How dirt and soiling reduce your solar output
Panel soiling — the accumulation of dust, pollen, bird droppings, and other debris — is one of the most common and fixable causes of solar energy loss. In arid regions, soiling alone can reduce output by 5–15%. Here's what you should know.
Related issues
Panel soiling
Dust, pollen, bird droppings, or debris accumulation reducing light absorption. More severe in arid or agricultural areas.
Typical loss: 2–15%Detection: visual
Self-check tip:
Visually inspect panels from ground level. If you can see a visible film or debris, cleaning may restore 2–7% production.
Is your system affected?
Use our free Solar Loss Checker to estimate how much energy your system may be losing.
Check my systemBased on conservative solar performance modelling and published degradation data
NRELIEA-PVPSSunSpecPVsyst+ published research
Updated April 2026 · Structured performance modelling
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