[dazmond]

i just turn up and clean.never had a problem.

loads of window cleaners clean solar panels as add on jobs now.have you ever heard of any window cleaners being harmed by cleaning them?

i havent.


regards


dazmond

[Small but perfectley formed]

How does the current travel through brush head , I would say its nigh on impossible to get electrocuted whilst cleaning domestic  from ground with a pole.

[robert mitchell]

I agree with dazmond the risk is very small , if your really worried you can get gloves rated to 3300kv .

[telfordwindowclnr]

I agree with dazmond the risk is very small , if your really worried you can get gloves rated to 3300kv .

+1

Exactly what I was going to suggest if it is just a one-off. But i you spend £45 on some gloves and the job is only £45 is it worth it?
If you are going to make this part of your business in the long term, more research and decisions have to be made. Only you can call it though mate. 

[R.C Property]

I agree with dazmond the risk is very small , if your really worried you can get gloves rated to 3300kv .

+1

Exactly what I was going to suggest if it is just a one-off. But i you spend £45 on some gloves and the job is only £45 is it worth it?
If you are going to make this part of your business in the long term, more research and decisions have to be made. Only you can call it though mate.  

maybe you should take that advise too! lol and look into it more too, as you dont seem to know how they work, what the inverter dose, how that works or how ac/dc works.  

quote from you in other post:-
This was explained to me in detail by an installer we do cleaning for, but only over the phone, so I didn't absorb it fully. I know that it is to do with needing a positive and a negative to get a shock. By removing the AC, you are removing one of those two elements. That's why you won't get a shock. There was more to it than that, but that is it in a nutshell. He is the electrician, solar panel installer and a designer and patent holder of solar panel add-ons, not me. Therefore, I don't lean upon my own understanding.




DC is a lot more dangerous than AC., unless its only a low voltage dc like 12v or 24v. most panels produce about 150 - 300volts each depending on the size of them.

[robert mitchell]

Just to explain the difference ac is alternating current which put simply switches on and off constantly very quickly , this means if you get a shock you can still let go of the object (your pole) .
Dc is direct current and is constant , this means your muscles tense and your hand clamps shut around your pole so you carry on getting shocked as you cant let go .

[robert mitchell]

Also not sure what your installer was talking about regards plus and minus and turning off ac .

The third rail on a railway is 750v dc there is no plus and minus just a live rail , if you step on it will earth to ground through you , killing you in the process .

[telfordwindowclnr]

Also not sure what your installer was talking about regards plus and minus and turning off ac .

The third rail on a railway is 750v dc there is no plus and minus just a live rail , if you step on it will earth to ground through you , killing you in the process .

I will email the installer, get a definitive answer and reproduce his email on here.

[R.C Property]

this is what i emailed to company i sub to and his relpy:-


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: richard clues <rcpropertymaintenance@hotmail.co.uk>

Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:36:20 +0000

To: <carl>

Subject: Cleaning Solar panels




 Hi Carl,
 
Hope all is going well.
 
Would like to pick your brain about cleaning the solar panels, Im on a cleaning forum and there is a guy on there that is  saying to everyone that askes about this subject, is that you have to turn all the inverters off and things before you can clean them to stop electric being made etc etc.
 
what are your thoughts on this?
As far as i understand that you cant turn a solar panel off to stop power being produced, you can only turn it off to stop power going into the house, still meaning the solar panels stay live.
 
Many thanks
Richard



this is the reply:-

You are correct! There is only a danger of electric shock if there is a short in the system (which should kick out the inverter anyway) so what's the point of "turning off" the system.

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

[DG Cleaning]

I just spray a bit of water on them, that way they look like they've been cleaned
They're on the roof so no one can tell the difference anyway.
The brush never touches the panel.
Why risk being electrocuted?

