Solar panels, once installed, need very little care and maintenance, and they don’t often require repairs. The home solar panels on the market today are tough and resilient and have no moving parts that need servicing. Solar installations are built with extreme weather in mind, which is especially useful in storm-prone places like Missouri and Kansas. Our solar panel installations can withstand gale-force winds and hail, and can go for years without requiring any maintenance.
Solar Panel Maintenance Cost
Solar panel maintenance costs are nearly zero, as there is no regular maintenance required for solar panels. Amazingly, solar panels work without any moving parts that would wear out and need service. As the solar panels need to see the sun to work, any buildup of dust or pollen can reduce their efficiency. The internet is full of solar panel cleaning stories and services, but in all but the driest climates, natural rainfall will clean solar panels just fine and no solar panel cleaning is needed.
Solar panels are tempered glass like a windshield and while your windshield may get a bit dirty, a good rain will perfectly clean the solar panels. For that reason, in Kansas and Missouri at least, routine cleaning of solar panels is not required. If it snows, the panels clear themselves quickly as they are dark, slick glass installed at an angle, so it does not take long at all before snow slides right off the solar panels.
Cost of Solar Panel Repairs
Solar panels are hard to damage, so solar panel repairs are rare. Repairs on solar panels are almost always the result of extreme weather and the repairs needed are usually covered by your existing homeowner’s insurance policy. The top-rated “tier one” solar panels Cromwell installs are suitable for the high winds and hail storms that we get in Kansas and Missouri — our panels can take a wind of over 100 mph and larger-than-golf-ball-sized hailstones.
Cromwell Solar has installed more than 100,000 solar panels in Missouri and Kansas and has had to repair only a handful of them (some after very close calls with tornados). In the unlikely event of solar panel damage, we find that homeowner’s insurance will cover the damage and pay for repair. We have found that with most insurance carriers there is no increase in premium when installing solar panels, but it is recommended that you check with your insurance carrier before getting solar.
In the event your residential solar project needs repairs, or you need to have your solar panels removed (for instance to allow for a roof repair) or replaced, Cromwell Solar’s dedicated solar maintenance team can help. Cromwell Solar is often called upon to provide maintenance for home solar projects, whether we installed the system originally or not.
Learn more about home solar panel costs, benefits, payback period, and tax credits.