Do you need to clean leased solar panels?

It depends on your contract. Some leases include cleaning or a production guarantee that covers losses. Many don't include routine cleaning. Check your agreement before you pay for anything.

Do dirty panels cost you money if you lease?

Often, yes. Whatever your panels don't produce, you buy from PG&E. With a PPA, you also pay for the power the panels make, so if they make less, you buy more from the utility.

You Lease Your Solar Panels. Do You Still Need to Clean Them?

By Miguel, Elite Pressure Wash Services · Bakersfield, CA

If you lease your solar panels, or you're on what's called a PPA (a power purchase agreement), you might figure cleaning isn't your problem. The company owns them. Shouldn't they take care of it?

Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. It depends on your contract, and it's worth five minutes to find out.

Step 1: Check your contract

Pull out your lease or PPA paperwork, or log in to your solar company's account, and look for two things:

Maintenance or cleaning. Does the company handle cleaning? Some do. Many only cover repairs, not routine cleaning.
A production guarantee. Some contracts promise your system will make a certain amount of power each year, and pay you back if it falls short.

If your contract covers cleaning, call them first. That's what you're paying for. If it's unclear, call and ask.

Step 2: Know what a production guarantee does and doesn't cover

A production guarantee sounds like full protection. It usually isn't. Many only kick in once production drops below a certain level for the year. A system can lose a real chunk of power to dirt and still stay above that line. In that case, you're absorbing the loss, not them.

Some contracts also have rules about who can work on the panels. Check before you hire anyone.

Step 3: Know where dirty panels hit your wallet

Lease (fixed monthly payment): You pay the same lease amount no matter what. If dirty panels make less power, you buy the difference from PG&E. Your lease payment stays the same, but your PG&E bill goes up.
PPA (you pay per kWh produced): You pay the solar company for what the panels make. If they make less, you buy more from PG&E, usually at a higher rate.

Either way, the power your panels don't make comes out of your pocket.

When it makes sense to clean anyway

If your contract doesn't include cleaning, and your production guarantee won't cover a dirt-sized loss, then cleaning is on you, just like if you owned the panels. Check your app. If a clear day this month is noticeably below the same month last year, the panels are worth a look.

Live in Bakersfield? Text (661) 241-0533 for a free estimate on your solar panel cleaning.

Text (661) 241-0533

The bottom line

Leasing doesn't automatically mean cleaning is someone else's job. Read your contract, understand your guarantee, and if it doesn't cover the loss, treat those panels like they're yours. On your PG&E bill, they are.