind to rain, and even hail. They can even survive hurricanes! 

Of course, solar panels are not 100% indestructible and can suffer damage from tail, tornadoes, hurricanes, or lightning. As long as you have a good warranty, or if your panels are covered by your homeowners’ insurance, you should have no trouble getting the panels repaired or replaced. 

Ironically, the weather that most commonly affects solar panels is heat. When the temperature rises over 90 degrees, your solar panels will lose their efficiency by about 1% a degree. Elevating your solar panels a few inches above your roof or the ground, allows air to circulate properly, which can help cool them down and maintain efficiency.

Is there a Maintenance Difference Between Ground Vs. Roof Panels? 

The only true difference in maintaining ground-mounted and roof solar panels is that ground-mounted panels are easier to access, therefore easier to clean. 

If you notice a buildup of debris, you can simply sweep it off with a broom; not the case with a roof-mounted system! 

What is the Standard Warranty for Solar Panels? 

When going solar, make sure you have a good solar panel warranty in place. This is important because as your solar panels’ efficiency decreases over the year, you will need professional maintenance performed, which could potentially cost you thousands of dollars throughout the years. 

At Solar Bear, we offer a competitive 25-year production and performance warranty as well as a 10-year workmanship warranty. 

Can I Monitor the Health of My Solar Panels? 

To track how much energy your panels produce, integrating a solar panel monitoring system can be beneficial. By monitoring your system, you can see how different external factors are affecting your panels’ performance and how well they maintain their efficiency throughout their life. 

The monitoring system will also alert you of any malfunctions or issues so you can repair or replace your panels promptly. 

How Do I Repair or Replace Solar Panels? 

If your solar panels need to be repaired or replaced, it is best to hire a professional from Solar Bear. We will be able to assess the issue and fix or replace your panels. If your panels have sustained damage, they may be covered under the equipment warranty or your homeowners’ insurance. 

Don’t attempt to install or repair solar panels yourself unless you are experienced with home solar systems. 

Florida Solar Panel Installation and Maintenance 

As you can see, maintaining your solar panel system is easy. Just be sure to choose a reputable company like Solar Bear for installation and maintenance, and don’t forget about a warranty! 

Enjoy solar-powered renewable energy in your Florida home. Call Solar Bear today: 407-904-7585!

How Solar Storage Keeps Your Home Safe During Rolling Blackouts

Having solar power for your home not only keeps your monthly energy costs down but can also help you weather rolling blackouts and other power outages. Outages can wreak havoc on your home–you could lose groceries when the fridge gets too warm, for instance. Or worse – your heat or A/C could go out during harsh weather.

If you or your loved ones rely on electricity for medical equipment or other healthcare supplies, losing power can often literally become a matter of life and death. At Solar Bear Tampa, we want more than anything to keep you and your family comfortable and safe. And with home solar power, your household is much more equipped to handle rolling blackouts and power outages. 

Here’s how having solar power—and more importantly, solar storage—can help you get through rolling blackouts safely. 

Solar panels are designed to soak up rays from the sun, all day, every day, as long as there is not too much cloud cover. Most days, especially in Florida, the sunshine outweighs an average home’s energy use by far, which means that there is a lot of excess energy collected by your solar panels, day in and day out. 

As long as your home solar power solution comes with a solar battery or other kind of solar storage, any excess energy can be stored and used for a later time, like, for example, when your house or neighborhood is experiencing rolling blackouts. 

For more information on this and other ways that your solar home solution can serve you, please give us a call at Solar Bear Tampa today. 

Everything You Need to Know About Net Metering

If you are considering switching to solar, you may have heard of net metering. This is a solar energy incentive that gives solar power users who produce excess energy some great benefits. 

Wondering how net metering works? Our team at Solar Bear outlines everything that you need to know. 

What is Net Metering?

Net metering allows solar users who produce excess solar power to send their surplus energy back to the electric grid. When you supply energy to the eclectic grid, your energy meter will run backward until you stop producing more than you use. 

