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Written by: Dr. Frannie Koe, MD

Edited by: Breanne Hughes

On my farm, we use solar power. I love us not having a power bill and the self-sufficiency that solar energy brings. However, using solar panels in the South can have its own unique challenges. For anyone considering the switch to solar, it is important to know that it requires some maintenance, especially during the spring.

Anyone who lives here knows that the warmer weather brings with it a thick coating of pollen! Every spring, we must rinse and squeegee our solar panels off a few times to keep our power production normal because pollen can coat the panels daily. The photos above depict our first rinse of the spring, but at the time, the pine trees had not opened yet. It was the first of several rinse jobs we had to do to keep the power flowing! 

This set of panels is the second largest on the farm but the easiest to get to. We have some on the roof that are much harder to access, so we don’t clean them as regularly. We did the roof panels yesterday as well. This set of panels in the picture power up some batteries that are older and not doing as well, so we must keep these as clean as we can to keep the batteries well charged. Cleaning them only took about 5-10 minutes. The longest part of the process was gathering the supplies, including the bucket, hose and squeegee! If we leave them in a more convenient location for a few weeks, like underneath the panels, then the chore can be quick and easy. My partner Tim and I did this job together. He cleaned with soap and water and I rinsed.

To me, having solar panels is worth the maintenance and effort of upkeep because we save so much money, and during severe weather, we still have power when many of our neighbors do not. If you have experience with solar panels and their maintenance, or stories about self-sufficient energy you would like to share, please reach out and contact us!

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