Does rain clean the panels, does it remove the need for washing?
Rain takes off part of the loose dust but does not replace washing. When the panel cools at night it collects dew, and the dust sticks to the surface and hardens; this cemented layer does not come off with rain and requires mechanical cleaning. Light rain often spreads the dirt and increases staining.
Rain's cleaning effect depends on its intensity and on the type of dirt. A heavy downpour washes off most of the loose dust on the surface; however, in the following situations rain is not the solution:
- Cemented dirt: a layer where dew and dust combine and harden does not dissolve with water, it calls for mechanical cleaning with a brush.
- Light rain: it wets the dust and turns it into mud, leaves a stain when it dries, and the situation can get worse.
- Oily and soot-based dirt and bird droppings do not come off with precipitation.
- Lower edge accumulation: on a tilted panel, as the water runs down it deposits the dirt it carries along the lower edge of the frame; the strip of shade there can affect the whole row.
For this reason periodic mechanical cleaning is needed even in rainy regions; precipitation only lengthens the interval. The ROBEG ELS-03 is designed to carry out this mechanical cleaning on the panel array with its 800 mm wide industrial brush and its optimized water distributor structure.
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