Three things: a telescopic rotating brush machine that reaches roof-mounted arrays from the ground, a purified water supply so the panels dry without a mineral haze, and transport for both. The 7.5m mains-powered machine is R18,450. The equipment overlaps heavily with window cleaning, which is why most operators run the two together rather than separately.
The core equipment
Our solar panel cleaning equipment range covers a 7.5m pole kit, mains powered through an AC/DC converter, so it runs for as long as it is plugged in.
The brush is soft and rotates; that is the whole design brief. The anti-reflective coating on a panel is microns thick and abrasion is permanent, so nothing scours and nothing gets pressure-washed.
Why the water matters
Panels are cleaned to increase output. Tap water dries to a mineral film that shades the cells, which means cleaning with unpurified water can leave the array producing less than before you touched it. Water below 10 ppm dissolved solids dries clear — see what water window cleaners use. A reverse osmosis system is R4,360 and a TDS meter to verify it is R290.
What the market looks like in South Africa
Rooftop solar has grown fast and almost none of it gets cleaned on a schedule. Dust accumulation is heaviest inland and in the drier provinces, where a three to six month cycle is genuinely worth doing; coastal installs get more rain and stretch further. The work is recurring by nature, which makes it better business than once-off cleaning.
Commercial and agricultural arrays are the volume. They are also where your own water supply stops being a convenience.
Running it alongside window cleaning
The pole, the pump, the RO system and the trolley are shared between both jobs — only the brush head differs. If you already clean windows with purified water you are most of the way there. See how to start a window cleaning business in South Africa and the full window cleaning equipment range.
What to avoid
Pressure washers, detergents, and walking on arrays — all three cause damage that shows up months later and none of them clean better than a soft brush and pure water. Detail is in can you clean solar panels with a pressure washer.