Solar Panels In South Carolina

In most cases, your solar panels will get a good cleaning every time it rains. However, if you’re in an area that doesn’t get rain very often, you can use a garden hose, a large sponge, and mild dish soap to clean your solar panels. Never use harsh chemicals, pressure washers, or any abrasives that might scratch the surface of your panels. Many solar panel installation companies will also offer inexpensive panel cleaning and maintenance.

Modern solar panels are usually about 15% to 18% efficient. This means that 15% to 18% of the sunlight they absorb gets turned into energy. The remaining sunlight is lost as heat, warming the solar panel casing. That being said there are a number of factors that can impact the overall efficiency such as the solar panel age, materials they’re made with, and average sun exposure.

Typically, an average-sized house will need 20 to 25 solar panels. However, depending on the size of the house, the sun exposure, where you live, and how much energy you consume, you could need more.

Solar panels, or solar photovoltaic panels, transform sunlight into usable energy by converting the light into an electric field that then flows into a conductive wire.  The conductive wire flows into the inverter which then transforms the electricity to an alternating current which can then be used to power a property.

You can read our full article about how solar panels work here.

Residential solar panels are typically 65 inches by 39 inches or 3.25 feet by 5.4 feet, although there are some variations among manufacturers. Each panel will also weigh about 40 pounds on average.

Solar panels are comprised of an array of solar cells (photovoltaic cells). These cells, made of silicon semiconductors, absorb sunlight to create electricity and then transfer the energy into the inverter. The cells are then networked together inside of a case along with some other components to create the panel. You can read more about how a solar panel is made in this article.