Anyone have any luck waxing the glass on the solar panel so things like bird poop do not stick? Was thinking about trying it but not sure what to use. Don't know if the glass on the panel is really glass or some kind of polymer material.
Waxing solar panel
- Thread starter Brian D
- Start date
I waxed mine when I first got them. Then I thought duuuuhhh ... UV inhibitors, on a solar panel ....
For whatever it's worth, it didn't seem to make a difference.
For whatever it's worth, it didn't seem to make a difference.
If you believe this figure google found for wavelength sensitivity of a PV panel
Visible light is .39 to .79 um wavelength which is in the solar panel response wavelength.
UV is .01 to .4 um which is mostly outside of the response wavelength.
I "guess" this would imply that if you cant see whatever you put on the solar panel, it probably wont matter much. I think I would try and measure what happens if you did put wax but it would seem the risk is low enough to try that test in the first place.
Edit.. maybe you could try waxing a clear piece of glass. If you can see the film.. probably not a good idea to apply to the panel.
Visible light is .39 to .79 um wavelength which is in the solar panel response wavelength.
UV is .01 to .4 um which is mostly outside of the response wavelength.
I "guess" this would imply that if you cant see whatever you put on the solar panel, it probably wont matter much. I think I would try and measure what happens if you did put wax but it would seem the risk is low enough to try that test in the first place.
Edit.. maybe you could try waxing a clear piece of glass. If you can see the film.. probably not a good idea to apply to the panel.
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I would determine the material before applying anything. People applied windex to their headlight lenses and just take a look around. Maybe buy a piece of glass and clamp over the panel. If nothing else it might amplify the suns effect. Walt and I will probably have a conversation about this amplification, after a couple (or more) of beers, this winter and end up doing a test. Being in the RV solar business for years I always installed glass covered because you never know what someone might use to clean them. They were 30% heavier but I don't think that caused the blown tires. Careful...
Did someone mention beer??? For some reason that made me wonder how much a bird doing #2 on a solar panel actually degrades things.. Could be significant. You would probably have to really slope the panel before how slippery it was even started to matter much. .