[R.C Property]

I just spray a bit of water on them, that way they look like they've been cleaned
They're on the roof so no one can tell the difference anyway.
The brush never touches the panel.
Why risk being electrocuted?

if they have a monitoring system on them they would be able to tell,
some of the ones i have cleaned has this and the customer can see the readings as you clean increase on each panel.

[telfordwindowclnr]

this is what i emailed to company i sub to and his relpy:-


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: richard clues <rcpropertymaintenance@hotmail.co.uk>

Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:36:20 +0000

To: <carl>

Subject: Cleaning Solar panels




 Hi Carl,
 
Hope all is going well.
 
Would like to pick your brain about cleaning the solar panels, Im on a cleaning forum and there is a guy on there that is  saying to everyone that askes about this subject, is that you have to turn all the inverters off and things before you can clean them to stop electric being made etc etc.
 
what are your thoughts on this?
As far as i understand that you cant turn a solar panel off to stop power being produced, you can only turn it off to stop power going into the house, still meaning the solar panels stay live.
 
Many thanks
Richard



this is the reply:-

You are correct! There is only a danger of electric shock if there is a short in the system (which should kick out the inverter anyway) so what's the point of "turning off" the system.

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Ok. Here we go again. I have a definitive answer as to why the DC current that flows through the solar array is not a risk. This has been confirmed by 2 solar installers in the UK and a contact I have who are solar installers and cleaners in the US.

The DC current is not a risk when cleaning panels because it does not react in the same way as AC current. AC current jumps around and always seeks to earth. It only needs a connection at one end to provide a shock. DC current does not jump around or seek to earth. Plus it needs a complete electrical circuit to provide a shock. Water and a man is not a complete electrical circuit and therefore there is no risk of electrocution.

Shutting off the AC inverters is highly recommended because it is that which could do damage to an individual or a persons house.

I will post this is another thread as there were 2 threads trying to answer the same thing.

[robert mitchell]

How do you explain the third rail on a railway line then ?
Thats dc and will electrocute you if you step on it .

Just asking .

[telfordwindowclnr]

How do you explain the third rail on a railway line then ?
Thats dc and will electrocute you if you step on it .

Just asking .

I'll be honest, I can't mate.  I just do cleaning. I have the above info from reliable sources though and I trust it. If you find out though let me know! 

[R.C Property]

still dont see the point of turning the inverter off, ac cant travel up the wires to the solar panels, if there is a fault in it then the fuse will blow before anything happens, there are several safety features to stop this happening, and as you dont need to go anywhere near the ac side of it then you are fine.

[telfordwindowclnr]

still dont see the point of turning the inverter off, ac cant travel up the wires to the solar panels, if there is a fault in it then the fuse will blow before anything happens, there are several safety features to stop this happening, and as you dont need to go anywhere near the ac side of it then you are fine.

But you get the DC thing?

[R.C Property]

still dont see the point of turning the inverter off, ac cant travel up the wires to the solar panels, if there is a fault in it then the fuse will blow before anything happens, there are several safety features to stop this happening, and as you dont need to go anywhere near the ac side of it then you are fine.

But you get the DC thing?

DC thing??

[telfordwindowclnr]

Yeah you said in above posts that you can't make them safe and the electrocution risk is always there from the DC at the array. But actually the DC is no risk in this instance.

[R.C Property]

Yeah you said in above posts that you can't make them safe and the electrocution risk is always there from the DC at the array. But actually the DC is no risk in this instance.

not when the solar panels are in good working order and fited right, if they are faulty, damaged, not wired up correctly then there is a risk.
DC is more deadly than AC.

[telfordwindowclnr]

Yeah you said in above posts that you can't make them safe and the electrocution risk is always there from the DC at the array. But actually the DC is no risk in this instance.

not when the solar panels are in good working order and fited right, if they are faulty, damaged, not wired up correctly then there is a risk.
DC is more deadly than AC.

Ok. It's taken a while, but glad we have batted it out. I'm so worn out by all this, I'm off for a lie down!!!