What a quote for cleaning should say
A cleaning visit is priced either for the whole system or per panel, and the model prints both. Ask which one the company means, how many panels it counted and whether the figure is one visit or a plan with several visits.
Ask what it uses and where the crew works from. Stay off the roof yourself.
What cleaning costs in Texas: per visit and per panel
The model's whole-system cleaning price is $115 to $520 per cleaning visit, whole system, and the table adds a per-panel row. For cleaning there's one national range; the model widens it 15 percent each way and applies Texas's solar installer wage ratio of 0.91. No permit fee is in it and no federal credit comes off.
The ranges don't cover roof repair, panel replacement or a recurring plan. Ask if the price covers one visit or a yearly plan.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $115 to $520 per cleaning visit, whole system | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Texas solar installer median wage ratio (0.91). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. Basis: no Texas 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 Texas solar installer median wage ratio (0.91). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. Basis: no Texas company price for this job, so the national estimate stands. |
| Solar photovoltaic installer wage, Texas median | $23.19 an hour | O*NET 2025 median from BLS May 2025 data: what installers are paid, not what you are charged. |
Estimated range. Built from national published ranges (1 source), adjusted by Texas's solar installer median wage ratio to the US (0.91, BLS May 2025), plus the city solar permit fee where the city publishes one. Not a quote. One Texas 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 Texas company price for this job, so the range is our national estimate alone. Full method. Prices as of Oct 24, 2026.
The warranty papers, and who may open the equipment
Read the panel and racking warranty for any cleaning method it excludes, and ask the company which method it will use. A technician who opens a junction box or the inverter is doing more than washing. TDLR licenses electrical contractors for repairing or altering conductors that carry power, so ask for that license number before anyone opens a box.
When the cleaning comes with a system sale
TDLR's solar retailer registration, in place since September 1, 2025, covers businesses that sell or lease residential solar systems and their salespeople, at $350 and $56 a year. If a seller bundles a cleaning plan into a new system contract, ask for its registration number and get the plan's visits and price as separate lines.
Reading the result on your bill
Production after a cleaning shows up in different places by provider, because Texas doesn't mandate net metering. Austin Energy meters production and credits it at its Value of Solar rate of 12.89 cents per kWh from October 1, 2026; Oncor programs its meter to measure surplus kWh flowing out; and elsewhere the PUCT says the buyback sits in your contract with your retailer.
None of the Texas agency pages here gives an expected yearly production figure for a home system, so ask the company that installed yours which modeling tool its estimate came from and compare a few weeks of app output before and after a visit against that number.
When a cleaning problem is an emergency
- Smoke or a burning smell from the panels, wiring or inverter at any time is a 911 call.
- Production is lower than usual and the panels look dusty from the ground.
- A panel looks cracked but nothing is hot or smoking.
What to check before booking
- Ask for the price per visit and per panel, and how many panels the company counted.
- Read your warranty papers for approved cleaning methods.
- Note your app's output for a few weeks beforehand.
Permits for cleaning
The model adds no permit fee for cleaning. If a company proposes anything beyond washing, such as moving panels, the removal page covers the 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 does a panel cleaning run in Texas?
In our model it's $115 to $520 per cleaning visit, whole system for the whole system, and no company has quoted that. The per-panel row in the table is separate, and no company has quoted either one.
What does the TDLR solar retailer registration cover?
Businesses that sell or lease residential solar systems, and their salespeople. A technician who opens wiring or the inverter needs a TDLR electrical contractor license, which is a different credential.
Will cleaning void my warranty?
Check your papers, because methods can be excluded. Ask the company which method it uses and compare that with the warranty text.
Is washing my own panels a good idea?
We don't advise getting on a roof or working near wiring. Look from the ground and let a company do the work.
- O*NET OnLine (BLS May 2025 wage data): Solar photovoltaic installers (SOC 47-2231), Texas 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, Texas (editorial policy) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- TDLR: Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License; Houston Permitting Center HPWCODE1119 Read Oct 24, 2026.
- TDLR: Texas Residential Solar Retailers program, laws and rules Read Oct 28, 2026.
- Texas Utilities Code 39.916 (legacy host, Wayback copy) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Austin Energy: Value of Solar Rate; For Your Home (solar rebate) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Oncor: for installers Read Oct 24, 2026.
- PUCT: Solar (consumer help) Read Oct 24, 2026.