Took me 6 months to figure out my solar panels were covered in bird crap

I installed panels on my roof in Phoenix back in March and saw my production drop 15% by June. I kept thinking it was cloud cover or heat or bad wiring. Checked the app, checked the inverter, even called the installer twice. Finally climbed up there on a Saturday and saw a solid layer of pigeon droppings across the bottom row. Cleaned them with a hose and a squeegee, and my output jumped back up in two days. Nobody tells you that dust and bird crap are literally killing your solar generation. Has anyone else had to deal with this or am I the only one who assumed panels were self-cleaning?

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the_john1mo ago

Oh man, that Phoenix sun and the pigeons love each other way too much (and not in a good way). Panels being self-cleaning is a straight up myth sold by installers who never climb up there themselves. Dust is one thing, but bird crap is like a miniature solar eclipse for each cell it covers. Youre not alone at all, tons of people find out the hard way after that first summer dip. A hose and a squeegee once every few months is just the cost of doing business with rooftop solar, honestly.

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dylanbell1mo ago

Respectfully @the_john, I gotta disagree on the squeegee part. Sure bird droppings block some light, but rain actually does a decent job rinsing off most of the junk here in Phoenix if you have panels tilted at 15 degrees or more. The bigger issue I see is that scrubbing with a hose and squeegee can scratch the glass over time from all the grit trapped in the water.

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