Pollen Season!  Yep it’s hear again.  That hated time of year for most allergy sufferers like myself.   Of course your solar panels will feel the pain too!  Pollen levels in NC get so high that the whole world is covered in a layer of yellow dust for a while.   At this time of year you will see a marked reduction in the output of your solar panels as well.   The first rain should wash the panels clear as long they are mounted at a decent angle.    Panels that are mounted flat or at a 10 degree pitch will likely keep a lot dust on them and will need to be washed manually.   I’ve been monitoring the output of my system since pollen season has started and I’ve noticed around 10-20%reduction depending on how soiled the panels became.  It changed daily.  We were lucky that it didn’t last long and a few rains washed them off in last week and it looks like the worst is behind us.  I thought I would share a few pictures also.