Solar panels in Kensington sit above a busy inner suburb. Homes near Anzac Parade sit beside eight lanes of traffic and the light rail, others are close to the fig trees around Kensington Oval or the green edges of Centennial Park, and plenty of arrays are on apartment roofs serving whole buildings. Each setting leaves its own film on the glass. Cleaning with purified water and no detergent removes it and dries without spots, so the panels keep working as they should.
Traffic is the first factor for many Kensington homes. Anzac Parade is a 60-metre-wide corridor with eight lanes of vehicles, and the L3 light rail runs along it too. Fine grime from that traffic can drift onto nearby roofs and form a dull film on panel glass that rain alone does not lift off well.
Trees are the second. Big figs stand beside Kensington Oval, Fitzpatrick Park has large mature trees, and homes near Centennial Park and the Australian Golf Club sit close to extensive planting. Pollen, leaf fragments and dust from these settle on panels and catch along the lower edge of the frame where water runs off.
Birds add droppings, which are the most stubborn deposit on a panel because they bake on in the sun and shade the cells beneath them.
Roof form plays a part as well. Kensington's Federation and inter-war houses tend to have hipped and gabled tile roofs, so an array on one of them may be spread over more than one roof plane. Apartment buildings, which make up the majority of homes here, may carry larger shared arrays on strata roofs. Both are cleaned the same way: purified water, no detergent, and no harsh scrubbing that could mark the glass or its coatings.
Panels produce power from the light that reaches the cells, and anything sitting on the glass gets in the way. Clearing the grime, pollen and droppings restores the clear surface the system was designed to work with.
The cleaning method protects the investment as well as the output. Purified water carries no minerals, so it dries spot-free without leaving the residue that tap water and detergent can. That also means nothing is left behind to attract new dirt, and the glass and its coatings are not exposed to harsh chemicals.
For strata buildings with shared arrays, regular cleaning keeps a common asset in good order and is easy to document. Before-and-after photos come with every job, which suits committees and owners who cannot inspect the roof themselves.
Landlords benefit in a similar way. With more than half of Kensington's homes rented, many panel owners never go up on the roof, and the photos show what condition the array was in and what was removed.
The work is done by a fully insured team, certified to work safely at heights, with $10 million public liability cover.
Tap water carries minerals that can dry as spots on the glass, and detergent can leave a residue that attracts dust. Purified water with no detergent dries spot-free and is kinder to the glass and its coatings. It is the method used on every solar clean, whatever the size of the array.
Homes near busy roads tend to collect a film of fine traffic grime on the glass, along with dust, pollen and bird droppings. Rain shifts some of it but tends to leave a residue, especially along the lower frame edge. A clean with purified water removes the lot and leaves the glass clear.
Yes. Strata and commercial properties are part of the work, alongside houses. The team is certified to work safely at heights and the business is fully insured for public liability. Before-and-after photos are supplied, so the committee has a record of the array's condition for its maintenance files.
You receive before-and-after photos for every job. On a single-storey cottage the panels may be hard to see from the yard, and on an apartment roof they are usually out of sight altogether, so the photos are the clearest way to check what was on the glass and how it looks afterwards.
How we clean arrays with purified water and no detergent, and why output recovers once the glass is clear.
Proudly serving Sydney with expert exterior cleaning.
MONDAY: 7:30 AM — 6:00 PM
TUESDAY: 7:30 AM — 6:00 PM
WEDNESDAY: 7:30 AM — 6:00 PM
THURSDAY: 7:30 AM — 6:00 PM
FRIDAY: 7:30 AM — 6:00 PM
SATURDAY: CLOSED
SUNDAY: CLOSED
