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If the pitch starts at your door and ends with "sign tonight for the special," sleep on it. The sun will still be there tomorrow; so will we.
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AfterFast, Reliable Solar Panel Cleaning Across Burbank
Solar panel cleaning in Burbank typically costs $150-$325 for a standard residential array, and for most homes the work is done in under two hours. We get panels clean the right way: soft-brush washing with deionized water, no harsh chemicals, no pressure washers that void panel warranties. Gus’s Solar has been cleaning and maintaining arrays across Burbank, Glendale, and the rest of the east Valley for over a decade, and our crews know exactly how the heat and dust here affect panel output. If you’re noticing lower production on your BWP bill, call (877) 550-6892 and we’ll come take a look.
Why Gus’s Solar Is Burbank’s Preferred Solar Panel Cleaning Company
We’re not a pop-up cleaning crew with a pressure washer and a flyer. Gus Petrakis founded this company in 2011, and his name is on every truck that rolls into Burbank. The same crew that installs panels in the Magnolia Park flats and the Verdugo foothills is the crew that comes back to clean them. That matters because we know the racking, the roof pitch, and the inverter setup before we ever put a ladder up.
Burbank homeowners deal with a specific set of conditions: Santa Ana wind events that dump ash and grit onto arrays, triple-digit summer days that bake soiling onto the glass, and a municipal utility that tracks production differently than SCE. Most cleaning companies don’t know the difference between BWP net metering and SCE net metering. We do, and we use that when we talk to you about whether a cleaning actually pays for itself.
Our Solar Panel Cleaning team answers questions directly. How much will it cost? What will you use on the panels? Will it scratch the glass? We’ll tell you straight. A live person answers the phone 24/7, which means when a post-storm mess covers your array on a Saturday morning, someone picks up and schedules a crew.
Our Solar Panel Cleaning Services in Burbank
Residential Panel Cleaning
We clean residential arrays across Burbank’s ranch-house neighborhoods, from the 91521 hillsides to the bungalow blocks of 91522. Most jobs involve a soft-brush wash with deionized water, followed by a production check at the inverter. On Burbank’s flat and low-slope composition shingle roofs, we move carefully around rooftop equipment and never leave standing water pooling against the panels. Expect two hours or less for a standard 20-30 panel home array.
Commercial Array Cleaning
Burbank’s commercial properties near the Empire Center, the media district along Olive Avenue, and the industrial pockets off San Fernando Road often run arrays that haven’t been cleaned since install. Soiling losses on a flat commercial roof can quietly eat 8-15% of annual production, especially with Burbank’s dry, dusty summers. We schedule early-morning service to avoid the heat and minimize disruption to your operations.
Bird & Critter Guard Installation
We install heavy-gauge mesh guard and critter barriers around residential and commercial arrays throughout Burbank. Birds nesting under panels is a serious problem here, especially in the older Magnolia Park and Rancho neighborhoods where mature trees put pigeons directly above roof lines. The acidic droppings etch panel glass over time and the nesting material traps heat against the underside of the modules. We install guard that’s rated for San Fernando Valley sun exposure and won’t rust out after two seasons.
Debris & Soiling Removal
After Santa Ana winds sweep through Burbank and the Verdugo range, we see arrays coated in a fine layer of ash, dust, and leaf litter. A quick rinse won’t get it. We use deionized water and soft brushes to lift the baked-on layer without scratching the anti-reflective coating on your panels. It’s the difference between wiping dust and actually restoring the glass. We also check for leaves and twigs trapped between the panel frame and the roof deck, which is where moisture gets trapped on Burbank’s shingle roofs.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Burbank
We clean and maintain arrays built with Tesla, Enphase, SolarEdge, Qcells, REC, SunPower, and more. Burbank homes run a mix of older SunPower and Canadian Solar arrays from the 2010s and newer Qcells and REC installs with Enphase microinverters. What that means for you: we know where the inverters live, how the monitoring reports production, and what a clean panel should be producing given Burbank’s sun exposure. We carry common replacement parts for Burbank jobs, so a cracked frame or loose clamp doesn’t mean a two-week wait for a part to ship cross-country.
Common Solar Panel Cleaning Problems We See in Burbank Homes
- Baked-on dust and ash from Santa Ana winds. Burbank’s location at the eastern edge of the San Fernando Valley means wind events push fine particulate from the hills and every construction site between here and the 134 freeway straight onto your roof. Once morning dew settles on it and the midday sun bakes it, plain water won’t get it off. You need a soft-brush wash with deionized water.
- Pigeon droppings under panels on shaded residential streets. Older Burbank neighborhoods like Magnolia Park and the streets west of Buena Vista have thick, mature tree canopies. That’s good for shade and bad for birds, which perch above your array and coat the glass with droppings. We regularly find 30-40% of a panel’s surface obscured on arrays that haven’t been cleaned in over a year.
