A facilities manager for this building is expecting a quote from me for cleaning the solar panels. I currently charge $7/panel residential but I’m pretty sure it will be underpriced if I do the same for this place. I plan to use WFP and I assume I’ll need to roll my tanks up onto the roof. Does anyone have experience with something like this and any pricing recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Just bid it by how long you think it’s going to take , do they have spigots up on top ? How many ? If they don’t that’s going to be a nightmare .
Looks like it’s will take 2 days with 1 pole , maybe 2 guys can knock it out in 1 day working separately.
Also another thing to consider is that most commercial solar panels are laid flat , so you’ll probably need to squeegee the remaining water that’s left on the panel . Have you gone up on the roof and taken a look?
Thank you for your input, the flat panel squeegee idea is something that hadn’t occurred to me. I’m meeting with the Manager on Friday to go on top and take a look at things.
Yeah, what he said…I feel like $7 is an OK number, but then shouldn’t something with a lot of them actually run less per panel (under normal conditions anyway). I was thinking the same about the flat panels as soon as I saw the pics. You’ll definitely need to resolve the water issue, and if it has to run up, be sure to test/figure out what kind of actual pressure you’ll be able to get if you have to run the supply up there…
Generally the more panels there are the less the per panel cost becomes.
I remember a few years ago this guy posted how he was doing solar farms and the price per panel was .22c
I really doubt they have budgeted 10k for solar panel cleaning.
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there’s some pretty long reach in places without any walking room
a 45ft pole can baaaarely reach out 11 panels lined up facing you in “landscape” orientation (shortest sides) and that is some slow going work, and then the dirty water from the 10th row away from you spills over onto the row you just cleaned, and you dont have much pressure so they arent getting scrubbed much, then the wind blows and when the water dries it leaves dried dirt runs everywhere, and then you see all the bug droppings that are still left on there, and because the panels are flat there will be calcium deposits from the standing water over the years, not like you have to get that off like a window but it can leave a white haze over panel surface when dried, or will show your brush marks, because again, you’re working with a pole extended to its maximum, although i see areas that are way over 11 panels out from where you’ll be standing
just some things to consider
flat panels are a real bear, totally different than angled panels, totally totally different
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Thanks you guys for all your help
Just wondering how long any of you think it would take for 1 person to get this job done. 4,000 solar panels. The panels are pitched enough to where a squeegee will not be necessary and no extra scrubbing, each panel is set up for easy access up close and water pressure is no problem. I came to about 44hrs on just panel cleaning
spigots on roof? how many, how far apart? some roofs look like separate access (not connected, different height) are you bringing a DI tank up there or running hose from a truck mount
where is roof access points? are they easy to get to on your own or do you need to have someone escort you, get the key etc etc. once up there can you go back and forth (to get hose up on roof if need be, forgotten items, bathroom, more water from truck) or are you working with a second person?
how much hose do you need once on the roof? google earth measure feature is great for that
how are you going to get the hose up on the roof? how close can you park
pressure up 3 stories and another 500 feet across roof can be a lot less than you think at brush head without a pump
since you figure you’ll be up there quite awhile, where are the bathrooms you can use?
jobs like this, set up can be quite a lengthy process. anything happens up there and its back to the truck which can be quite an ordeal depending where you are at, the roof access points, the facility people with keys etc etc
dont underestimate the walking distances on that roof and all the hose wrangling
just food for thought since looking at an aerial view can look so much simpler than the actual needs
Thank you Sir
