Solar Panel Cleaning in Manassas, VA

Clearly Amazing cleans solar panels for homes and businesses in the City of Manassas, Manassas Park and the wider Prince William County area, with crews sent from the Sterling office. The method is deionized water and soft brushes with eco-friendly products, nothing under pressure, and the crews stay off the panels. The estimate is free and done on site.

Call (703) 723-7770 for a free on-site estimate.

A city-owned electric utility and its net-metering policy

In the City of Manassas the electric utility belongs to the City: the City’s Utilities Department is the party to the net-metering agreement, and its instructions refer to Manassas Electric. In 2015 the City of Manassas Utility Commission adopted a Net Metering Policy to support customers who generate their own electricity from renewable sources such as solar.

The City’s definitions limit a residential system to 10 kilowatts of alternating current capacity and a nonresidential system to 500 kilowatts, and they set the net-metering period as each successive 12-month period. The agreement says that if the City chooses to inspect and the system complies, it will give written approval of the interconnection within ten working days of the request. Those terms come from undated City forms, so treat them as the wording of the program and confirm the current version with Manassas Electric. The nonresidential limit is the one that applies to businesses.

This is the utility’s paperwork for connecting panels. Nothing in the forms we read mentions cleaning. It also applies to customers of the City’s own electric utility; the City’s documents say nothing about addresses outside City limits.

If your house is in a historic district

Solar is one of the things the City’s 2022 Historic District Design Guidelines do address. They say panels should go in locations with limited or no visibility, such as a flat or shallow-pitched roof, a secondary roof slope, a rear addition or behind a parapet wall, and that collectors on a sloping roof should be mounted flush below the ridge line.

Their review chart for panels attached to buildings shows, for a contributing structure, a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Architectural Review Board when the panels are visible from the front facade, administrative approval when visible from a side facade, and administrative approval when not visible. A landmark needs a certificate for any facade, and a non-contributing structure needs no approval if zoning requirements are met. The yard chart notes that the Zoning Ordinance prohibits energy-generating technology in front yards. The guidelines add that the required review level is always subject to City approval.

Separately, the zoning ordinance exempts solar collectors in locations not visible from a street right-of-way from needing a certificate, in text last updated in December 2019. The Architectural Review Board’s report for the year ending June 2019 lists one roof-mounted solar application, approved as submitted.

All of this applies inside the historic districts only, and it is about where panels go. Nothing we found from the City says whether cleaning panels that are already up needs review.

Prince William County addresses

Homes in unincorporated Prince William County go through the County instead. Its Residential Solar page describes plan review, required building and electrical final inspections, and roof-access pathway requirements for roof-mounted systems. City of Manassas addresses go through the City’s Inspections Department, and Manassas Park is its own city, covered by neither.

Call (703) 723-7770 for a free on-site estimate in Manassas, or request one online.

Areas we cover in and around Manassas

Panel cleaning covers the City of Manassas and Historic Downtown, Manassas Park, and the wider Prince William County area. Commercial arrays are part of the work as well.

When to schedule

Any season works. Late spring is a natural time for a first visit of the year, and other months are just as welcome: after a nearby construction project, before a sale, or simply because it has been a while. Treat it as routine care for equipment on your roof.

Questions Manassas customers ask

Does the City’s net-metering paperwork say anything about cleaning?
Not in the forms we read. They cover the application, inspection, metering and billing terms. Cleaning is a separate matter.

My house is in the Local Historic District. Do I need approval to have panels cleaned?
The City’s ordinance and review pages address alterations and installations and do not say whether routine cleaning needs review. The City’s Planning and Development staff can tell you before any work starts.

Are your crews insured?
Yes. Insurance is in place for our crews, who are our own employees: general liability and workers’ compensation. A certificate is available upon request.

Clearly Amazing — Northern Virginia
43676 Trade Center Place, Suite 140, Sterling, VA 20166
(703) 723-7770

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