Many homeowners are unaware that their dirty roof could be hurting their back pocket. In fact, many people think the ‘black streaks’ on their roof are natural signs of aging, and don’t realise that high pressure cleaning can not only restore the aesthetics of their roof, but also help their home become more energy efficient and most importantly, save them money.
How Does Roof Cleaning Save Money?
There are two main areas where high pressure cleaning your roof can save you money; by increasing your home’s energy efficiency and therefore reducing your power bills, and by maximizing the life of your roof and reducing replacement costs.
Roof Cleaning Removes Algae and Fungus.
Those ‘black streaks’ on your roof are not age spots, it is algae that has settled on your roof. Algae, moss and fungus are prone to taking up residence on your roof, and without roof cleaning, they can lead to the following costly problems:
Algae, moss and fungus will hold moisture and can lift shingles causing leaks and rotting in the roof space.
Roofs covered in black and green algae will absorb UV rays, heating up the home (the same way wearing dark clothing absorbs UV rays and makes you hotter on a Summer’s day).
Many modern roof materials are designed to be reflective to increase the energy efficiency of your home. Dirt, algae, moss and fungus will reduce the reflective nature and cause your home to absorb the heat, increasing cooling costs in the warmer seasons.
High Pressure Cleaning Improves Solar Panel Effectiveness
If you are like many Perth households, you may have installed solar panels on your roof to reduce your energy costs. But did you know that dirt and grime can reduce the efficiency of your solar panels, blocking sunlight and reducing their output?
It’s not just dust and dirt that can affect solar panels in Perth, but our birdlife and large trees can also provide obstacles for maintaining clean solar panels, with bird droppings and leaves collecting around the panels and reducing their efficiency.
Another thing to consider is that many solar panel manufacturers and installation companies have made solar panel cleaning a condition of their warranty. They also base their energy figure claims on optimum performing solar panels, on panels that are clean and free of obstructions. So, if you are wanting to get the output you signed up for, you will need to maintain the cleanliness of the panels.
Data collected by Clean Solar Solutions Ltd showed the difference between the output of popular solar panels the day before they were cleaned compared to the day after they were cleaned (see graph below):
National Renewable Energy Laboratory research suggests that dirty solar panels can lose up to 25% of their output, which means your energy savings are much less than they should be.
Won’t rain clean my roof and solar panels?
It’s a great theory, but as we all know from testing this with our cars, rain does not clean effectively. Sure, the rain may wash away some of the surface dirt, however if you relied on only the rain to keep your car and windscreen clean, in 6 months you would have a dirty car and reduced visibility through your windscreen.
The same is true for your roof and solar panels. Rain may wash away some of the collected dirt and leaf litter, however it will leave a layer of grime and is unlikely to budge any bird droppings your solar panels have collected.
Roof Cleaning Perth
If you want to increase the energy efficiency of your home and reduce your energy cost, contact our high pressure cleaning experts today. We also offer free solar panel cleaning with all our roof cleaning across Perth to ensure that we leave you with long-term energy savings as well as a sparkling clean roof!