What a cleaning quote should say
Cleaning quotes come two ways, a price for the whole system or a price per panel, and the model prints both. Find out which one you're looking at, the panel count behind it and whether it covers a single visit or a plan.
Find out what the crew uses and where it stands to work. Stay off the roof yourself.
What Florida cleaning costs in the model, per visit or per panel
In the model a whole-system cleaning is $120 to $545 per cleaning visit, whole system; the table also lists a per-panel row. The model widens a single national range by 15 percent at each end, then applies Florida's solar installer wage ratio of 0.95. It holds no permit fee and subtracts no federal credit.
Roof repair, panel replacement and recurring plans aren't part of the ranges. Check whether the figure buys one visit or a year's worth.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $120 to $545 per cleaning visit, whole system | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Florida solar installer median wage ratio (0.95). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. Basis: no Florida company price for this job, so the national estimate stands. |
| Estimated range per panel, not a quote | $10 to $25 per panel cleaned | Built from 2 national published ranges, adjusted by the Florida solar installer median wage ratio (0.95). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. Basis: no Florida company price for this job, so the national estimate stands. |
| Solar photovoltaic installer wage, Florida median | $24.30 an hour | Installer pay from O*NET's 2025 median (BLS May 2025 data); the company sets your price. |
Estimated range. Built from national published ranges (1 source), adjusted by Florida's solar installer median wage ratio to the US (0.95, BLS May 2025), plus the city solar permit fee where the city publishes one. Not a quote. One Florida installer publishes its own current price on its own page (Palmetto, per watt), too few to build a range from; the others print blog or market averages or dated figures, which we do not count. We have no Florida company price for this job, so the range is our national estimate alone. Full method. Prices as of Oct 24, 2026.
When a visit turns into contractor work
Section 489.105(3)(o) lists maintenance and repair among a solar contractor's services. If a cleaning plan comes bundled with maintenance or repair work, or a technician needs to open a junction box or the inverter, ask for a DBPR solar or electrical contractor license number and check it with DBPR.
The warranty papers before anyone climbs up
Read your panel and racking warranty for cleaning methods it excludes, and ask the company which method it will use.
Checking the result
Compare a few weeks of monitoring-app output before and after a visit. Florida's agency pages here give no expected yearly production for a home system, so ask whoever installed yours which modeling tool its estimate came from and use that number as the yardstick.
Your bill shows exports differently by utility. Under Rule 25-6.065, an investor-owned utility credits excess generation to the next month's bill; Tampa Electric credits it at the current retail energy rate; JEA compares the kWh it delivers with the kWh your system returns; and from November 1, 2026, OUC credits exports straight to the account under TruNet Solar.
What can't wait after a cleaning
- Dial 911 for smoke or a burning smell from the panels, wiring or inverter.
- Output is lower than usual and the panels look dirty from the ground.
- A panel looks cracked, with no heat or smoke.
What to confirm before you book
- Get the price per visit and per panel, and the panel count behind it.
- Read the warranty for approved cleaning methods.
- Note a few weeks of app output beforehand.
Permit questions for cleaning
No permit fee is built into the cleaning model. Moving panels is a different job, and the removal page covers its permit questions.
Ask for the company's contractor license number and look it up with your state's licensing board before you sign.
Questions people ask
What should a Florida panel cleaning cost?
The model gives $120 to $545 per cleaning visit, whole system for a whole system, an estimate and not a quote. A separate per-panel row sits in the table, and neither figure is a company quote.
Does a cleaning company need a contractor license in Florida?
Ask DBPR if the plan includes maintenance or repair. Section 489.105(3)(o) lists maintenance among a solar contractor's services, and anyone opening wiring or the inverter should hold a DBPR solar or electrical license.
Could a cleaning affect my panel warranty?
Read your papers, since some methods are excluded. Ask which method the company uses and compare it with the warranty text.
Is it safe to wash the panels myself?
Not from a ladder or the roof. Check what you can from the ground and leave the washing to a crew.
- O*NET OnLine (BLS May 2025 wage data): Solar photovoltaic installers (SOC 47-2231), Florida statewide, median hourly wage Read Oct 24, 2026.
- O*NET OnLine (BLS May 2025 wage data): Solar photovoltaic installers (SOC 47-2231), United States (national), median hourly wage Read Oct 24, 2026.
- SolarPanelMatch: how we estimate costs, Florida (editorial policy) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- DBPR CILB: construction industry licence categories; s. 489.105 F.S. Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.065: Interconnection and Metering of Customer-Owned Renewable Generation Read Oct 26, 2026.
- Tampa Electric: Steps to Connect; Connecting Your Solar Read Oct 24, 2026.
- JEA: Distributed Generation Bill Breakdown; Apply for Distributed Generation Read Oct 24, 2026.
- OUC: Rooftop Solar / Net Metering Solar PV Program Read Oct 28, 2026.