Rockaway Cove sits near King Road and Swan Falls Road with Lennar two-story homes from 2,630 up to 3,848 square feet, facing open ground with no windbreak. Large roofs mean large arrays, and there is nothing out here to shade them or to stop the silt.
These are among the largest roofs in Kuna, which means the arrays on them are among the largest, and a percentage soiling loss on a big array costs proportionally more kilowatt hours than the same percentage on a small one. Combined with the high irradiance out here, roughly 210 sunny days a year with no canopy anywhere near, soiling on a Rockaway Cove array is one of the more expensive maintenance issues to neglect in the city.
With no mature windbreak between here and the open ground toward the Snake River Canyon, fine high-desert silt arrives driven rather than settling gently. Driven fine silt spreads into a thin continuous film across the cell surface, and a uniform film shades everything rather than a few spots, which costs proportionally more output than the same mass of coarse scattered dust. It also looks almost normal from the ground, so the losses go unnoticed unless you are watching production data.
An array on the upper roof of a 3,848 square foot two-story, on a 0.146 acre lot with no safe ladder footing, is out of reach safely. Walking a pitched roof with panels on it is separately a bad idea: panels are slippery, frames are trip hazards, and standing on a panel micro-fractures cells and permanently cuts output without any visible damage. We work from the ground with water-fed equipment wherever the geometry allows.
Panels are flooded with pure deionized water, which has no dissolved solids so it lifts soiling and dries leaving nothing behind. That matters more on a large array than a small one, because a hose rinse on a big array leaves a full sheet of mineral spots and every one of them shades a cell. Nothing abrasive, no soap. Solar panel cleaning is quoted by array size, after we assess mounting and access.
Free, no-obligation quote — we'll call or text you with your price.
Get My Free QuoteStill wondering about something? Call or text us at (208) 453-6760.
Proportionally, yes. A given percentage loss on a large array costs more kilowatt hours than the same percentage on a small one, and with roughly 210 sunny days a year and no canopy nearby these arrays have a lot of production to lose.
Very likely. Wind-driven fine silt spreads into a thin continuous film rather than visible spots, so it looks almost normal from below while shading the whole cell surface. Production data compared against the same month last year is the reliable check.
We would advise against it. A second-story array on a 3,848 square foot house, on a 0.146 acre lot with no safe ladder footing, is not safely reachable, and walking a pitched roof with panels on it adds panel damage risk on top of fall risk.
Because hose water carries dissolved mineral and leaves a full sheet of spots as it dries, and on a large array every one of those spots shades a cell. Deionized water has no dissolved solids and dries leaving nothing behind.
By array size, after we assess how it is mounted and how it can be reached from the ground. On these larger houses both the array and the access assessment are real factors rather than formalities.
Free, no-obligation quote. Next-day slots available.
Get My Free Quote