- Thermal derating on hot summer days. When Burbank hits 100°F in July, panels lose efficiency simply because they’re hot. A dirty panel loses even more. If your array is already producing below spec on the hottest days, a layer of soiling compounds the loss. Cleaning won’t fix thermal derating, but it keeps the baseline where it should be so you’re not stacking losses.
- Nesting material in the gap between panel and roof. On Burbank’s low-slope ranch roofs, the gap between the back of a panel and the shingle deck is prime pigeon nesting real estate. We’ve pulled out piles of twigs and feathers that had been trapping heat and moisture against the roof for months. That’s a roof leak risk on 1950s composition shingle, not just a production problem.
Pricing for Solar Panel Cleaning in Burbank, CA
A standard residential panel cleaning in Burbank runs $150-$325. Small arrays under 15 panels sit at the low end, and a two-story hillside home in 91521 with steep roof access and 30+ panels lands at the high end. Commercial flat-roof arrays in Burbank’s industrial districts off San Fernando Road start around $350 and scale with panel count and roof access difficulty. Bird and critter guard installation is quoted separately, typically $400-$1,200 depending on linear footage of the array perimeter and roof material. If your array needs post-storm cleanup with heavy debris removal, add $50-$100 to the standard cleaning price. We price by the job, not by the hour, and the number we give you is the number you pay. No surcharges for Burbank parking or ladder access. Call (877) 550-6892 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Burbank
Our crews cover the neighborhoods around Burbank every week. If you’re in Universal City, North Hollywood, Glendale, or Studio City, we can schedule a cleaning on the same route. Solar Panel Cleaning in Burbank is what we do most, but the same crew that handles Magnolia Park can be at your door in Toluca Lake or the NoHo Arts District within days. Call (877) 550-6892 to check availability.
Serving Burbank, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Burbank area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Solar Panel Cleaning in Burbank
BWP runs its own net metering program with a finite enrollment cap, entirely separate from SCE across the city line in Glendale. That means the value of every kilowatt-hour you produce is determined by BWP’s export compensation rules, not the state-wide NEM structure. A dirty array produces fewer kilowatt-hours, and under BWP’s rate structure, those lost kilowatt-hours cost you more than they would under a standard SCE tariff. We recommend Burbank homeowners clean panels at least twice a year, and check production against the BWP true-up statement. If your output has dropped 8-10% below what the system should produce for its size, call (877) 550-6892.
Yes. On Burbank’s post-WWII ranch homes with original composition shingle roofs, bird droppings and nesting material trapped under the panel array hold moisture against the roof deck. Over time that trapped moisture accelerates shingle rot, and the repair cost far exceeds the price of a cleaning and guard install. In Magnolia Park and the Rancho neighborhoods, where mature trees attract pigeons, we see this problem constantly. If you’ve noticed birds on your roof or droppings around the edges of your panels, we can install critter guard the same visit we clean. Call (877) 550-6892.
You don’t need to check it before a cleaning, but you should know where your system stands. BWP’s net metering program has a finite enrollment cap. If you’re not enrolled and you’re producing more than you consume, you may not be getting the credit you expect for excess generation. A cleaning that restores lost production is only worth doing if that production actually translates into bill savings. When our crew cleans a Burbank array, we review the BWP true-up statement with you and confirm your net metering status. If something looks off, we’ll tell you before you spend money on a service that won’t pay you back. That’s the difference between a cleaning company and a company that actually manages BWP solar accounts.
Twice a year is the right rhythm for most Burbank homes: once after the Santa Ana wind season (usually November through January), and once after the summer heat breaks (September or October). Burbank’s triple-digit July and August days bake dust and pollen onto the glass, and the fall winds coat everything in ash and grit. If you live on a street with heavy pigeon presence or near construction on the 134 corridor or the BWP service yard area, you may want a third cleaning. We offer scheduled cleaning plans for Burbank homeowners who want it handled without having to think about it.
Thermal derating is the drop in panel efficiency that happens when the panel gets too hot. Most residential panels lose about 0.3-0.5% of rated output for every degree Celsius above 25°C. On a 105°F day in Burbank, your panels are running 30-40°F above that baseline, and you’re losing real production. A dirty panel runs even hotter because the soiling layer absorbs sunlight and blocks the normal dissipation of heat. Cleaning restores the panel’s ability to shed heat and keeps output where it should be on the hottest days of the year, when your AC is pulling the hardest. If your BWP bill is highest in August and your production has dropped off, a cleaning is the cheapest fix you can do. Call (877) 550-6892 and we’ll give you an honest assessment.
Written by Gus Petrakis, Owner at Gus’s Solar, serving Burbank and the surrounding San Fernando Valley communities since 2011.