Over the course of their lifetime, residential solar panel systems can often help homeowners save thousands of dollars on their energy bills. With a few helpful tips and tricks, though, a solar panel system might be able to save you even more money. Consider these five money-saving solar panel tips to help you get the most out of your investment and help keep your energy bill as low as possible.

Tip #1: Clean Your Panels Regularly

Anything that blocks the sun from reaching your solar panels will limit how much power they can produce, and this includes debris such as dust, dirt, and fallen leaves that gather on your panels. For this reason, it is important to clean your solar panels regularly. Its recommended to get a professional to do any maintenance and cleaning of your solar panels.

Tip #2: Use Appliances During the Day

Heavy usage appliances such as your washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher can use a lot of electricity in a short amount of time. Since solar panels only produce power during the day, any electricity you use after sunset will have to come from the power grid. Doing laundry and washing dishes during the day, therefore, is a great way to get more value out of your solar panel system.

Tip #3: Eliminate Shade

If you want your solar panels to get as much sunlight as possible, you will need to keep your home's roof out of the shade. In most cases, this means keeping trees in your yard trimmed back so they will not block the sun. Just keep in mind that shaded areas change depending on the angle of the sun, so make sure that your panels are in direct sunlight throughout all the daylight hours.

Tip #4: Install a Battery

Solar panels might only produce power during the day, but there is a way to make use of them at night as well. By installing a battery in your solar panel system, you can store excess energy that your panels create throughout the day so that it is available for use after sunset. Whether purchasing a battery is worth the investment depends on several factors, including how much energy you use and the time of day you use the most energy.

Tip #5: Stagger Your Energy Consumption

A good solar panel system is capable of producing quite a lot of power, but there may be times when your home's energy demands overload its output. In these instances, you will have to purchase electricity from the power grid to make up the difference. To prevent this, try staggering your energy consumption so that multiple large appliances are not drawing energy at the same time.

Conclusion

Purchasing a solar panel system can be a big investment, so it is important to make sure you get as much return on that investment as possible. Keeping your solar panels clear of debris and shade, using heavy usage appliances during the day, installing a battery to store excess power, and staggering your energy consumption can go a long way toward maximizing the savings that solar panels offer.