Across our region, an increasing number of people are choosing to install their own solar panels as they become more aware of the savings it can bring, as well as the positive impact their investment can have on preserving and restoring the environment.
However, when making the decision to install solar panels, property owners should take into account numerous other factors in addition to the value of the investment itself, such as the maintenance of the solar panels, the frequency of repairs, the type of warranty that can be obtained from the manufacturer or installer, as well as the panel’s resiliency to external influences such as extreme weather conditions.
Is there a lot of work around solar photo-voltaic (PV) system maintenance? Do they break down often and are they expensive to repair? How much savings do they bring during their working life?
We will try to answer these and some other questions that installers encounter every day in conversations with future owners of small solar power plants.
Easy to maintain
Considering that the solar panels are installed on slopes, such as rooftops, most of the time the rain will be enough to wash away any kind of dirt that may accumulate.
However, sometimes, especially during droughts, it is necessary to wash the solar panels to ensure that they produce electricity at full power.
Fortunately, the procedure is not complicated, and a leaf blower, followed by watering with a garden hose, can be sufficient.
This type of cleaning is recommended several times a year, as needed. It is especially important to remove any objects such as drifted litter or fallen leaves and branches from the panel.
In winter, it is necessary to clear the snow from the panels, and for this one would require nothing more than a pusher (with an extendable handle). It is also possible to wash off the snow from the panels, but hot water must not be used because they can crack due to the difference in temperature.
Monitor the efficiency of the solar PV system
Bearing in mind that for optimal electricity production in the long run it is still important that there are no major variations in the efficiency of the panels themselves, users who want to know whether the systems are producing electricity at full capacity can use the monitoring system for that.
The advantage of such systems - which can be often accessed through internet browsers or smartphone applications - is that they can provide the user with information about the usual electricity production in certain weather conditions, and thus provide key insight into possible disturbances or technical malfunctions.
By monitoring electricity production in this way, the owner of the solar system can notice the need to clean, repair or possibly replace the solar panel, thus preventing it from affecting the profitability of the long-term investment.
Effect of weather conditions on panels
Apart from physical disturbances, an important factor in the production of electricity from solar energy is also - weather.
Although modern solar panels are characterized by longevity, extreme weather conditions such as hail, very strong storms, direct lightning strikes - can still damage or even destroy them.
In this case, the intervention of an authorized repairer/installer is necessary, so it would be useful to have a warranty that covers the widest possible range of possible damages, i.e. insurance.
Although it is often thought that cloudy weather is the most unfavorable for the production of electricity by solar panels, it should be noted that too high a temperature is also unfavorable and significantly reduces the efficiency of solar panels.
However, the solar panels of the newer generation have shown exceptional resistance to weather conditions, especially the city, so future owners should worry about this aspect much less than it was the case in the past. Due to the development of the production technology of solar panels, they are much more resistant to weather conditions, which made the production much more stable than in the past decades.
Efficiency in working life - guaranteed
The panels installed by Solar Gradnja, a company that operates within the EPCG group, have a product guarantee of at least 12 years, as well as a warranty on cell efficiency of at least 25 years.
Solar Gradnje's team of 20 engineers and hundreds of licensed installers has already significantly accelerated the transition of Montenegrin households and companies into buyers-producers, i.e. prosumers, and the company is also developing business in other countries in the region.
For example, consumers in Montenegro, as part of the Solari 3000+ project, can buy panels on a ten-year loan, with a grace period of two years, whereby the user's installment will be approximately equal to the average monthly electricity bill.
Namely, according to the project feasibility study of this project, the systems are designed to pay off the electricity bill by themselves, after which they begin to generate significant savings, i.e. to make electricity very cheap and even free for the consumer.
Do I really need solar panels?
In short, yes!
Bearing in mind that the solar system is easy to maintain, and that its functioning and efficiency are covered by a long-term guarantee, while at the same time it provides a comprehensive turn in the lifestyle and brings exceptional savings to prosumers - and at a time when there is a constant trend of increasing electricity prices - it can it is right to say that it is an inevitability of the energy sector all over the world, and thus the everyday life of every household or company.