Other customers who use the same utility company will use the extra power that you send to the grid, and you will be compensated for supplying the energy. This credit will help offset your monthly energy bills making it a very enticing incentive. 

Keep in mind, while you can receive utility bill credits for the electricity that your solar panels produce, in most cases you won’t receive a cash payment from your utility for your excess solar electricity. Instead, you will build up energy credits to use during the night or the winter months when solar output is less. 

If you generate more electricity than you use in a year, utility companies in some states will let you carry credits over into the next year, while others will reduce your credits. 

With that in mind, size your solar panel system to be large enough to offset close to 100 percent of your energy needs, but not too large that you produce significantly more than you use. 

Why Does Net Metering Exist? 

Net metering was designed for two purposes:

• To encourage the adoption of solar power throughout the country
• Utilities can benefit from the influx of low or no solar energy into the grid

Solar energy helps balance the cost of purchasing electricity from other less environmentally friendly resources, especially during the summer when electricity is the most expensive. 

What About Going Off the Grid? 

Net metering is like having the utility grid serve as a giant solar battery. If you install an off-grid solar panel system, you won’t receive the benefits of net metering and won’t be able to rely on the grid. Rather, you will need your own batteries to keep the power on when the sun goes down. 

For most solar applications, staying connected to the grid is a good idea. 

Net Metering Reduces Pressure on the Grid 

Residential solar panels provide many benefits to utilities and their customers because ultimately, they help reduce the dress on the grid. Because solar-powered homes aren’t using electricity directly from the grid, there are fewer people drawing power directly from the grid. 

Plus, when excess energy is sent to the grid from your solar system, this takes even more pressure off the utility company. This is especially important now in places where heat waves are becoming more common, and utilities can’t adequately meet energy demands. 

Use Net Metering to Save on Solar 

Net metering is one of the best benefits of installing solar since it allows you to store every unit of excess energy that you produce to be used later from the grid. 

Thanks to net metering, you can save thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your solar system by offsetting your need to draw electricity from the grid. 

Start Your Solar Journey with Solar Bear 

Ready to harness the power of the sun and send excess energy back to the grid to take advantage of net metering? Call our solar installation professionals at Solar Bear for a solar installation consultation! 

Make your home more efficient by going solar. Call Solar Bear today — 407-904-7585!

What to Expect During a Solar Panel Cleaning

While solar panels are relatively low maintenance, at Solar Bear Tampa, we recommend that you get your solar panels cleaned at least once a year. Sure, you can clean your solar panels yourself, but with such pricey hardware on the line, it is best to let the professionals handle the solar panel cleaning. The last thing you want to do is accidentally break or damage your panels in the process of trying to keep them in fighting shape. 

Solar panels do require a bit of cleaning, especially in areas where dust can accumulate on the panels, or in areas where there are lots of birds. Unfortunately, bird droppings are the number one culprit for solar panel grime, and unlike dust, bird droppings won’t just wash away in the next rainstorm. 

If you don’t keep your solar panels clean, the build-up can cost you in terms of your overall savings from solar—in fact, your panels might lose up to 40% efficiency over time if you do not keep them clean. So, we highly recommend adopting the mindset that solar panel cleanings are just one part of your regular solar maintenance needs. 

Here’s what to expect during a professional solar panel cleaning. 

1. Surveying and inspection

Once you set your appointment with a professional solar panel cleaning company, odds are good that they will send out their team to survey your property and make an assessment of your solar panels. They’ll inspect the level of grime on your solar panels and assess what type of cleaning your panels will need. Then they’ll set up a time to come back and perform the cleaning. 

2. The cleaning itself

The cleaning crew will come to your house, approved and safe solar panel cleaning equipment in tow, and will quietly and efficiently scrub down your panels so that you are getting the most bang for your buck. Then they’ll pack up, and you’ll be free to use your solar panels as usual! 

For more questions regarding solar panel cleaning, or about solar power in general, please call us today.